I have 2 seedlings and since they need to be overwintered in my area, I would like to put them in containers. Has anyone done this with sucess? If so, what size pot? Tamara
Vigna caracalla in container?
I grow mine in a container--if you're growing them from seed you'll need to go up slowly in size, you're supposed to jump up one container size at a time as the plant needs it rather than planting it in a giant pot right away. I have two now, one's a small one that's in a 4" pot and will be moved to a 6" as soon as I have time to work on repotting, and the other one is in an 8" pot right now.
Glad you told me! Yes, I am growing them from seed--I would have just put them in a huge container when it was safe to plant them out. This may sound dumb, but how do I know when it's time to move them to a bigger pot? They are just in peat pots right now. Tamara
There are a couple things you can do to tell--the most sure way is to gently pop the plant out of the container it's in and look at the roots--if you see the roots starting to go in circles around the outside of the rootball, then it's time to move to a larger pot. You can also tell somewhat by looking at how the plant looks proportional to the pot--if you have this huge bushy thing in a teensy pot then it's probably time to move it as well.
I've been seriously thinking of buying seeds of this plant. My major concern is that, for me anyways, spider mites are a problem with vines kept indoors in the winter...are these guys succeptible to them at all?
I don't know if there are too many plants that aren't susceptible to spider mites if the conditions are right. The key is to keep the humidity up around the plant, that makes it less favorable for the mites. At my old house I had a greenhouse window in the kitchen where I kept all my indoor plants, and I bought a little decorative fountain which I put in the window too and I never had a single problem with spider mites.
But while I don't think it's immune to spider mites, I also don't think it's above average on susceptibility--I had a major spider mite infestation in my outdoor container plants last summer, and my Vigna didn't get them even though it was sitting fairly close to "ground zero" of the infestation, so I think there are probably other plants that they find tastier.
I grew mine in two pretty large pots ( I think they might be gallon or larger ) and they did well. I got several pods from one of them and took cuttings in the fall to overwinter in my greenhouse. Trimmed the old vines that grew up on my window bars. The remaining plant went dormant and is now putting out shoots. I just make sure they are watered regularly cus in pots there isnt enough moisture sustained.
