How to Grow and Care for Black-Eyed Susan Vine

The black-eyed Susan vine is a tropical perennial that is often grown as an annual flowering vine dotted with small trumpet-shaped orange to yellow flowers with dark brown-maroon throats. It is a relatively short-lived perennial if grown in warm climates and an annual in cooler regions. This plant generally does well if planted in any rich, well-draining soil in a sunny location, but it will need some kind of supporting trellis or structure to cling to.

Black-Eyed Susan Vine Care

Here are the basic care instructions for growing black-eyed Susan vine.

• Plant in rich, well-draining soil.
• Plants need full or partial sun.
• Provide a support or trellis for this plant. The vines need containing because they clamber over just about anything.
• Fertilize black-eyed Susan vine frequently.

Light

Grow black-eyed Susan vines in full sun (at least six hours of direct sunlight on most days) for the healthiest plants However, grow plants in partial afternoon shade in hot, dry climates.

Soil

Black-eyed Susan vines like a well-draining soil that is rich in organic matter with a fairly neutral soil pH (6.6 to 7.7). It can be helpful to work several inches of compost into the soil before planting.

Water

Although these vines don't like sitting in soggy soil, they also don't like being hot and dry. Keep the soil moderately moist. Mulching around the base of the plants will help to keep the roots cool and moist. Follow the standard rule of 1 inch of water, rainfall, and/or watering per week. In extremely hot dry weather, water more, especially when the top inch or so of soil feels dry to the touch.

Temperature and Humidity

Black-eyed Susan vines are perennial in warm regions and grown as annuals everywhere else. Try putting them in a container and bring them indoors for the winter if you're outside of the recognized hardiness zones. Black-eyed Susan vines grown indoors may flower in the winter if they get ample sun and the temperature doesn't fall below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Humidity is usually not an issue for these plants, but they can struggle in very dry conditions, so make sure the soil remains moist.

Fertilizer

Black-eyed Susan vines exert a lot of energy by growing quickly and blooming repeatedly throughout the summer. Feed them lightly every four to six weeks with a complete fertilizer to keep them growing well. Feed vines that are grown in containers (indoors or outdoors) every two to three weeks when they are in bloom.

Types of Black-Eyed Susan Vine

If you are purchasing nursery plants, you might only find the vines labeled as orange or yellow. However, there are more varieties available if you buy seeds:

• 'Angel Wings': They have white flowers with a hint of fragrance.
• 'African Sunset': This flower has burgundy centers surrounded by red, ivory, and darker shades of apricot and salmon.
• 'Spanish Eyes': This vine shows unusual pastel shades of peach and apricot.
• 'Superstar Orange': The flowers have traditional orange petals with a dark center.
• 'Susie Mix': It produces flowers in yellow, orange, and white.
• 'Bakeri': The plant blooms pure white flowers.
• 'Aurantiaca': This blooms excellent yellow-orange flowers.

Several other Thunbergia species are sometimes used in landscaping:

• T. erecta (bush thunbergia): This is a West African native plant with rich purple flowers.
• T. fragrans (sweet clockvine): This native plant has white, fragrant flowers.
• T. grandiflora (Bengal clockvine): The plant, also native to India, is a white-flowering perennial used in gardens around Florida, Southern California, and Hawaii.
• T. laurifolia (laurel-leaved thunbergia): This native vine from India is often grown in Hawaii for its beautiful purple flowers.

Propagating Black-Eyed Susan Vine

There are many ways to propagate black-eyed Susan vine, but the most common is by rooting stem cuttings. Done in the fall, this perpetuates plants over the winter in colder regions. Here's how to do it:

1. Snip 4- to 6-inch segments of a healthy stem, cutting just below a stem node using clean, sharp pruners. Do this in the fall while the plant is still actively growing.
2. Plant the cutting in a small container filled with ordinary potting mix. No covering is required.
3. Set the pot in a bright, warm location, such as a sunny window, to grow over the winter.
4. In the spring after outdoor temperatures stay reliably above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the cutting should be rooted, showing active growth, and can be transplanted into the garden or outdoor containers.
   

How to Grow Black-Eyed Susan Vine From Seed

Black-eyed Susan vine is easy to grow from seed. Seeds can be relatively expensive because this plant's seeds are difficult to collect. You can start seeding indoors about six to eight weeks before your projected last frost date or direct-seed in the garden after the danger of frost has passed. Take these steps:

1. Soak the large, hard seeds in water for a day or two before planting.
2. Use peat or paper pots filled with ordinary potting mix to plant the seedlings. The pots will biodegrade over time without disturbing the plant's sensitive roots.
3. Plant the seeds about 1/4 inch deep, and expect them to germinate within two to three weeks.

Potting and Repotting Black-Eyed Susan Vine

This plant makes an excellent plant for hanging baskets, window boxes, or large mixed containers where it serves as a "spiller" plant. Ordinary commercial potting mix in any well-draining container will suffice. In hanging baskets, it's typical to plant two or three plants in a 10- to 12-inch plastic pot that includes a catch-tray, suspended with wires that will allow the vines to climb. Indoor specimens will need plenty of sun and may need supplemental light to keep the plants blooming.

Overwintering

When grown as an annual, these plants are simply pulled from the ground or containers and discarded in the late fall, which helps avoid self-seeding. In warm-winter regions where black-eyed Susan vine can be grown as a perennial, it's best to keep watering and feeding actively through the winter. It's also possible to move potted plants indoors to continue growing through the winter as a houseplant. 

Common Pests

Black-eyed Susan vine isn't prone to many problems, particularly if the plant has plenty of sun, water, and air circulation. However, whiteflies and spider mites can be potential problems, especially during hot weather or if the plant is brought indoors where there is dry heat. Look out for small insects on the plant, as well as leaf and stem damage. Treat any outbreaks quickly with insecticidal soap.

How to Get Black-Eyed Susan Vine to Bloom

Bloom Months

This plant normally blooms readily and repeatedly from late spring (May) into fall, provided its basic needs are met.

What Do Black-Eyed Susan Vine Flowers Look and Smell Like?

Despite its common name, the black-eyed Susan vine has no relation to black-eye Susans (Rudbeckia hirta). The vine's flowers look daisy-like at a distance, with five overlapping, solid-colored petals surrounding a brownish-purple center tube.

How to Encourage More Blooms

Plenty of sunlight, water, and regular fertilizing are essential for keeping these plants blooming all season long. Deadheading is not required to keep them in bloom.

Common Problems With Black-Eyed Susan Vine

There are very few common complaints with black-eyed Susan vine, though gardeners in warm-weather regions sometimes complain about the plant's habit of self-seeding to the point of invasiveness. With their quick growth habit and sprawling nature, black-eyed Susan vines can overtake nearby plants. Even in cold-weather regions, you may dislike the way volunteers readily spring up around areas where plants were growing the previous year. But these volunteers are easily plucked out, and in cold winter zones, they do not persist to colonize.