Milkmaid Nasturtium
Tropaeolum majus 'Milkmaid'
Height: 12 inches
Spacing: 12 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: (annual)
Other Names: Indian Cress, Monk's Cress
Description:
A beautiful and unique variety featuring creamy white to buttery yellow blooms, contrasting against grey-green foliage; trailing habit, ideal for patio containers and hanging baskets; flowers have a peppery flavor making the perfect addition to salads
Ornamental Features
Milkmaid Nasturtium features showy fragrant creamy white trumpet-shaped flowers with buttery yellow overtones held atop the stems from early summer to early fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its round leaves remain grayish green in color with distinctive creamy white veins throughout the season.
Landscape Attributes
Milkmaid Nasturtium is an herbaceous annual with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.
This is a relatively low maintenance plant. Trim off the flower heads after they fade and die to encourage more blooms late into the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Milkmaid Nasturtium is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Mass Planting
- Rock/Alpine Gardens
- Border Edging
- General Garden Use
- Container Planting
- Hanging Baskets
Planting & Growing
Milkmaid Nasturtium will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 12 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. This fast-growing annual will normally live for one full growing season, needing replacement the following year.
This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
Milkmaid Nasturtium is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
