Almost all of my nasturtium seeds germinated, though some scarification methods were better than others. Interestingly, the only seeds that did not germinate were the seeds soaked in warm water for 3 hours. Even the ones with no scarification eventually germinated, though only after waiting for 15 days! The best method was chipping the seed coat with a nail clipper, as it was quick, easy to do, and produced the quickest results (germination in 5-7 days).
Now I have 10 ‘Spitfire’ nasturtium plants to find homes for. I think I’ll try growing two or three indoors, so I still need to come up with ideas for the remaining seven. Here are a couple of plant combinations I thought of, let me know what you think…
Patriotic Urn
Red, white, and blue always seem festive to me. I’d have the nasturtium scrambling up an obelisk-type trellis, with a big, healthy bacopa overflowing the pot. Then I’d tuck Desert Bluebells around to fill in any bare spots. I think this combo would look great in a black urn. Seems like a great thing to place next to a sunny front door. Or you make your own “blooming tire” planter. Don’t knock it until you see one in person. Check out this one featured on You Grow Girl.
Here’s a quick sketch of what I was thinking:
Please ignore my poor drawing skills. You’d think someone with a BA in Art would have excellent drawing skills…but my emphasis was graphic design, so I skimped on the drawing classes. Actually, I hated drawing classes.
Wildlife Heaven
The information on the ‘Spitfire’ nasturtium packet says that hummingbirds love it, so there’s one part of the wildlife spectrum covered. Asclepias, also known as Milkweed, is the host plant for Monarch butterflies. They will only lay their eggs on this one plant. So you’re sure to attract them with it, not to mention all the other types of butterflies that like Asclepias as well. And then to round things out and keep the container visually interesting, is Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina).
If you’ve got nasturtiums, how are you potting them up?
