Tropaeolum majus growing herbaceous creeping vine of the genus Tropaeolum also known as Monks cress or Garden nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus annual plant, grown for the edible flowers and leaves but mostly used as ornamental plant for the flowers and also as ground cover plant, possible to grow in pond hedge, grow in mediterranean, desert, subtropical, temperate climate and growing in hardiness zone 10b-11 as autumn planting and 4-10a as spring planting.
Tropaeolum majus edible leaves & flower
Leaves edible the color green and can be variegate green with white in round shape like plate, leaves taste remind watercress, radish or mustard plant (same for the flowers)
Flower edible color can be: yellow, red, orange, purple, pink and can be more than one color in a flower.
Tropaeolum majus for sale – Seeds or Plants to Buy
How to grow Tropaeolum majus growing and care:
Trellising, moist soil, in aquatic environment will need to grow in the hedge, no deeper than 10cm (4inches), rich soil
Treat it as perennial the plant reseeds itself:
The plant easy to grow from seeds and usually will reseed itself in hardiness zone 9-11, in hardiness zone 9-10a need to put a lot of mulch in order to keep the seeds viable.
What is the best way to start growing?
Plant / Seedling / Seed (explanation bellow) / Vegetative Reproduction – cutting can be in two methods water or soil, in order to grow roots in water need to switch the water, in soil need to use soil that will keep moist and keep always moist, when grow the plants and want to make it stronger or just to create more plants from the same color, bending a branch over and covering it with soil and keep it moist
Is it necessary vegetative reproduction?
No, but in order to ensure the color of the flower it’s recommend to start by cutting
Difficulties or problems when growing:
Aggressive, invasive
Planting season:
Spring in hardiness zone 4-8, spring to summer in hardiness zone 9-10a, in hardiness zone 10b-11 in autumn to winter, if there are rains and the summer temperature it’s not high possible to plant it in hardiness zone 10b-11 all year, in place with hot summer like in desert need to know that it’s a problem to sow it in the season by hardiness zone because the plant will die in the summer, and maybe should consider to start to grow that plant as indoor
Pests and diseases:
Prodenia, slugs, mealy bugs
Pruning season:
All season
How to prune:
No need except for design
Size of the plant:
1-3 m, 3-10 feet, height of the plant usually smaller 20-40 cm, because it’s grow as groundcover and if the soil is moist and the plant touch the ground, the plant grow as long as given until end of the growing season
Growth speed in optimal condition:
Fast growing / Medium growing
Water requirement:
Small amount of water (can grow but better with bigger amount of water/ Average amount of water / Big amount of water
Light conditions in optimal condition for growing:
Full Sun / Half shade will bloom less, but in desert and in hardiness zone 10b-11 better to use half shade
Is it possible to grow indoor as houseplant?
No
Growing is also possible in a pot / planter /flowerpot / containers:
Yes, start with container size minimum 10L (2.6 gallons) need to check the roots once a month, because the plant grow very fast and will fill the pot with the roots, better to use potting mix or peat soil with perlite, mix it with humus and organic matter, use chopped mulch to keep the soil moist, let the bottom of the pot fill in water but dry once in a while.
Blooming information
Bloom season:
Spring to summer, in hot climate autumn to spring
General information about the flower:
Flower color can be: yellow, red, orange, purple, pink can be more than one color in a flower
Pollination is done by:
Bees, butterfly
Uses of Tropaeolum majus flowers:
Salad, eaten raw, stir fry, cooked
Edible leaves
Leaves harvesting season
Spring to summer, in hot climate autumn to spring
How to harvest the leaves?
Trim just the leaves when the plant young when the plant establish can be with cut with the stems
Information about leaves:
Leaves edible the color green with round shape like plate.
Uses of Tropaeolum majus leaves:
Salad, eaten raw, stir fry, cooked
How to grow Tropaeolum majus from seeds
Sowing requirement:
Moist soil, prefer rich soil, high humidity
Saving seeds and care until sowing:
Dry and dark location
Sowing season:
Spring in hardiness zone 4-10a, in hardiness zone 10b-11 in autumn to winter, if there are rains and the summer temperature it’s not high possible to sow it in hardiness zone 10b-11 all year better not in the summer, in desert in hardiness zone of 10b-11 in autumn
How to plant:
Dig hole cover lightly and cover it with mulch
Planting spacing:
30-40cm, (12*16 inches) when growing as ground cover, as climbing vine 15*20cm (6*8 inches)
Depth of Sowing:
On the soil possible and cover with mulch or sow 1cm (0.5inch)
Conditions for seeds germinate:
Moist soil with high humidity prefer at least 4 hours of sun more hours will be better, but in desert half shade
Watering requires for Seeds:
Small amount of water / Average amount of water / Big amount of water
Germination time:
2-3 weeks
Cultivars
Black velvet – deep maroon flower, velvety aspect, almost black. Flowering season is from the spring to autumn.
Cherry rose jewel – flowers color is hot pink. Can grow up to 30 to 45cm (12 to 18inches). Blooming season is from summer to autumn.
Empress of India – shiny single crimson red-vermillion flowers and dark, blue-purplish foliage. Can grow up to 30cm (12inches). Flowering season is from the spring to autumn.
Jewel of Africa – Produces double and semi-double flowers. Can grow up to 15 to 30cm (6 to 12 inches). Blooming season is from summer to autumn. Color flower is mixed with shades of yellow, red and orange. Foliage color is creamy to green, climbing and variegated.
Moonlight – Can grow up to 1.8 to 2.4m (70 to 95 inches), flowers color is light creamy yellow with a bright green foliage.
Peach Melba– has semi-double yellow to coral flowers with a red-orange throat, it is a dwarf plant and grows well in containers, can grow up to 30cm (12 inches).
Purple emperor – Blooming season is from summer to autumn, flowers color is red cherry becoming more pastel lavender-purple with the age, flowers have yellow throat.
Red emperor (also known as Tropaeolum majus lobbianum) flowers color is bright red.
Salmon baby – compact with deep coral to salmon pink flowers, can grow up to 30cm (12 inches), bloom time season is from mid-summer to mid-autumn, leaves are small.
Tom Thumb series (also known as Tom Thumb mix) Mix colors composed of red, dark red, burgundy, orange, yellow, pink flowers. Foliage color is light green. Can grow up to 20 to 28cm (8 to 11 inches).
Vesuvius – shiny deep orange flowers with blue-green leaves on compact plants, can grow up to 30cm (12 inches) and the same as wide, both the leaves and flowers are edible, flowering season is from summer to autumn.
Whirlybird series – compact, mid-green plants (9-12”) with semi-double flowers in shades of orange, yellow, salmon, deep mahogany and rose, the ruffled flowers lack the typical flower spur, so they sit flat on the tops of the stems.
Lobbianum – Blooming season is from summer to autumn, flowers color can be, red, purple, white, yellow, cream or pink, flower has a yellow throat
Scientific name:
Tropaeolum majus
Alternative names:
Night and day nasturtium