Nasturtium Combinations For a Trellis and a Planter — Edible Flowers
By Charlotte Germane, Editor of H. Potter Knowledge blog 2010-2011
All plant photos courtesy of Renee’s Garden
Nasturtium Display on Your Trellis
Beautiful when bare, this trellis and copper planter will be your own dazzling garden statement when you add your favorite climbing and trailing plants.
Place this trellis and planter near the dining table on your patio or deck. Then choose edible plants, and all through the warm days ahead you and your guests can pick edible flowers to add to salads.
The nasturtium is a popular edible flower (and the leaves can jump in the salad too). A nasturtium seed offers you the fast track to masses of edible flowers on your trellis. These easy-to-grow plants will cover your garden trellises with warm colors.
Hummingbirds love them!
I’m planning to mix three nasturtium varieties for a multi-colored fountain of blooms. Are you attracted by the Soft or the Bright combination?
Soft Nasturtium Combination
Tint of yellow ’Moonlight’ can climb six to eight feet. Give the first tendrils a hand by twining them around the metal trellis.
To fill out the planter add the one-foot mounds of ‘Vanilla Berry’.
Pretty ‘Creamsicle’ forms one-foot mounds, and trails a bit from garden planters.
Bright Nasturtium Combination
Send the adventurous ‘Amazon Jewel’ climbing four to six feet up your trellis. Enjoy the variegated leaves and the range of flower colors.
Make a regal statement with a one-foot mound at the base of the trellis. Blue-green leaves are a striking feature of the heirloom ‘Empress of India’.
For the big finish, add this hot number. It grows in one-foot mounds and will drape itself around. What better for a copper planter than semi-double-flowered ‘Copper Sunset’?
Seeds for these nasturtium varieties are available from Renee’s Garden.
How to Grow Nasturtium Combinations in a Planter
Wait to plant outdoors until all danger of frost has passed. If you are uncertain about that date, contact your local Master Gardeners.
Place your container in full sun or part shade and fill it with packaged potting soil. Choose soil that drains well but does not have many added fertilizers. A nasturtium that gets too much nitrogen fertilizer will be all leaves and few flowers.
Nick each seed with a pair of nail clippers and plant the seeds one-inch deep, covering them with soil. Follow seed packet directions on spacing.
Water well with a fine spray after planting and keep the soil moist until the seeds have germinated. Once the plants are mature, water only when the top two inches of the soil are dry.
Thin the young plants as needed. Don’t feed the nasturtiums.
Through the Seasons
Prolong the blooming season by replanting nasturtiums in late summer. The nasturtium is a tender annual and won’t last through frosty winters.
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