Chilean flame creeper

Tropaeolum speciosum

Perennial herbaceous twining nasturtium relative from southern Chile, with deeply lobed leaves and brilliant scarlet trumpet flowers in summer through autumn. Climbs through evergreen shrubs and hedges.

Hardiness ratings

Chilean flame creeper hardiness across the four zone systems
SystemRatingTemperature rangeHow to read it
USDA hardiness zone Zone 7–9 −17.8 °C to −1.1 °C Plant tolerates down to this zone
RHS hardiness rating H5 −15 °C to −10 °C Plant needs at least this level of cold tolerance
Canadian plant hardiness zone Zone 7–8 −12 °C to −1 °C Plant tolerates down to this zone
Australian (ANBG) zone Zone 2–4 −10 °C to 5 °C Plant tolerates down to this zone

Growing notes

  • Native to the cool wet Valdivian forest of southern Chile
  • Demanding cultivation — needs cool moist root run in shade and stems growing into sun, succeeds in cool maritime gardens (Scotland, Ireland, Tasmania, New Zealand)
  • Distinct from the annual garden nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus already in the database) — speciosum is a hardy perennial climbing species
  • Dies back to ground each winter, resprouts from rhizomes

Categories

Related plants

Cross-check Chilean flame creeper against your zones

Reference

Chilean flame creeper on Wikipedia