I have ten that I started in early march. I'm going to let them grow along my fence for privacy and up my trellis. This is my first year growing them. Filix

I've got some planted in the basement under lights. Mine aren't alba though. I plan to have mine grow up lattice around my deck. I've tried them once before and didn't have any luck with them. I'll try to remember to post back if I have success.

I started some from seeds a number of years ago quite early in winter under gro-lites and then moved them outdoors in late May in my cold zone MI garden, and I was amazed how big those vines got by the end of summer , even in very poor soil etc. though I'll admit I babied the heck out of them with tons of supplemental watering and fertilizer. The downside though, mine being the regular purple , just didn't seem to show of those blooms well, when the flowers in their third color stage, the dark purple , just didnt' contrast enough with the dark leaves to even show up well from a distance. A bit disappointing, that aspect of them, so I've not grown them again, but the white should be "brilliant" and show up beautifully. A matter of "taste" and personal perferrence on my part perhaps, and not the best eyesight, but I do like flowers to contrast well with foliage! BTW, as for size, I'd guess the vines grew fifteen to twenty feet by the end of summer, if you want to know how big they get. Annuals of course in your zone! It is interesting to note how the color changes for the regular ones, as they start almost a lime green, turning to a light blue-purple, and then to a very dark purple before they drop . Not long lived each individual flower however.

I started mine in trays and then repotted in them in 3in peat pots about two weeks ago. Since then they have been growing like crazy and getting them into the ground soon is going to be a relief - they attach to just about anything nearby - another tray of seedlings, a water hose, the handle to a rake ...

I first saw this vine climbing a fence along Meeting St. in Charleston. It was beautiful. I tried to grow it the next yr (the purple one, Cobea scandens ???) and though it grew abundantly and fast, it did not bloom all that much, and not until early autumn. I don't know what I did wrong, but I haven't tried again and it isn't hardy over the winter here. Hope you have luck. It is a beautiful plant.
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