I used to live in Spain and they had some beautiful flowers, purple in
colour, overhanging balconies etc. I used to see a lot of them all over.
Does anyone know their name or if I can grow them in the UK South West.

Thanks Amanda

On Sat, 5 Apr 2003 23:45:12 +0100, "Amanda Wilcox"
wrotc:

I used to live in Spain and they had some beautiful flowers, purple in
colour, overhanging balconies etc. I used to see a lot of them all over.
Does anyone know their name or if I can grow them in the UK South West.

Thanks Amanda

Ummm. Bougainvillea?

If it is, it is not -

- to the best of ny knowledge frost hardy - but good for a
conservatory.

H.

Grow a little garden

in article , Amanda Wilcox at
wrote on 5/4/03 11:45 pm:

I used to live in Spain and they had some beautiful flowers, purple in
colour, overhanging balconies etc. I used to see a lot of them all over.
Does anyone know their name or if I can grow them in the UK South West.

Thanks Amanda


Bougainvillea, probably. Or maybe the Million Bells surfinias. If it's the
Bougainvillea, it will survive in extremely sheltered, coastal areas.
Otherwise it has to be in a pot and brought in for the winter. It's more
usually grown as a conservatory plant in this country.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

Amanda Wilcox wrote:

I used to live in Spain and they had some beautiful flowers, purple in
colour, overhanging balconies etc. I used to see a lot of them all over.
Does anyone know their name or if I can grow them in the UK South West.

Thanks Amanda

Was it a blue-purple perennial climber like morning glory? Then it's
Ipomoea learii, now called I. indica.
In the South West? I've never seen it there, but I certainly think it
should be tried. It did survive on my south wall for several years -
and I'm in Belgium, near Antwerp, much colder.
It's available here and in the UK in some specialised nurseries. If
you can't get it - it comes up very easily from cuttings, bring some
over from Spain next time.
Regards,
Roger.
--

Walk tall, walk straight, and look the world right into the eye.

You're welcome to visit my gardening page:
http://users.pandora.be/roger.van.loon/gardenp.htm

"Amanda Wilcox" wrote in message
...
: I used to live in Spain and they had some beautiful flowers, purple in
: colour, overhanging balconies etc. I used to see a lot of them all over.
: Does anyone know their name or if I can grow them in the UK South West.
:
: Thanks Amanda
:
:
Could be Morning Glory - one of the Ipomoeas (convolvulus).

K

in article , Roger Van Loon at
wrote on 6/4/03 10:20 am:

Amanda Wilcox wrote:

I used to live in Spain and they had some beautiful flowers, purple in
colour, overhanging balconies etc. I used to see a lot of them all over.
Does anyone know their name or if I can grow them in the UK South West.

Thanks Amanda

Was it a blue-purple perennial climber like morning glory? Then it's
Ipomoea learii, now called I. indica.
In the South West? snip
It's another thing we can put out in the summerin pots but must bring in for
the winter. Again, in Torquay, they (meaning Daivd Poole!) can grow it out
and leave it out but that's very close to the sea and in a walled garden.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

"Amanda Wilcox" wrote in message
...
I used to live in Spain and they had some beautiful flowers, purple in
colour, overhanging balconies etc. I used to see a lot of them all over.
Does anyone know their name or if I can grow them in the UK South West.

Thanks Amanda


Thanks to you all much appreciated. I shall now look them up.

Thanks Amanda

"Amanda Wilcox" wrote in message
...
I used to live in Spain and they had some beautiful flowers, purple in
colour, overhanging balconies etc. I used to see a lot of them all over.
Does anyone know their name or if I can grow them in the UK South West.

Thanks Amanda



Amanda,

They could be bougainvillea, I have them in my garden, very invasive, the
stems have horrible spikes, colours also orange and red,

Saludos Roberto.

Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
Amanda Wilcox wrote:
I used to live in Spain and they had some beautiful flowers, purple in
colour, overhanging balconies etc. I used to see a lot of them all over.
Does anyone know their name or if I can grow them in the UK South West.

Like a deep blue greater bindweed? If so, probably Ipomoea indica
(also called several other names). It will overwinter happily with
very little protection (mainly against the wet), and my guess is
that it would grow outside on a sunny, warm wall. You need to keep
only a pot or two over the winter, as it ramps away.
(snip)

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I think that's very good advice. I did cover it with a mulch and, for
several years, it came up again happily from the ground - until there
was a severe winter. If I can do that where I am, it's certainly
possible in the UK South West.
I'll be planting another one out this spring.
Regards,
Roger Van Loon.

"...Ipomoea indica..."
Thanks folks.now I have a name for the plant I brought back from Gran
canaria. grew about 15 ft last year but no flowers, kept in 2 Gall pot.
Any ideas?

--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

in article , Roger Van Loon at
wrote on 7/4/03 10:29 pm:

Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
Amanda Wilcox wrote:
I used to live in Spain and they had some beautiful flowers, purple in
colour, overhanging balconies etc. I used to see a lot of them all over.
Does anyone know their name or if I can grow them in the UK South West.

Like a deep blue greater bindweed? If so, probably Ipomoea indica
(also called several other names). It will overwinter happily with
very little protection (mainly against the wet), and my guess is
that it would grow outside on a sunny, warm wall. You need to keep
only a pot or two over the winter, as it ramps away.
(snip)

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I think that's very good advice. I did cover it with a mulch and, for
several years, it came up again happily from the ground - until there
was a severe winter. If I can do that where I am, it's certainly
possible in the UK South West.
I'll be planting another one out this spring.

