Mucuna sempervirens first flowers

[MartinNicklin]

I grew this from seed many years ago. It has never flowered and I always said in desperation and a little tongue in cheek "I hope I get to see it before I die". It therefore decides to flower a week before I go onto the operating table!!!I
I'm convinced it would survive in sheltered Cornish gardens because it has dipped below zero in my greenhouse on occasion, but moreso because the many stems which have crept out of the greenhouse have been completely untouched by all of the (often quite severe) frosts over the past decade.
I read that it tends to flower on more mature wood so I have been trimming the whippy bits off, rather as you do with Wisteria, until the main stems are about a centimetre thick.
Only the one bunch so far but it's a start and hopefully and indication that the plant is mature enough now to start blooming more regularly and heavily.

[charlie]

Looks to have been worth waiting for, I too have been caught out by the waiting times for seed grown plants, my record so far is 17 years before I saw the flowers on Macfadyena unguis - cati !

It goes without saying that I hope it all goes well for your operation Martin and that you are back on your feet for Hodnet :)

[MartinNicklin]

Ah, thanks Charlie.

I wouldn’t have bought that Macfadyena from you had I known that!

[charlie]

Your Macfadyena was a cutting not a seedling should flower on two year old wood :)

[Chad]

Kudos to you Martin,

I must admit I didn't think you'd flower it in a domestic greenhouse.

I'll be thinking of you through this week, and wish you all the best.

Chad

[MartinNicklin]

Thank you Chad. I must admit I’m getting very anxious now. Your thoughts and wishes are most welcome.

I think the Mucuna is easily kept in check, it’s just that I allowed it to go where it liked. I think the trick is hard pruning to fatten up the wood. It’s only the one bunch of flowers but I wonder how many I picked off thinking they were the seed cases of an Ipomoes I had clambering through it. Should have gone to Specsavers. All the flowers are now open and I think a bigger bunch of them would look quite spectacular. Maybe next year. I now have to work out how to propagate it as a couple of people have expressed an interest. I thought layering would be a possibility as there are stems reaching the floor.

[charlie]

Wont it set seed?

[Chad]

On reviewing what is written about the genus it would seem that layers or cuttings work better with mature wood, rather than softwood. Nodal cuttings of hardwood, about 4 inches long [inches - that gives away that it was an American source], are quoted to have a 70% success rate.

As with the Macfadyena [shouldn't that be Dolichandra?], you might expect flowers quicker on cuttings or layers rather than seedlings.

Chad

[charlie]

As with the Macfadyena [shouldn't that be Dolichandra?], you might expect flowers quicker on cuttings or layers rather than seedlings.

Yes - but you know me, a creature of habit!

[MartinNicklin]

Apparently Charlie, they are not pollinated by insects but by mammals!

Thanks Chad. Might be worth a go at both. There are some long stems of harder more mature wood which I would otherwise put in the compost bin.