Mucuna Bennettii - Red Jade Vine

I am doing the Happy Dance big time!!!! I bought two seeds off ebay a year ago. I thought I had lost the first seed I tried to sprout but maybe I hadn't. Here is a picture of the last seed and it is starting to sprout. It was hard to try and make a hole through the tough outer shell. I finally did and let it soak for a day or two and than was able to make the hole abit bigger and than again left it soaking for another 4 or 5 days. I saw that the shell was starting to burst and crack so I than gently peeled off more the shell and did the coffee filter method. I can't believe I hadn't started this method sooner. I luv it!!!

Here is also a link to what my big baby could look like one day: http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/FACULTY/CARR/images/muc_ben_1566.jpg

:) Donna

Sorry, forgot the link.

This message was edited Mar 10, 2007 10:03 PM

I once saw one in bloom. Gorgeous! I hope your big baby grows up to be a beautiful vine.

Thanks, Bettydee! I hope so to!
:) Donna

Good luck Donna.

Thanks, Linda. I can only hope it will grow into a lovely lady...lol.
:) Donna

Hey Donna,

I have this vine and love it. I bought it from Logees several years ago. It is a slow grower so far, but this years blooms were the best so far and I have a few seed pods forming for the first time. The pods look like large bean pods and I don't know how long it takes for them to mature....guess I will just keep an eye out on them.

This plant blooms in Dec-Jan for me here in zone 10 and make sure it is growing on a sturdy trellis or arbor as the stems can be very thick and strong.

I wish you lots of luck in growing the beautiful vine.
Donna

Post a picture here so that others can see how pretty it is.
:) Donna

Donna...be sure to give it lots of support and watch those wayward tendrils...once they grab they won't let go!!!!

Thanks, Carol. I just potted up my baby. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
:) Donna

I had the Mucuna species from Logee's too for a few years. It bloomed really great last winter, and I took it out when flowering was done because I needed the room, and it is a big grower. I cut it back nearly to the ground the second year after flowering, and it grew right back. It blooms on new wood so Logee's recommends severe pruning after flowering in their container book. Here it is with a couple of passifloras creeping up on it. They came out too!

Wow, Clare! It definitely does look like it's taking up room.

Yeah, it is a big vine, but you can cut it way back every year. The species flowers don't look as pretty to me as the Mucuna benettii flowers. Good luck with your vine, Donna. I hope you purchased your seed from a reputable seller. Some unscrupulous sellers were selling Mucuna pruriens (also called cow itch) on ebay a few years ago: http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/55594/ Apparently, the vines look the same, but you won't know what the flowers look like until it blooms in Year 2 or Year 3. Some people found out the hard way that they were growing Mucuna pruriens instead of Mucuna bennettii.

Do you know if both seeds looked the same? It probably was almost 2 years that I had bought the 2 seeds. That was the one and only time I've seen them for sale. I shouldn't have a problem with it growing crazy for me since it will be another of my container plants.
:) Donna

Clare I hadn't checked the link you provided before I asked the question....lol.

Red Jade only flowers on old growth...so it is easy to cut back...we do it twice a year, at least. It IS a magnificent vine!!!

SoCal...I would love some seeds! Mine don't make them for some reason. Would love to trade or....?

Thanks,
Carol

Carol, you mean new growth; right? Mine only flowered on new growth, but mine was not the M. bennettii but rather a hybrid:-) Mine got seedpods too, but I didn't save them. If yours only flowers on old growth, you would not want to cut it back much.

Donna, I'm not sure if the seeds look the same or not, but since they are in the same genus, they probably do look similar.

Check out the lastest picture:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/702159/