Blue Sky vine

I purchased a Blue Sky Vine today and wondered how to care for it. I got it at a flea market..
Thanks for any information. Fran

Thunbergia Grandiflora
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1968/index.html
lovely pale blue flower but for me it only bloomed in the Fall. It likes to get big so give it a spot where it can really spread out or you will get so disgusted with the weekly prunings to keep it in check that you will probably rip it out like I did. LOL
Not worth all the work for the short blooming period, in my opinion.
Good luck with yours, hope it blooms more for you,
Donna

Thank You Donna. Wow ! so you didnt like it huh/ Well, Some of our family went to
Gator land here in Orlando and I saw that vine growing and the flowers were beautiful.
Short blooming time. Well it was blooming there and it was about one month ago and I saw it at the flea market where they always have a bunch of pretty plants and it was blooming and it is now Nov. Perhaps it dont like the dry weather in Calif. I used to live out in San Jose, Ca. Miss the climate out there. Flowers grow good here and they really grow fast as do trees. haha Never seen anything like it. The vine is in a pot now and I dont know just where I will put it maybe so it can climp up my synamore haha.
Thanks for the information. Have a nice day. Fran

Hi Fran,
I liked the flowers fine, just not for all the work it involved. It is just not a vine that can be in a confined space, too agressive.
This was the time mine would bloom too. So late summer/early fall which is also what's listed on the PlantFiles listing, so I guess that is the norm for this vine.
Hope you get alot of pleasure from it. I am a big thunbergia fan myself, have several different ones and the grandiflora's I had (the blue and also the white) are the only ones I have given the boot to. LOL Of course all my other ones bloom all through the summer, so that may be why I like them more.
Best of luck with yours,
Donna

I have one that is climbing a pine tree. It is aggressive and it blooms but I have not been real happy with the amount of blooms. Maybe I need to fertilize it duh. Elaine

The first time I seen this vine was at Gatorland in fla. and it was growing all over the place and the blooms were really big. I swiped a couple of cuttings but they didnt make it and then I found it at the big flea market here in Sanford, Fla. I am sure they didnt do much of anything to it at Gatorland. Well, I see it needs a lot of water. I still have it in the pot it come in and i forgot to water yesterday and today it looked like it was about to dry up. Gee, I have of of the passion flower vines growing near my fence and it has completely covered another small tree. Wow, these vines can get aggresive so it seem. Anyway I am going to have to find a place it can climb I guess. Thanks for all the replys.Elaine, does the hummingbirds like the flowers up there in Ga. I never see any here in Orlando. Yea, I suppose you could try some fertilizer. how does it do over the winter there or do you get really cold weather? Fran

Fran-
They are a winter bloomer, so in frost free zones, it will bloom all winter. For the rest of us, we only get to see it just getting started, and then soon dying back from frost.

I had two growing up the poles of my porch, (which we wrap with plastic and turn into a greenhouse for the winter). They bloomed and bloomed, and bloomed all through the winter and finally stopped around April, or May.

But, I am beginning to agree with Donna. They really can be aggressive in the right environment, and became more than I could keep up with. I had to give my hubby the word, and he hacked it out.

I'm not done with them, I just picked a bad spot for them, originally. A much more behaved vine needs to go up my porch poles...

I planted a replacement one out on a large pergola, mixed with other vines, and I think I will like it a lot better out there, where it can grow as much as it wants to.

If passies get out of control for you, this one will eat your house, lol...
-T

Definitely aggressive grower, and most dont get to appreciate the utterly gorgeous flowers. However, I like the "jungle growth" look of it. If that one doesnt work for for you, try the T. Battiscombei. Same care needs, but less aggressive growth, and the flowers are even prettier! A bit more fussy, but not overly so, at least in my experience.
Pudgy, do you have the battiscombei? Interested to hear your experiences if you do...
DD

Yes, I have T. Battiscombei, I planted 2 small plants this last Spring and once the weather warmed up they started blooming and they have not stopped, still blooming up a storm. I LOVE them, what troopers. Not sure what to expect this winter, if they will die back or not, but I am thinking they may not since they are both against the southern wall of the house and under the eaves. I planted them under decorative metal trellis's along with "maid of orleans" jasmine and some clematis. The deep blue color really looks great with the white jasmine. I don't miss the grandiflora at all and I have the T. erecta "fairy moon" for that lighter color if I should start missing it. :~)

Wow all the goods and the negatives. well, its still in the pot. Have to be careful to keep it watered. Thanks for the information. I wanted to try to run it up a tree. Fran

Desert Dreamer, where did you find your T. Battiscombei? I'd be very interested in locating some or possibly getting a cutting (if it will prop from cuttings). I just put up an arbor and bed a vine for quick cover.

Thanks in advance for info.

Jude

edited to take the second D out of Desert (duh)

This message was edited Nov 16, 2006 8:36 AM

Fran-You won't have to "try" to run it up a tree, lol...it would be very happy to do it, all on its own. Ü

It is a bit "phototropic"(follows the sun), though, so consider the direction the sun hits the tree and plant it so that it will have to reach up and through the tree to find the sun. Otherwise it will follow the fence, or other tall surrounding things, instead...

I've had the battiscombei for several years now, and it survives to the low 20's. When it hits 20 or below for more than a day, they foliage is toast. If it stays dry in the winter, it can recover from the roots, in Spring, with temps as low as 8 degrees.(that was our low last winter)...

Donna-yours might even stay evergreen in your zone. How are you, girl?!
-T

Seedpicker
I am in zone 9 a or b. and we dont have much or hardly any freezing weather. If we do then its only freezing usually maybe a few hours at the most. I have some bleeding heart vine and boy is it aggresive. I had it growing around the mail box and it cover it in a matter of a few weeks once it got growing and then I decided I didnt want it there and dug it up but it just keep on coming back so finally decided to let it grow back again. Guess I would have to use roundup to kill the vine. I really wanted mandeville on the box and got the other plant by mistake so if any of you at daves want some of it let me know and you can have it for postage. I tried to root the sky vine but didnt root. Fran

Fran-
The battiscombei is a great size for a mailbox...I agree on the clero/bleeding heart. They can get huge.
-T

Wish I had that problem wqith bleeding hearts here int he desert. Just keeping one alive is difficult enough!!

Marie-are you are referring to dicentra species, or clerodendron? I have a hard time keeping the dicentra alive, and finally quit trying...

The clerodendron bleeding hearts on the other hand...monsters...and they sucker

Hmmm not sure. They are alway just marked bleeding hearts. I will have to check the next time I am permitted to go into a Lowe's or Hd alone.

ok this one??
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/52/index.html

or this one??
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/506/index.html
...comes in pink bracts, too
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/99175/index.html

Mine is the cler. Yes they do have two colors. I planted the one by the mailbox by mistake thought it was the madeville and they roots just come back over and over. I would think it would grow out there as well as here. I transplanted it to the back to the fence and didnt even water it and havnt and its growing like crazy. I prune it back to keep it small.
Got a lot of vines on my fence. I have maybe two hundred ft of fence in the back. Fran. I do like the looks of the first variety better. Fran