It would be a mistake for anyone in the SW of England to assume that would
guarantee Ipomoea's safety, IMO. We live in the SW about 3 miles from
Dartmoor and can't keep it outside. But David Poole who lives in Torquay,
about 10 miles away, can. I kept it for one winter in a garden 3 miles from
him, lost it in another. I have even lost it in a 'hard' winter in Jersey.
One size does NOT fit all - even in the SW!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

in article , david at
wrote on 7/4/03 11:22 pm:

"...Ipomoea indica..."
Thanks folks.now I have a name for the plant I brought back from Gran
canaria. grew about 15 ft last year but no flowers, kept in 2 Gall pot.
Any ideas?

It needs a LOT of sun. We grow ours in those Ali Baba style pots, keep them
in one of the glasshouses until mid or late May and then bring them out. If
we have a sunny spring, they do wonderfully, if we don't they sulk and
flower reluctantly, if at all, much later in the summer.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

Sacha wrote:

in article , Roger Van Loon at
wrote on 7/4/03 10:29 pm:

Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
Amanda Wilcox wrote:
I used to live in Spain and they had some beautiful flowers, purple in
colour, overhanging balconies etc. I used to see a lot of them all over.
Does anyone know their name or if I can grow them in the UK South West.

Like a deep blue greater bindweed? If so, probably Ipomoea indica
(also called several other names). It will overwinter happily with
very little protection (mainly against the wet), and my guess is
that it would grow outside on a sunny, warm wall. You need to keep
only a pot or two over the winter, as it ramps away.
(snip)

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I think that's very good advice. I did cover it with a mulch and, for
several years, it came up again happily from the ground - until there
was a severe winter. If I can do that where I am, it's certainly
possible in the UK South West.
I'll be planting another one out this spring.

It would be a mistake for anyone in the SW of England to assume that would
guarantee Ipomoea's safety, IMO. We live in the SW about 3 miles from
Dartmoor and can't keep it outside. But David Poole who lives in Torquay,
about 10 miles away, can. I kept it for one winter in a garden 3 miles from
him, lost it in another. I have even lost it in a 'hard' winter in Jersey.
One size does NOT fit all - even in the SW!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

Well. With a plant that grows so fast and comes up so very easily from
cuttings, what's wrong with trying a few of them outside?
I agree that its safety may not be "guaranteed" - but if it does here
like it did in the past, that's OK with me. A sunny south wall, a dry
spot, and a thick mulch in autumn should give it a chance, even over
here (near Antwerp, we had -11°C last winter).
As Nick said, it may need some protection against winter wet.
And I'll take some cuttings in autumn, for sure.
Regards,
Roger.


--
Walk tall, walk straight, and look the world right into the eye.

You're welcome to visit my gardening page:
http://users.pandora.be/roger.van.loon/gardenp.htm

in article , Roger Van Loon at
wrote on 8/4/03 7:22 pm:

Sacha wrote:
snip

It would be a mistake for anyone in the SW of England to assume that would
guarantee Ipomoea's safety, IMO. We live in the SW about 3 miles from
Dartmoor and can't keep it outside. But David Poole who lives in Torquay,
about 10 miles away, can. I kept it for one winter in a garden 3 miles from
him, lost it in another. I have even lost it in a 'hard' winter in Jersey.
One size does NOT fit all - even in the SW!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

Well. With a plant that grows so fast and comes up so very easily from
cuttings, what's wrong with trying a few of them outside?
I agree that its safety may not be "guaranteed" - but if it does here
like it did in the past, that's OK with me. A sunny south wall, a dry
spot, and a thick mulch in autumn should give it a chance, even over
here (near Antwerp, we had -11°C last winter).
As Nick said, it may need some protection against winter wet.
And I'll take some cuttings in autumn, for sure.

By all means, if people want to take cuttings to ensure another year's
produce, well and good. But I don't think we'd got into those realms up
until now, or did I miss something? Tis is NOT the same as saying one can
safely grow such a plant outside just because it's in the SW.
Ipomoea will NOT be reliably hardy or even half-reliably hardy in all of the
SW of England. And it needs a lot of sun hours to produce its best display.
It isn't a question of 'may' need some protection against winter wet. It
most certainly WILL. This is a plant that grows best in sharply drained
conditions with a lot of daily sunshine. It seems clear to me that England
rarely offers those conditions and especially not over winter. That said,
if someone cares to make the experiment, taking cuttings as 'insurance',
well indeed, why not give it a try? But nobody should be encouraged to
believe that their original parent plant will survive a winter just because
it's in the SW of England. Location, location, location.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

In article ,
Sacha wrote:

By all means, if people want to take cuttings to ensure another year's
produce, well and good. But I don't think we'd got into those realms up
until now, or did I miss something? Tis is NOT the same as saying one can
safely grow such a plant outside just because it's in the SW.

Well, I may have been at fault. It certainly had naturalised at
Trelowarren in an derelict greenhouse in a walled garden, but that
must be about the most sheltered location in the UK outside Torquay!

I did assume that people in the extreme south west could mimic those
conditions if they actually try, though I would not regard Dartmoor
as comparable to Helston. And I was assuming that such protection
would involve some way of diverting the rain from the soil around
the roots in winter.

Ipomoea will NOT be reliably hardy or even half-reliably hardy in all of the
SW of England. And it needs a lot of sun hours to produce its best display.
It isn't a question of 'may' need some protection against winter wet. It
most certainly WILL. This is a plant that grows best in sharply drained
conditions with a lot of daily sunshine. It seems clear to me that England
rarely offers those conditions and especially not over winter. That said,
if someone cares to make the experiment, taking cuttings as 'insurance',
well indeed, why not give it a try? But nobody should be encouraged to
believe that their original parent plant will survive a winter just because
it's in the SW of England. Location, location, location.

Yes, that seems right. The derelict greenhouse gave it some reliably
dry soil to overwinter in, even though there were panes missing in
the roof. And, similarly, some extra warmth in the summer.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.