Cobaea scandens Blue and White Mix seeds - Cup and saucer vine

The Blue and White Cobaea Mix is a climbing plant with a delightfully retro charm, transforming walls, fences, and pergolas into romantic settings straight out of an English garden for a season. The large, bell-shaped, violet-blue or creamy white flowers bloom from midsummer until the first frosts. Cobaea is a tender plant that is easily grown as an annual. Use it to recreate the atmosphere of an old greenhouse or simply to dress a support, in the ground or in a container.

Cobaea (Cobaea scandens Cav.) is a climbing plant from the Polemoniaceae family. Native to Mexico and other tropical regions of Central and South America, it is widely cultivated for its large, bell-shaped flowers, which range from deep blue to creamy white. This vigorous climber can reach 3 to 6 m in height in a single season, clinging to any support with its tendrils. The twisting stems twine around supports, allowing the plant to climb effectively. The alternate leaves are compound with 2 to 3 pairs of ovate to elliptical leaflets, terminating in a branched tendril equipped with small hooks, facilitating attachment to surrounding structures. The flowers, solitary in the leaf axil, measure 5 to 8 cm long and feature a campanulate corolla with five lobes, initially pale green, turning violet or creamy white depending on the variety. They emit a sweet fragrance, more pronounced in the evening, and are primarily pollinated by insects and, in their native habitat, by bats. The fruit is a tough, trilobed, ovate to ellipsoid capsule, measuring about 5 to 8 cm long, containing numerous flat, winged seeds, dispersed by the wind.

Climbing Cobaea is perfect for quickly dressing pergolas, trellises, walls, and fences with a lush, flowering curtain. This blue and white mix pairs beautifully with ‘Heavenly Blue’ morning glories to accentuate the cascading effect, ‘White Supreme’ sweet peas for their delicate fragrance, or Thunbergia alata Sunny 'Suzy Rose Sensation' with its changing pink flowers. In a pot, it can be trained over an arch or a column to create a romantic entrance.

Charles Darwin studied the Climbing Cobaea in his work "The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants" (1875), noting the speed and vigour of its tendril movements, surpassing those of many other climbing plants.