As you can tell I'm really into vines this year! I started this bulb in a pot since I was told you should bring them in during the winter. It will have bright red and yellow blooms. I can't wait it already has 3 buds!! It has grown very fast. I know other people here have them. I think Zuzu has one. Please let me know if you have any tips for me about this plant! Close up of the 3 buds
Aww, how sweet is that?? It's gonna give you some BEE-U-T-FULL flowers!! :-D Julie, this is a vine that will want some dormancy, after it finishes blooming, the foliage will stay green for a time, but then it will begin to yellow and the vine will eventually die back to the ground. Don't be alarmed by that, it's natural for them. I usually dig mine out of the pot for the winter and just let them rest in a box of vermiculite in my cool cellar so that they won't rot in the pot. You've seen what the tubers look like, you can store them very much like potatoes.
Thank you Glendann! I can see from the road when I pass you have flowers of all colors everywhere! Zuzu thank you so much for the information! I cannot wait for this to bloom! Will it die back after it blooms or will it repeat bloom then die back?
That stem may set more flowers as it grows, but it doesn't actually "repeat" bloom, once a stem has opened all of it's flowers, it will eventually die back. But it could send up another stem from the base, too. The plants usually stay green for a couple of months after the last flowers, just continue to care for them, that is the time during which the tubers grow. When you dig up the pot, you will find that there are more tubers than you originally planted. Some of them may be quite small, but just keep all of them, to replant next spring. I almost sift the soil, some of the tubers are not much larger than a pea, but I just treat them all the same. Then in the spring, I plant mine in successive plantings, my first pot was planted a couple of weeks ago, I'll plant another pot in a few weeks, and another one a month or so after that. That way, I'll have Gloriosa flowers, on and off, almost all summer long.
Thank you Zuzu!! You have been a great help!! I'll post pics when mine bloom and I look forward to seeing your's bloom too!
Good advice ZuZu, I think I will dig mine this year, I have always left them in the pot, started out with one, now have five, I hope they double next year. I just love this flower, it it beautimus.
Oh I do hope mine multiplies for me too!! I paid $4.95 for just one bulb so it would be great to get more for free!
