Commelina tuberosa

I grew some of these this year, from one of the seed swap packets (thanks, somebody) and they have flowered beautifully for months in a pot outside my kitchen windowsill. The flowers are small but a wonderful shade of true blue and new ones are produced every morning.

Will these survive any frost? Will there really be tubers under there? I'm not digging them up to find out. I had some commelinas years ago, I think they survived outside a few years then disappeared. Will a cold shed keep them alive or should I find a spot in the house?

Any experience welcome.

 

The frost will kill any top growth, but they should survive kept on the dry side in a frost free space, or survive a mild winter in the ground.

|You should have plenty of seed too if you look in the "ears" where theflowers were. I've grown C.coelestis "Alba" this year and have some spare seed if you're interested.

 

Many thanks, longk, I have indeed saved seed and will be sending it to the seed swap. I would like some C. coelestis (think that's what I had before) if you fancy swapping!

 

That's kind, but I put the C.tuberosa seeds in the parcel last year and have lots left, plus this years crop too!

PM me an address and I'll send the C.coelestis.

 

Aha! They were much appreciated!

 

I'm watching last year's pot of commelina tuberosa anxiously but nothing showing yet. Am I expecting too much?

 

Mine are only just breaking the surface now.

 

Ta, I'll keep on watching! BTW, is there any benefit in also growing C dianthifolia or is it very similar to the C tuberosa?

 

Seen it at OBG and has similar blooms, but looks more slender/fragile.
C.communis is grown outdoors at OBG, looks stronger and is visually different enough to warrant trying it....................

 

I got worried that my C tuberosum had not surfaced yet so I couldn't resist a poke around. The pot is full of lovely tubers shooting nicely. So they are repotted into some nice fresh compost in a bigger tub and some C coelestis Alba sown!
From all the seed-sown things I grew last summer I think it was this one gave me the most pleasure, here's looking forward to a second round.

 

The c tuberosa have given a decent show second time around but have grown noticeably lankier than last year, about 18", so best in a border next year. I have also sown c alba courtesy of @longk, these are smaller and neater like last year's plants, and so are some new blue ones that got in amongst them. I'm fact, I think they may well start seeding around now.
Is there much difference between c tuberosa and c coelestris as all the plants look similar except for the height and I've lost track of which seeds were which?

 

I try to plant them out in the second year, although as last winter was so mild some first year planted plants survived. When you plant them out you'll see the tubers and I reckon that an extra year in a deep tomato pot allows them to grow good and strong so as to be perennial.

They do! We had a few self seeders here.

Not much. Mind you, there are over 150 species if you want to diversify!
C.communis.....................


C.dianthifolia................

 

The C dianthifolia looks, well, dianthifolish, but apart from that.....

 

More of an oddity really. But the lower petal is noticeably larger in relation to the top two. C.communis was a much larger plant and the flowers stayed open well into the afternoon.