Great Cascade Wine Red: Report #1

Great Cascade Wine Red is a new plant I am trying this summer.  The plants were obtained from Park Seeds and on their website are named, Creeping Gloxinia Lofos™ Wine Red or the botanical name of Lophospermum Lofos Wine Red.  It arrived from a grower other than Parks and had the tag, Great Cascade, Wine Red.  I believe this is the same plant by another name. 

Here is my first report. 

Ordered in February and it was shipped at the perfect time for this area, they arrived the last week of April.  The plants received were a 6 pack of plants that ranged between 3 inches and 5 inches tall.  This plant can grow up to eight feel long climbing or cascading so I put these tiny little plants into 3 gallon pots of potting soil.  Container gardening increases the chance of plants drying out, so I try to assure a large amount of soil.  Admittedly these container pots may be small for this monster if it grows to its full 8 feet long.  Previously these pots held Petunia's or Verebena each year, hopefully they will be able to meet the water needs of this monster. 

I have placed four of the Great Cascade plants on the balcony and have placed two on the deck.  On the balcony my intent is for them to trail over the side.  Because there is a door under the balcony, I may need to trim these vines occasionally.  On the deck I am hoping that they interweave themselves through the railing to create a privacy screen.

There is not a lot of information about these plants on the web so I will record my experience throughout this growing season.  Gardeners have rated this plant a 4 out of 5 at the Proven Winners site. 

I grow flowers from the balcony every year and am happy to have a new plant to test!

Week 1: