Blue Glory Vine, Bush Clock Vine, Blue Clock Vine

Description

The Blue Glory Vine produces 2-1/2" wide purple trumpets with yellow throats that are produced freely from spring to fall. A mounding and upright to spreading perennial to small (3-4'H) rambling climber, it is one of our favorite root hardy perennials for adding purple to a semi-shady area of the garden or in containers and it has excellent flower power. The Blue Glory Vine is happy in light shade to partial sun conditions but seems to prefer midday to afternoon shade in hot summer climates.In zones 8B & 9 (see below on proper establishment as a perennial) the Blue Glory Vine is a reliable herbaceous or die-back perennial freezing back to below the mulch each winter and returning readily each spring. It remains evergreen under frost free conditions. This vine-like perennial can easily be trained to a 3-6' high trellis if desired or just give it a little room in the garden where it can spread out to about 4-6' wide and it will mound to about 24-30" high. And the deer and the rabbits have yet to bother it to our knowledge and we have plenty of both. Considered to be somewhat drought resistant once well-established but flowers best with regular moisture.

The Blue Sky Vine, Variegated Blue Sky Vine, White Sky Vine,and the Blue Glory Vine are tropical Thunbergia plants that we are often able to grow and enjoy as long-lived die-back perennials in areas where winter brings freezing temperatures, like in USDA Cold Hardiness zones 8-9. *Note: To help give them the best chance of returningin the groundthey should be planted out as early in the growing season as reasonably possible, but after all danger of freeze and frost have passed, in order for them to be able to establish a strong root system and a well-established crown from which they can return the following spring. A breathable insulative protective mulch, like pine straw, will also help to improve their chances of returning.As container plants these tropical vinesare susceptible to the soil freezing and could be killed by it anywhere temperatures remain below 32oF for any real length of time and so may need to be brought indoors or grown in a greenhouseduring cold spells.Alternatively, overwinter young plants in containers then plant them out the following spring, again,once all danger of freeze and frost has passed and once soil temperatures have begun to significantly warm. These perennialThunbergias can be a little slow to return (mid-spring here in zone 8B, early to mid-spring in zone 9)as theypreferfairly warm soil temperaturesto begin growth.

Thunbergia battiescombeii is a.k.a. Bush Clock Vine, Blue Clock Vine, as well as Battiescomb's Thunbergia.