Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Sweet Clock Vine, King's Mantle, Potato Bush

Description:

This variety is an erect, sometimes twining, evergreen shrub presenting small ovate leaves and stunning purple-blue flowers throughout summer and fall; perfect for foundations, hedges, beds and borders, trained on trellises or cascading down walls

Ornamental Features

Bush Clock Vine features bold clusters of lightly-scented purple trumpet-shaped flowers with sky blue overtones and yellow throats along the branches from early summer to mid fall. It has dark green evergreen foliage. The small glossy oval leaves remain dark green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Bush Clock Vine is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and can be pruned at anytime. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Bush Clock Vine is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Bush Clock Vine will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. To help this plant achive its best flowering performance, periodically apply a flower-boosting fertilizer from early spring through into the active growing season. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America. It can be propagated by cuttings.

Bush Clock Vine makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.

This plant is not reliably hardy in our region, and certain restrictions may apply; contact the store for more information.