On 30/10/2014 23:02, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Spider wrote:

I have read that it's a lot easier to germinate than it is to grow on.
I have a friend who seems to find it all too easy and she grows it every
year. I must try it one year soon and see if I can master the trick to
growing it.

It's quite easy if you have somewhere to start it indoors, though
establishing it depends (surprise, surprise) on the weather.

I think that is very true. AFAIR when I planted them out at around 10 -
15 cm high the weather was a bit on the cool side, and must have given
them quite a check (they had germinated very well in an unheated
greenhouse).

I soak the seeds for (say) 8 hours and germinate them on damp
kitchen roll under cling film. I then plant them in pots and
keep them in the conservatory (or a sunny window ledge) until
they start to climb. They they go out.

Maybe I will wait a bit longer until they are higher - perhaps 30 - 40
cm. But I'll have to germinate them in bigger pots to do that, as they
already have a decent root system at 15 cm.

For such a supposedly easy plant to grow, you don't see them that much
in other gardens. Maybe they aren't quite so reliable in a cool spring,
and that puts people off.

--

Jeff