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Basella alba |
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| Finally climbing |
Common name |
Malabar spinach |
Family |
basellaceae |
Life cycle |
tender perennial (Z10-11) |
Flowers |
purple/white |
Size |
2-6' |
Light |
sun-part shade |
Cultural notes |
rich, moisture-retentive soil |
Tropical vine whose edible leaves can be used as a spinach substitute. Native to tropical Africa and Asia, it doesn't appreciate any kind of cold, and is killed by even mild frosts – so definitely an annual for us. I planted ours in mid-July, and waited for a long time for it to do much of anything – but by October it was climbing into the nearby lattice. Two months later, after the first light freeze of the season, it was reduced to mush.
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| Mortally damaged by a December freeze... |
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| ...but plenty of seedlings appeared the following March |
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| Our stand disappeared for a few years, but then returned after a winter with a severe freeze |
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This plant used to grow in our garden, but it slipped away... About my plant portraits
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Last modified:
June 08, 2021
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