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Half-hardy Annual
£2.49
Extraordinary bottle-shaped gourds
Dry and use as natural bird houses!
Eyecatching sight grown on a trellis or fence
Height Up to 35cm (14in)
Spread Up to 200cm (79in)
Half-hardy Annual
kitchen gardengreenhouse
full sun
Create your own natural bird house with this fascinating gourd.
Also known as a Calabash or bottle gourd, Cucurbita lagenaria is a vigorous vine that produces bright green bottle-shaped fruits. The dried, hollow fruits develop a tough, waterproof wall and were traditionally used as containers, water bottles and even musical instruments.
Grow this fast gourd over a strong trellis or fence so that the hanging gourds preserve their rounded bottle shape. If grown on the ground, the gourds will become flat and distorted. To make your own homegrown, bottle-gourd birdhouse, allow the gourds to dry after harvesting. Drill an access hole in the side and a drainage hole in the bottom then hang them up. Your feathered friends will love their cosy new home! The gourds can also be painted and hung as decorations. Incredibly, painted gourds can last for up to ten years. Height: 200cm (72"). Spread: 35cm (14").
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1 Packet (6 Seeds) (KF7191)
Sow March to April. Soak seeds for 2 hours. Sow seed, 1cm (1/2") deep in 7.5cm (3in) pots of free-draining, seed sowing mix. Place container in a propagator or seal inside a plastic bag and place at a temperature of 20-25C (68-77F) until after germination which takes 7-21 days. Do not exclude light, as this helps germination.Can also be sown direct outdoors once the soil has warmed. Sow 2 seeds every 60cm (24in) and thin out to the best seedling.
Gradually acclimatise plants to cooler conditions for a few weeks before planting out after all risk of frost, 60cm (24in) apart. For best results, provide a deep, rich, well-drained soil in full sun.
When fruits have reached the required size, remove from the plant and store in a dry, airy place until fully dried.
Caution: non edible
Seeds and garden supplies will normally be delivered within the time period stated against each product as detailed above. Plants, bulbs, corms, tubers, shrubs, trees, potatoes, etc. are delivered at the appropriate time for planting or potting on. Delivery times will be stated on the product page above, or in your order acknowledgement page and email.
Orders for packets of seed incur a delivery charge of £2.99.
Orders which include any other products will incur a delivery charge of £6.99.
Where an order includes both packets of seeds and other products, a maximum delivery charge of £7.99 will apply - regardless of the number of items ordered.
Large items may incur a higher delivery charge - this will be displayed in your shopping basket.
Please see our Delivery page for further details, and more information on different charges that may apply to certain destinations.
For more information on how we send your plants please visit our Helpful Guide on plant sizes.
Thompson & Morgan strives to ensure that all its plants are delivered to you in the perfect condition for planting. While the majority of our nursery plants cope well with slight delays in intransit, sadly, the time it takes to deliver to certain locations in the UK means that we can't guarantee this for some of our smaller plug products and tender bedding and vegetable lines, which do not respond well to the extra journey time. So regretfully while we offer the majority of our live plant offering nationwide, we are unable to ship plugs, begging plants and tender vegetable plants to the following areas: HS, IV41-IV49, IV51, IV55-56, KW15-KW17, PA34, PA41-48, PA60-PA78, PA80, PH40-PH44, TR21-TR24, ZE1-ZE3