Fothergill's Nasturtium Empress of India Seeds

Details:

• Botanical Name: Tropaeolum majus, a globally renowned and highly reliable heirloom variety.
• Plant Class: Hardy Annual, establishing with incredible speed from seed to deliver an abundance of dramatic summer colour within the exact same season.
• Striking Visual Contrast: Bears intense, velvety, deep red blooms that stand out beautifully against a dense canopy of distinctively dark, purplish-green foliage.
• Dual-Purpose Edible Crop: A magnificent addition to a kitchen garden; both the intense red flowers and dark rounded leaves are fully edible, offering a crisp, peppery flavour that lends a gourmet touch to fresh summer salads.
• Growth & Structure: Reaches a neat, uniform height of just 30cm (12in) with a compact, dwarf, non-trailing, and bushy growth habit that holds its shape perfectly.
• Wildlife Magnet: The wide, nectar-rich crimson flowers act as an excellent food source that is highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and other essential pollinators.
• Versatile Garden Layout: Perfectly scaled for packing into standalone patio containers, lining the front edges of sunny borders, filling window boxes, or accenting mixed bedding schemes.
• Ideal Position: Performs at its absolute best when positioned in full sun and grown in poor or moderately fertile, well-drained soil.

Care Instructions:

• Sowing Location: For an early display, sow seeds undercover in individual small pots of moist compost from late winter to mid-spring. Alternatively, sow directly outdoors where they are to flower into finely prepared, weed-free soil once the spring ground has warmed.
• Watering Requirements: Water well and regularly during the early germination and establishment stages; once fully mature, the plants are notably drought-tolerant and require minimal maintenance.
• Plant Care: Choose an area with poor or lean soil and strictly avoid applying fertilisers. Overly fertile conditions or feeding will actively encourage the plant to produce excess lush green leaves while completely hiding its magnificent crimson flowers.