Garden and Home South Africa - October 2015

growing thunbergia
Easy-to-grow
ALL-ROUNDERS
Leoné Williams of rare plant nursery, Petal
Faire in Pretoria, never tires of recommending
summer-flowering thunbergia. Here’s a
selection of her favourite varieties
1
Does the name thunbergia ring
any bells? If not, what about
the indigenous climber known
as black-eyed Susan that
scrambles over everything? “Yes,” says
Leoné Williams, “that’s the thunbergia
that most gardeners know, but there’s so
much more to this range of plants.”
Leoné has a superb collection of
summer-flowering thunbergia climbers,
shrubs and groundcovers. Her interest
was piqued by the introduction of
‘Blushing Susie’, a dark salmon-pink
version of Thunbergia alata (black-eyed
Susan) and she set out to discover new
colours, including ‘Rambling Rose’, a
Petal Faire hybrid.
“I never hesitate to recommend
thunbergia because they’re so easy to
grow, aren’t fussy about soil, untroubled
by diseases and pests and they’re not water
guzzlers,” she says.
Many thunbergias originated in the
tropical regions of Southern and Central
Africa and Asia, but will grow in most
gardens. Some are evergreen, and those
that are frost tender, lose their leaves or die
down in winter.
PERENNIAL
1. THUNBERGIA BATTISCOMBEI
‘BLUE GLORY VINE’
Similar to a morning glory, this
thunbergia’s royal-blue flowers with
glowing yellow throats are irresistible.
And it’s not a purchase to regret as its
most desirable habit is its ability to flower
profusely in gardens with partial shade.
Every stem produces flowers, even when
the plant is small. This spreading, shrubby
perennial flowers throughout summer
provided it gets some sun.
Good to know: Give it room to spread
(about 1m) and use it as a mounding
groundcover, especially in front of, or
around taller, upright plants like cordylines,
sansevieria and upright grasses.
Growing tips: Plant it in sun to semishade,
in all kinds of soil and water
regularly. It’s frost tender but will
overwinter in sheltered gardens.
TEXT ALICE SPENSER-HIGGS PHOTOGRAPHS LEONÉ WILLIAMS
128 OCTOBER 2015 | gardenandhome.co.za