Nasturtium
August 7th 2006 01:13
Cool Plants: Nasturtium
Nasturtiums are wonderful plants. They thrive in almost any location in Australia, and one is treated to an explosion of delight and colour in their phosphorescent brilliance! They also make a prefect plant if you are choosing to garden with kids as the flowers and leaves are both edible if they young ones are tempted to eat their creations!
The botanical name for Nastutium is Tropaeolum majus, and they originated in Peru. It is a fast-growing annual, and the flowers come in an assortment of orange, red, and yellow. They grow almost anywhere in Australia, except for cold mmountainous areas.
They are also flexible to use, as they can come in trailing, or bushy types, and hence can be used in various ways in garden design. You can use them as ground cover, as creepers along fences, in hanging baskets, in a massed display, and even in a salad (after all, the Tropaeolum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Dot Moth and Garden Carpet).
The only disadvantage is that they tend to self-seed all the time, and may pop up in places where they are not wanted. So keep an eye on them.
To grow them, keep the following conditions in mind:
1. They like a sunny, well-drained area. They can tolerate a wide range of soil types.
2. Over-fertilisation will produce more foliage, and less flowering.
3. If you pick the flowers regularly, the flowering period will last for longer.
4. Sow seeds directly into the garde. For warm areas this is best in spring to early autumn, and cold areas sow in spring.
That about does it with the Nasturtiums. Once again, I must thank Don Bourke for the wonderful advice.
The botanical name for Nastutium is Tropaeolum majus, and they originated in Peru. It is a fast-growing annual, and the flowers come in an assortment of orange, red, and yellow. They grow almost anywhere in Australia, except for cold mmountainous areas.
The only disadvantage is that they tend to self-seed all the time, and may pop up in places where they are not wanted. So keep an eye on them.
To grow them, keep the following conditions in mind:
1. They like a sunny, well-drained area. They can tolerate a wide range of soil types.
2. Over-fertilisation will produce more foliage, and less flowering.
3. If you pick the flowers regularly, the flowering period will last for longer.
4. Sow seeds directly into the garde. For warm areas this is best in spring to early autumn, and cold areas sow in spring.
That about does it with the Nasturtiums. Once again, I must thank Don Bourke for the wonderful advice.
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