Plant Guide

Other Names:  Indian Cress, Monk's Cress

Description:

This stunning variety features edible scarlet blooms contrasting against grey-green foliage; mounded with a slight cascading habit, excellent for patio containers and hanging baskets; flowers, with a peppery flavor, make a great addition to salads

Ornamental Features

Empress of India Nasturtium features showy fragrant scarlet trumpet-shaped flowers held atop the stems from early summer to early fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its round leaves remain grayish green in color with distinctive creamy white veins throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Empress of India Nasturtium is an herbaceous annual with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant. Trim off the flower heads after they fade and die to encourage more blooms late into the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Empress of India Nasturtium is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Empress of India Nasturtium will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 12 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. This fast-growing annual will normally live for one full growing season, needing replacement the following year.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America, and it is considered by many to be an heirloom variety.

Empress of India Nasturtium is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.