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Plant Selector Guide
Cobaea scandens (Cup-and-Saucer Vine, Monastery Bells, Mexican Ivy)

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Plant Type: Annual
Uses: Climbing, Ornamental
Propagation: Seeds
Habit: Climbing
Light: Full Sun, Part Shade
Flower Color: Purple
Blooms: Summer
Width: 3 ft.
Height: 15 - 25 ft.
Fertility: Moderately Rich
Soil: Neutral, Well-drained
Zone: 1 - 11

Half-hardy Annual. A Victorian favorite, this annual flowering vine, also called Cathedral Bells, is grown for its unusual blooms that are cup-shaped. The flowers turn from a greenish-purple to a deep rosy purple and look like a cup and saucer together. The opening buds have an unpleasant smell at first but soon become honey-scented. The foliage is dense and forms a privacy screen for the summer and early fall. It clambers rapidly over a fence, trellis or wall. Its stems cling by branched tendrils that grow on the end of each leaf stalk. Pollinated by bats in their native lands of Central America. These plants grow readily from seed and you may have a better germination rate if you lay the flat seeds on edge when sowing them. Soil must be warm. These plants are hardy to Zone 9 and will continue to bloom into the fall in warmer climates becoming a woody perennial. If your flower production begins to decline, here are some possible reasons which can be corrected: poor drainage, underwatering, overfertilizing. A soil that is rich encourages leaf growth with fewer flowers. During the growing season, pinch back tips to stimulate branching and to encourage more flowering. Plants grown as perennials should be thinned in late fall to direct growth and reduce density.