African Sunset Blackeyed Susan Vine is a vigorous climbing vine from Africa that brings soft, warm colors to your garden from midsummer through frost. This heirloom cultivar of Thunbergia alata produces a stunning mix of peach, apricot, and neutral tones on delicate flowers that climb 3 to 6 feet tall, thriving in full sun across USDA zones 9 and warmer. From seed to first bloom takes 84 to 98 days, rewarding patient gardeners with reliable, pollinator-attracting flowers that bloom reliably from June through November.
8
Full Sun
High
9-9
72in H x 18in W
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High
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The soft peach and apricot palette sets this vine apart from typical black-eyed Susan varieties, creating an unusually gentle color story against green foliage. It grows vigorously enough to clothe a fence or trellis in a single season, yet requires only full sun and consistent moisture to perform. From midsummer onward, it blooms relentlessly until frost, drawing butterflies and other pollinators throughout the season.
African Sunset Blackeyed Susan Vine is grown primarily for ornamental purposes. It excels as a living screen on fences and trellises, where its climbing habit and continuous bloom make it valuable for creating privacy, visual interest, and pollinator habitat throughout the warm months. Its ability to flower reliably from midsummer until the first hard frost makes it particularly useful for extending the garden's color into fall.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date. Sow on the soil surface or just barely covered with moisture-retentive seed-starting mix, keeping soil warm (around 70°F) and consistently moist until germination occurs. Transplant seedlings when they have developed their first true leaves and are sturdy enough to handle.
Transplant outdoors after all danger of frost has passed and soil has warmed. Harden off seedlings gradually by exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7 to 10 days before planting in the garden. Space transplants 8 inches apart near a fence, trellis, or support structure.
You may direct sow seeds in warm soil after the last frost date, though starting indoors allows you to enjoy flowers earlier in the season.
No regular pruning is necessary; the vine grows vigorously and naturally forms a full, dense climber. You may pinch back young plants early in the season to encourage branching, or trim overgrown vines to fit your available space. Deadheading spent flowers extends the bloom season, though it is not essential given the plant's prolific flowering habit.
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“This lovely vine hails from Africa, where it evolved as a natural climber in warm climates. As an heirloom cultivar, African Sunset represents generations of seed saving and selection by gardeners who valued its distinctive soft coloring and reliable vigor. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds preserved and distributed this variety, ensuring that home gardeners today can grow the same flowers that impressed gardeners before modern hybridization became commonplace.”