Thunbergia help

Hello
Can I have some advice please
I Have just bought 3 THUNBERGIA they look like climbing plants
They have orange flowers with a black spot in the middle
I know nothing about these plants
When do they normally flower ?
They are still in they pots plant now or in spring ?
How big will they grow ?
Any pruning needed or just leave them alone ?
Can i plant them in a container ?
Thank you paul

 

Hello Paul

Thunbergia, aka Black Eyed Susan, are a half-hardy annuals used as a bedding plant or in tubs and containers. They flower in the summertime. As you say you have just bought them, I assume they were on a clearance sale.

Although you don't say where you are, I doubt you will be able to overwinter them even in a greenhouse. I managed to keep one for two years here outside but I think that was more luck than anything.

Enjoy them whilst they are blooming.

 

Hi Paul,
As Victoria says, Black Eyed Susan, Thunbergia alata is grown in this country as an annual. But it is actually a perennial plant that just can't survive our winters!
If you really want to keep it...I think that you ought to tip it out of it's pot, if it looks very full of roots, maybe pot it up into a slightly larger one using either a John Innes type compost or multi purpose one. Keep it somewhere inside on a windowsill and enjoy it whilst it's flowering. If it all dies back, chop off the top growth and don't over water it.
Next year, once the frosts are over, plant it where it can climb or spill over to approx 6 foot or so! (Or just keep some seeds!!)

 

I agree with what the others have said. Maybe try it indoors and see if it continues to bloom through winter. You have nothing to lose, especially as you will lose it if you leave it outside.

If it helps, I've grown Morning Glory (Ipomaea, a similar rampant climbing 'annual') indoors. It can be done.

 

Aaron, we can't get rid of Ipomaea here ... it is so rampant it strangles the orange trees ... seriously ... But it is beautiful and we have one (courtesy of Sis) climbing up the lampost kindly placed by the electricity company on our property in an efort to disguise it ...:yez:

 

thank you all
thats bad i bought these thinking they would grow year after year
like honeysuckle !!!!!!!!!!
i like to buy plant which come back year after year ?
thnak you all paul

 

I saw them when we were in Gibraltar Vicks - the flowers were HUGE compared to the little ones we have here