Last summer I discovered a twining, tender climber called Lophospermum, or lofos. I bought two varieties, ‘Burgundy Falls’ and ‘Summer Cream’ (both pictured left), as plug plants from a mail-order seed company.
I grew my lofos under cover, in 7.5-10cm pots, until late May, then placed them on my patio in a large terracotta pot, using a peat-free, multi-purpose compost.
To support the climbing stems I used silver birch stems saved from winter pruning, pushing them down into the pot to create a wigwam. New shoots caught onto the supports, twining their way to the top, and as summer progressed a succession of trumpet-shaped flowers opened on each. Although they weren’t as floriferous as some bedding plants they certainly were different.
Of course, what goes up also hangs down! Lofos is equally at home in hanging baskets where it can simply be left to trail. Some stems may catch onto the chains to spiral upwards but most will just hang over the sides of the basket, perhaps reaching a length of 2-3m during the summer.
I still love patio favourites like petunia, verbena, pelargonium and fuchsia, but am always on the lookout for something new. New Guinea impatiens have become a favourite for shade, and I always choose a selection of foliage varieties of coleus, ipomoea and others. Last summer, in addition to lofos I tried Ptilotus ‘Joey’ last year, a new drought tolerant variety from Australia producing short well-branched plants carrying fluffy pink plumes at the end of each shoot. It was fun, and certainly different.
So what new plants shall I try for summer 2010? Well, I think I’ll experiment with lantana. Several new varieties of this conservatory favourite are available, and as I’ve never grown it before I’ll be interested to see how it performs in the months ahead.
As always, the problem is predicting what weather our summer will bring. Dry, wet, warm, scorching, dull – who knows? So by growing a range of patio plants that relish different conditions I’m hoping at least some of them will thrive.
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I would also recommend Adlumia Fungosa as a patio climber. Very pretty and not invasive. Also, on the endangered species list for many US states.
I also grew lofos from a seed catalogue up a pergola. It took a little while to get going and when it did, looked lovely. I have left it in the ground and am waiting to see what will come of them in the spring. As you mentioned that they are tender, I doubt they will have survived. Back to the catalogue.
I’m struggling to find the answer to the RHS question. Can anyone suggest 10 plants that are noted for NEEDING shelter. Ideally not ornamental.
Thanks SMB
can you tell me where i can buy the lofos as plug plants?
many thanks
Reply to Lily: I think both Suttons Seeds and Dobies sell plug plants by mail order. A Google search will find their web sites, and possibly other suppliers, too.
i am trying to find out whereto buy the spraycraversthat keeps pidgeons rabbits ect from eating my cabbage plants recomended in the sun paper.
thanks al.
thankyou Adam, i have found the lofos plants and am considering whether or not to buy them. £15.95 for ten plug plants, do you think this is a reasonable price? were you happy enough with your plants and are they value for money or should i shop around? £15.95 is quite a lot of money for me to part with and i do not want to waste it on something that may be doomed to failure in the area that i live (west yorkshire).
Lily – 10 plants would be perfect for 2 large tubs, each with a wigwam of canes or some sort of mini obelisk in the top. If you choose a twin pack you could have 5 plants each of ‘Burgundy Falls’ and ‘Summer Cream’. I mixed these two colours together, but you could keep them separate if you prefer. In West Yorkshire and cooler districts I’d recommend potting plugs on delivery into 3in (7.5cm) pots, and waiting for these to root strongly before planting into a larger patio pot. You’ll need to keep them in a greenhouse or conservatory. Once planted into the larger pot I’d keep these under cover for at least a fortnight for plants to establish before moving outside to a warm, sunny and sheltered position (probably by mid June). Hope this helps.
many thanks Adam,
i will be ordering the lofos tomorrow and taking your excellent advice on potting on and and WAITING(a bit of sour point with me because i am very impatient) until june to plant out.
Lily-mae,
ps. Do you think i might be able to plant them out just a little bit earlier than June??
Lily-mae, It all depends on weather conditions in Late May/early June. There are two aspects to consider.
Firstly you always want to avoid moving tender plants outside from their lovely warm growing conditions to cold outdoor conditions that could cause a shock. Of course we always need to harden things off, gradually acclimatising plants to cooler outdoor temperatures, but cold conditions can really stop growth in its tracks. There’s nothing to gain putting plants out a week or two early, but lots to lose!
Secondly, growing conditions in a greenhouse will be so much better, that an extra fortnight under cover helps plants put on so much more growth than they would achieve outside (both above and below compost). I’m a great advocate of keeping plants under cover a little longer to help them grow to a bigger size before going outside. At this time of year you can almost watch the plants grow each day.
I hope this helps.
I have a deck at the back of the house which gets the afternoon sun, bit of a hotspot though can get the wind whipping round the house as in and open aspect area (scottish border), what potted climber would do well and would it be ok in non heated greenhouse in winter?
hi i am new to gardening and am looking to cover a ugly wall in the garden and need something that can grow up and around it. I would really like something with colour that last all year round. any ideas……
i live in a rural village and the wind is really quite bad at times and the soil quite peaty so would love some ideas on hardy plants. I love colour and planted sweet pea last year thinking it would come back this year…oops….any advice greatly appriciated
thanks
Have been trying to find Rhodochiton PLANTS, not seeds, and wondered if you have any sources -seeing that you are a vine-lover.
I live in Wisconsin. Is there any wy to keep Lophospermum alive over the winter?
Adlumia Fungosa and Lofos are both great choices as far as patio climbers. Make sure that they are taken care of properly or they can cause permanent damage to your structure. Patio Covers generally require very little work to be maintained but being proactive is worth mentioning to prevent any unnecessary future costs.
Patio Covers Houston
If you really in to it you should try the “Japanese barberry” it is a type of shrub but the color and the leaves are very exotic pavers phoenix