Cobaea scandens
Cup and saucer vine
Common names: Cathedral bells, Cup-and-saucer plant, Glockenrebe
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 2 °C
- Flowering
- Jul–Oct
- Spacing
- 50 cm, rows 50 cm
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Kurt Stüber [1] · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Cobaea scandens, known in German as Glockenrebe, originates from Mexico and grows here as a fast-growing annual climbing plant. In a single season it reaches 3 to 5 m and holds on with leaf tendrils that end in small hooks. The large, bell-shaped flowers sit on long stalks within a green calyx. They open cream-green and turn violet within a few days, so several shades hang on one plant at the same time. The flowering period begins in July and lasts until the first frost in October. It is planted on pergolas, fences, trellises and façades with climbing supports when quick screening is needed. In a large container on a balcony or terrace it stays somewhat smaller.
Care instructions
Plant the Glockenrebe after the Eisheiligen, in mid-May, in a sunny, warm and wind-sheltered spot. Provide a climbing aid early: the tendrils only grip thin supports, so suitable options are a trellis with fine bars, tensioned wires or a net. It finds no hold on smooth walls. Loosely tie the first shoots until they grip on their own. Water regularly and thoroughly, daily on hot days in containers, and avoid waterlogging. If fertilized regularly from June, it flowers abundantly, while too much nitrogen mainly promotes leaf growth. Pruning is not necessary, and disruptive shoots may be shortened at any time. Common mistakes are planting young plants out too early, supports too thick for the tendrils to grip, and too little water in containers.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingFeb–Apr
FloweringJul–Oct
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 15 °C, ideally 22 °C
- Days to sprout
- 10 to 21 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 1 cm
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, well-drained, nutrient-rich
Cup-and-saucer vine grows in loose, humus-rich and nutrient-rich soil that drains water well. The pH can be neutral; slightly acidic to slightly lime-rich is no problem. Because it grows several metres in one summer, it needs plenty of root space: in the bed, loosen the soil deeply and work in ripe compost; in a container, use good-quality potting compost in a large pot. A drainage layer at the bottom of the pot prevents waterlogging.
Feeding
Heavy feeder
Months
Jun–Aug
Cup-and-saucer vine grows fast and is very hungry. When planting, mix ripe compost into the soil. From June to August, add a liquid fertiliser for flowering plants to the water every one to two weeks; in the bed, diluted nettle feed is a substitute. Too much nitrogen, however, brings lots of foliage and few flowers, so stop feeding from September.
Overwintering
Cup-and-saucer vine dies off at the first frosts, so in Central Europe you grow it as an annual. In autumn, take down the support and compost the remains. If you want to try, cut the plant back hard before the first frost and keep it in a bright, cool place at 5 to 10 °C, with very little water. This is rarely worthwhile, because a fresh sowing grows quickly and flowers reliably. Seed from ripe capsules can be kept cool and dry until the next spring. You should not rely on self-seeding in the bed.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
You raise cup-and-saucer vine from seed. From late February to April, insert the large, flat seeds on edge into pots of seed compost and cover them only lightly, so that no water collects on the seed and it does not rot. At about 20 °C and even moisture they germinate after two to four weeks, which takes patience. Pot the seedlings on into larger pots and give them a cane or netting early on to climb. Plant out after the Ice Saints in mid-May. In warm years the capsules ripen by autumn, and you can then collect new seed.
For your garden
Grow Cup and saucer vine yourself
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