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Thunbergia battiscombei (Blue Glory) - This species is a semi-evergreen vining shrub in warm frost-free areas (or in a greenhouse) or a herbaceous perennial in areas that do get frost. In the shrub form it has a flowing fountain form that can reach to 4-6 feet tall and 6-8 feet wide, in colder locals it suckers from the base throwing stems to 3-4 feet tall within a season. The dark green 4-inch-long elliptical leaves are lush and tropical -looking and a great foil for the dark blue-purple flowers with yellow-colored throats that bloom throughout the spring and into the fall.
Plant in full sun or light shade along the coast to part shade elsewhere and water regularly. Root hardy below 20° F. Some consider this a vine although this is a stretch of the imagination - if you want to train this plant up it will need to be tied it to its support.
Comes from tropical Eastern African countries from Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The name for the genus honors the Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg (1743-1828) who was a student of Linnaeus and spent several years botanizing the Cape of Good Hope. The specific epithet hoors the botanical author and plant collector Edward Battiscombe (1874-1971) who collected in in Kenya and Tanzania and was Conservator of Forests for the British East African Protectorate. We grew this interesting plant from 1985 until 2008.
This information about Thunbergia battiscombei displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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