| Description | Spanish Flag (Ipomoea lobata) is a tender perennial vine grown as an annual in colder regions. |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | (ip-oh-MEE-a)(low-BAH-tuh) |
| Plant Type | Vines, Tropical herbaceous Vines, Tender perennials often grown as annuals |
| Hardiness Zone | 9-11 |
| Sunlight | full |
| Moisture | average |
| Soil & Site | average |
| Temperature | Not frost hardy but survives the upper 40s in my garden. |
| Flowers | Slender stems bear tubular florets in arching sprays of single-sided (secund) racemes. The lower florets bloom first and are reddish on the tip, fading to pale yellow and white. This is unsubstantiated but has been listed as a short-day plant, meaning flowering from late summer to the fall. The inflorescences originate in the axial of the leaves and are forked at the first branching point, resulting in a pair of inflorescences. |
| Leaves | green, 3-lobed, chordata base |
| Stems | Herbaceous, right to left twining vine, dark burgundy color, twines rapidly around anything it can touch, including another vine. |
| Dimensions | I live in zone 5b and planted them in the garden in early June. They would have easily reached 8-10 feet if they were on a taller support. |
| Maintenance | In order to climb, there will be a need for a supporting structure or something to hold onto. |
| Propagation | I scarified the tiny seeds by placing them between two layers of 160-grit sandpaper and rolling them with my fingers, soaked them overnight, and had good germination. |
| Native Site | Mexico, Brazil |
| Cultivar Origin | introduced circa 1841 (Select Seeds website) |
| Misc Facts | Ipomoea comes from the Greek words ips, meaning "worm," and homoios, meaning "resembling," referring to the sprawling underground roots of plants. Lobata means "lobed" and refers to the deeply lobed green leaves. The common name Spanish flag vine refers to the gradient of red to yellow on the flowers. |
| Author's Notes | I had a great time growing this plant; it was a lot of fun and exciting to watch it grow. Although it took some time to bloom, once it did, the plant was covered with beautiful blossoms for an extended period. If you are planting it in a container, ensure it is large enough, holding at least 10 gallons of growing mix (2 five-gallon pails). These plants are fast growers and can be pretty aggressive. |
| Notes & Reference | #62-Manual of Climbers and Wall Plants (J K Burras, Mark Griffiths), #144-Missouri Botanical Gardens website (www.missouribotanicalgarden.org), #150- Armitage Vines and Climbers (Alan Armitage), #274-Site Authors' observations and growing experiences |
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