Dear All, Bill Dijk has once again posted some interesting information on the Bulbs_Images list along with some stunning photos. I saw his Tropaeolums blooming in New Zealand several years ago and fell in love with them along with quite a few other things he had in bloom at the time. Unfortunately I have had poor luck with any of the seed I have managed to obtain and am grateful Diana Chapman sells some of them. What Bill does not tell you in the message below which I am including for those who are not on that Images list and may find this information helpful is that when we visited him he was plagued by neighbor cats and had put wire across his pots and the Tropaeolum azureum was very happily growing sideways and lovely it was too. Mary Sue Dear All, Flowering at the moment another popular genus with many gardeners, not easy, but well-worth the effort and resulting beautiful display. A genus containing more than 60 species, of South American plants, including the common nasturtium. The bright flowers of quaint shapes are usually freely produced on long stalks and the rapid growth of many of the climbers render the Tropaeolum a very useful and decorative plant for many purposes. The climbing species mentioned here grow rapidly, support themselves by twining leaf-stalks, and can be used for covering a trellis, or fence, either in pots or planted out. The soil should not be to rich, otherwise leafy growth will be made at the expence of flowers. As a rule they would prefer a warm sunny place in a rather dry or at least well-drained soil. They also don't like alkaline soils, but are best in soils of turfy loams with plenty of leaf-mould slightly on the acid side. During growth they require much water but when the stems die down the pots should be stored in a dry, cool place and no water should be given until new growth begins again. Trop. azureum: slender climbing species from Chile, flowers up to 40 mm (1.5 inch) variable in form, usually lavender-violet-blue, with white eye. Tender. Trop. brachyceras: another native of Chile, flowers up to 25 mm (1inch) yellow with purplish markings.Half hardy. Trop.tricolorum: from Chile and Bolivia, flower colour variable- red, violet, blue or yellow with greenish margins and yellowish inside. Half hardy. Enjoy and best wishes, Bill D. Tauranga, New Zealand