Thunbergia: growing from seeds, care and planting in the open field, 7 best varieties

Effective tunbergia is able to decorate the adjacent territory, wrapping around fences, lattices, arbors, walls of houses. This feature allows you to successfully use the plant in the construction of various landscape compositions. The culture is universal in use, as it can grow in the garden and at room conditions. Thunbergia, grown from seeds, delights passers-by with its bright flowering and will not leave any grower indifferent.

Botanical features of the plant

Thunbergia is a herbaceous plant belonging to the Acanthus family. There are annual and perennial species that are most often grown in open soil.The plant is named after the Swedish naturalist and explorer Carl Peter Thunberg, who studied the flora and fauna of South Japan and Africa with particular interest. Residents of European countries extol another name for tunbergia - Black Susanna, because in the center of the flower there is an eye of a dark purple hue.

In one year, the culture can grow in length by 2-8 m. The plant is distinguished by a strong root system and branched ground shoots. The leaves are oval in shape, green in color and have small relief veins, short petioles, oppositely located on a weaving stem.

The sheet plate can have both a smooth and jagged edge, as well as a small amount of trichomes on the back of the leaf. The diameter of the flower calyx is 4 cm, and the bud itself consists of 5 wide petals, singly located on the peduncles. The color of flowers can be very diverse, ranging from white to red.

After flowering, a fruit is formed - a box in which there are seeds 4 mm in diameter, oblong in shape with a rough brown skin.

Growth area

Thunbergia grows in the Asian and African tropics, occupying a vast territory due to its size. Despite the fact that these latitudes do not differ in temperate continental climate, the plant takes root in the garden without any problems.

Thunbergia in landscape design

Tunbergia looks great in a single planting without the use of other plants. Next to it, you can grow several shrubs that complement each other with color shades. It goes well with fuchsia, asparagus. Thunbergia is used to compose compositions with plants such as ivy, sweet pea, honeysuckle.

Culture is also capable of masking unsightly parts of walls and decorating balconies. But thickets of a tropical perennial plant are used to create hedges, and arbors and plots are decorated with flowerpots, planters.

The best types and varieties of tunbergia

Cultured vines are represented by the following most common species and varieties.

Winged (Thunbergia alata)

Bright climbing plant, its maximum height can reach more than 2 meters. On long stalks bloom small flowers with a diameter of 3-4 cm cream shade with a dark brown outline. The leaves are ovoid in shape, with small serrations along the edges. The species does not tolerate the sun well and in most cases prefers partial shade.

Fragrant

Curly bushes of tunbergia, which grow up to 6 m in open ground conditions, and up to 2 m in indoor conditions. Stems are ribbed with trichomes, leaves are large, heart-shaped, oppositely arranged. Flowers solitary, located in leaf axils.

Large-flowered grandiflora or blue

Culture is distinguished by the presence of large peduncles, powerful and strong branching. The main feature is that the plant is evergreen and has palmate leaves in small quantities. Thunbergia flowers are collected in racemose inflorescences and can have a wide variety of shades.

Battiscombe

Bittiscombe's thunbergia looks like a tall climbing vine that needs reliable support. The leaves are elliptical in shape, bright green in color, in the axils of which there are large flowers of a blue-violet hue. The shape of the flower resembles an elongated tube of small and large pharynx, the inner part of which has a yellow color.

Mysore or Mizoren

Evergreen liana up to 6 m high. The stiff stem of tunbergia is partially covered with long leaves. Inflorescence clusters hanging down, flowers of an unusual shape, similar to the open mouth of a snake that is preparing to attack.

Bicolor

The variety differs in that it is upright and small. The maximum shrub grows up to 1.5 m in height, is characterized by sprawling and thin faceted branches. Large flowers of tunbergia up to 7 cm in length, have the shape of a tube of delicate blue color inside with white stripes along the contour and yellow color outside.

Black-eyed Susanna

Gardeners cultivate tunbergia as a climbing liana or upright shrub. It features a wide variety of colors, but a characteristic feature is a dark core.

