Black-Eyed Susan Vine Seeds

Having seen this vine last year in person, I was so excited to try it. I have a pack to a friend as well, and we both experienced a very LONG germination period and then it seemed to take the plant months to even get more than 4 inches long. It could have been user error as once I put the plant in direct sunlight all day, it did pick up its growing time and I did get a few flowers but I am a little disappointed. I will try again next year.

I will add that out of 10 seeds, only 3 sprouted and my friend said the same thing. Germination was poor and I used very good soil.

I planted some seeds along a fence line in untreated, neglected soil and forgot about them for weeks. Around middle of summer, these popped up out of nowhere and took off! They have become one of my favorites in the yard, and they attract a lot of butterflies. I regret not planting more and planting earlier, but I will be reordering more next year for sure.

Zone 7a in Midwest.

This vine doesn’t like climbing at all. I frequently have to train it as it’s always sprawling on the ground. It would do better in a hanging pot.

It is slow to start. I have it in 4 locations and it doesn’t seem to thrive in full sun, part shade or afternoon shade. The best plant is only about a foot tall and on north end of pole bean line on the south and full sun. It’s end of August and started flowering a few weeks ago.

I have been more adventurous in trying new to me flowers and find many seem to need a longer growing season whether starting from seed inside or out. Some flowers just start kicking in and the frost hits them. This flower is native to warm regions and we can be a bit warm here so I don’t understand why they don’t flourish. The real picture in the advertisement above is not the same vine so not sure why it’s shown. I’m Z5a, WI and sandy loam.