How to Grow Cup Flower (Nierembergia)

Cup flowers have upright, bell-shaped flowers in white or purple.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bypass Pruners
• Compost Makers
• Fertilizers
• Mulch
• Plants
• Seeds
• Seeds
• Plants

Choosing Cup Flower

1. Look for plants at nurseries in spring through summer, and year-round in warm climates.

2. Buy cup flowers in 4- or 6-inch containers.

3. Choose healthy-looking plants with signs of new growth in leaf and flower bud.

4. Buy seeds for cup flower year-round at nurseries and from catalogs.

Planting Cup Flower

5. Plant cup flower in full sun and well-drained soil.

6. Add a light application of organic fertilizer to the planting hole.

7. Place the plants no deeper than they were growing in the containers.

8. Set the plants 6 inches apart.

9. 

   Mulch around - but not on top of - the plants with 3 inches of organic compost.

10. 

    Water well until soil is completely moist.

11. 

    Plant seeds in early spring in the garden where you want the plants to grow.

12. Cover seeds with 1/4 inch compost.

13. 

    Make sure the seeds do not dry out before they germinate.

Caring for Cup Flower

14. Cut off old flower stems with bypass pruners.

15. Remove old foliage in spring using bypass pruners to cut off the old stems.

16. Apply a light application of organic fertilizer on top of the soil; follow package directions.

17. Mulch around - but not on top of - the plants with 3 inches of organic compost in spring.

18. Water well weekly until soil is completely moist in summers with no rainfall.