Optimal conditions for growth and flowering

For normal germination of tunbergia, bright lighting is necessary. But in the period from 12 to 3 in the afternoon, it is better to provide shade so as not to expose the plant to the scorching rays of the sun. The optimal temperature ranges from 21 to 25 degrees.

How to grow a crop from seeds

To properly grow tunbergia from seeds, you need to carefully study the technology of sowing and caring for sprouts.

Terms and technology of sowing

Before planting, seed must be treated with growth stimulants.

Sowing is recommended at the end of winter or in the first month of spring.

Sowing sequence algorithm:

1. Fill the containers with a moistened soil mixture enriched with peat, soddy soil and sand. Instead of sand, you can use leafy soil or humus. Mix all three components in equal amounts.
2. Put the seeds on the surface and sprinkle with a small layer of prepared soil.
3. Gently water the planting material.
4. Cover the containers with a special film and place them in a bright place, avoiding direct sunlight.

In the future, it is important to create favorable conditions for the germination of tunbergia sprouts and carry out appropriate care.

Sprouting and caring for sprouts

Seedlings should be in a room whose temperature varies from 22 to 24 degrees. Also make sure that the soil in the container does not dry out and systematically moisten it. Remove the cover as soon as the first shoots appear. With good care and acceptable conditions, they will appear within a week after landing.

When 2 true leaves are formed, the seedlings need to be thinned out, removing all weak sprouts unsuitable for later life. You can pinch to make the bushes more dense, but do this only when the seedlings reach 12-15 cm. Every week, be sure to fertilize the tunbergia with substances containing nitrogen.

Transplanting in open ground

Plant seedlings of tunbergia in a flower bed after frost has passed. It is better to take the plant to the eastern or southern part of the garden. The soil is welcome drained, with a neutral environment, enriched with nutrients.

When planting, keep a distance between the holes of at least 30-45 cm. Be sure to install a support in the form of a lattice or wire. Water well after planting.

The flowering of tunbergia is not long in coming, but will please you 100 days after pinching.

Flower care

Thunbergia is quite unpretentious in care and grows successfully after a successful planting. But it is still important to provide the crop with proper further care, which includes quality watering, fertilization, weeding and protection from diseases and pests.

Irrigation

The plant loves moisture, especially during the flowering period, you need to regularly check the soil and eliminate signs of drying out. With insufficient moisture, tunbergia can be affected by spider mites. Therefore, in case of drought, the plant should be sprayed from a spray bottle.At the end of flowering, it is recommended to reduce watering.

Fertilizer

Tunbergia needs feeding during the period of bud formation. For these purposes, it is better to use minerals by adding them to the water intended for irrigation.

Caring for beds: weeding

The soil near the tunbergia should be weeded as necessary and weeds should be removed, which take a significant percentage of moisture, shade and inhibit the growth and development of flowers. Weeding will also provide oxygen to the roots of the plant.

Diseases and pests: control and prevention

The appearance of mold is a clear sign of waterlogging. Insects such as spider mites, scale insects, and whiteflies are dangerous for tunbergia. They can be found on the back of the sheet. Only special chemicals will help in the fight against insidious pests.

What to do after flowering

When the thunbergia blooms, it is necessary to collect the seeds and prepare the plant for the winter period.

Collecting seeds

At the end of the flowering of the tunbergia, in place of the buds, boxes containing seeds will begin to form. It is desirable to collect them until they open. It is advisable to open the plucked boxes with your hands above the covered surface, after which the resulting seeds are dried and sent to cardboard boxes.

Under such conditions, they can be stored no more than 2 years.

Preparing for winter season

In the fall, dispose of the plant, because it will not be able to survive the frost. It is best to transplant it into a pot and keep it at home. But before that, cut off the shoots, leaving about 5 buds.

Thunbergia is one of the best plants for decorating a garden plot, a balcony, a loggia, a separate corner in a room. The main advantages of the culture, thanks to which it is so popular, are its rapid growth and the beauty of flowering.

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