Growing a solanum in a pot

When and how to plant a Solanum in a pot?

When to plant a Solanum?

Container plants can be planted all year round, except during frost periods. You can celebrate the arrival of spring by planting a potted Solanum between April and May. Fast-growing, it will quickly cover your space, allowing you to enjoy it by summer.

How to plant a Solanum?

1. Carefully remove the plant from its pot to avoid breaking the branches at the base.
2. Soak the root ball in a large volume of water to thoroughly moisten it.
3. Place a drainage layer at the bottom of the pot (clay balls, gravel, etc.).
4. Pour your substrate so that you can place the root ball, ensuring that the top of it is about 3 cm from the top of the pot, then position your Solanum in the centre.
5. Try to bend the stems a few centimetres into the soil before they climb onto the support for better rooting.
6. Attach or assist the stems in securely gripping their support.
7. Fill with the remaining mix and lightly compact it around the edges with your fist.
8. Water generously, in several applications if necessary, to thoroughly moisten the entire substrate.
9. Mulch to the top of the pot to limit evaporation and the growth of adventive plants. The advantage of organic mulch (hemp, flax, RCW) is that it nourishes the plant as it decomposes.

→ If you choose to place it on a terrace or balcony, remember to select the location of your pot before proceeding with the planting. The whole setup can be heavy and difficult to move once completed, and you will need to shelter it in a conservatory during winter. You can also install your Solanum year-round in a winter garden where you will enjoy a longer flowering period.

What type of pot to choose?

To ensure your solanum feels comfortable, choose a pot with a minimum capacity of 30 litres, equivalent to 30 to 40 cm in diameter. You can switch to a larger pot as it develops. Since solanum does not like stagnant moisture, a pot with built-in drainage is necessary. If you are in a region with a warm or mild climate, without winter frosts below -2 °C, you can use a terracotta or glazed pot. Outside of these mild areas, you will need to winter your pot, so choose a pot that you can easily move. A resin pot will be lighter than a clay pot.

Always prefer terracotta pots. The resin pot option helps lighten the weight when moving the plant.

What type of substrate to choose?

Not demanding, the solanum grows in any ordinary soil. When grown in a pot, it requires a good substrate to ensure a beautiful, generous flowering. If you have good garden soil:

• Compose a mixture consisting of half garden soil and half quality potting soil.
• Add two to three handfuls of compost.
• Add a special fertiliser for trees and bushes, as the soil depletes quickly.

If you do not have access to garden soil, use a special bush potting soil, and add compost or a fertiliser for pots or bushes.

Which solanum to choose?

The Solanum crispum ‘Glasnevin’

Climbing solanums are very vigorous. A single plant can cover a 4m² pergola in one season. This false jasmine develops long, flexible, almost voluble stems that can be easily trained. The star-shaped flowers are mauve with a yellow centre and are grouped in loose clusters. At the end of the flowering period, very decorative white-yellow fruits appear. Place the Solanum crispum ‘Glasnevin’ in a pot on a terrace to enjoy its intense fragrance. In winter, it should be kept in a conservatory or a temperate greenhouse at 16°C with plenty of light. If you bring it indoors, ensure it has high humidity, as the foliage and flowers wilt quickly in a dry atmosphere. Mist it with non-limestone water to prevent red spider mite attacks.

The Solanum jasminoïdes

This beautiful liana is evergreen in mild climates. The Solanum jasminoïdes produces a succession of clusters of small mauve star-shaped flowers throughout the summer. They bloom on elegant foliage reminiscent of jasmine. It is a perfect plant for seaside gardens. It requires generous and spaced watering during the summer to support its flowering. Gardeners in more continental climates will adopt it in a large pot to be stored in winter.

The Solanum jasminoides ‘Album’

This is a graceful climbing plant of great generosity. The Solanum jasminoides‘Album’ forms numerous clusters of small, slightly fragrant white star-shaped flowers that continue from June until the first frosts. It originates from the tropical and subtropical regions of South America, specifically southern Brazil and Ecuador. More hardy than it appears, it regrows from the stump after short frosts of around -12°C.

Three flowering climbing solanums. On the left S. jasminoides album, in the centre S. jasminoides, on the right S. ‘Glasnevin’

The Solanum rantonetti

This solanum, rather bushy, can be trained on a stem like a rose. This bushy shrub is covered in summer with a multitude of small round blue-violet flowers that renew continuously until the first frosts. It is called Gentian Tree due to the intense colour of its flowers. Renowned for its floribundity, the Solanum rantonetti keeps blooming in summer, only stopping late in autumn, often due to frost. The foliage is more commonly ovate, undulating on the edges, light green in colour, and is evergreen, but can be deciduous if exposed to frost. The Solanum rantonetti is a hardy plant that can withstand temperatures down to -5°C, making it very suitable for Mediterranean climates. It should be reserved exclusively for pot cultivation in cold climates and stored in a frost-free location during winter.

The Solanum rantonetti is nicknamed Gentian Tree for the intense blue of its flowers

How to care for your solanum in a pot?

Watering

Solanum prefers a cool, well-drained substrate but does not tolerate excess water well. When planted in the ground, Solanum can withstand temporary drought, but not when in a pot. Water as soon as the soil becomes dry. In hot weather, water generously 1 to 2 times a week. Also use a mulch at the base of your Solanum to prevent rapid evaporation of water and drying out of the soil. During winter, your Solanum will need watering without excess, only if it is stored in cold regions or if there has been no rain for 2 to 3 weeks in warm areas.

Repotting and Fertiliser Application

A very hungry plant, provide it with a fertiliser rich in potash with slow release at the beginning of the season.

Staking and Wintering

A more bushy than climbing plant, it will need a support (wire, pergola, etc.) on which the Solanum jasminoides can wrap its voluble stems. The Solanum is not a true climber, but its flexible stems can weave through the mesh of a fence.