Growing Nasturtium

How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Nasturtium

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Nasturtium is an easy-to-grow annual whose leaves and flowers are edible. Here’s how to grow your own nasturtiums!

These plants, with their bright greenery and vibrant flowers, are good for containers or as ground cover. Their pretty fragrance also makes them a good choice for cut flowers. Nasturtiums are perfect to grow with children because they grow so easily and rapidly.

Planting

You can start the seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks before the last spring frost. See your local frost dates.
Plant nasturtium seeds in early spring in moist, well-drained soil in full sun. They can grow in partial shade, but they will not bloom as well.
Nasturtiums prefer poorer soils and they do not need fertilizers (unless your soil is extremely poor). Fertile soil will produce fewer blooms and more foliage.
Plant the seeds about half an inch deep and 10 to 12 inches apart. Plants should appear in 7 to 10 days.

Care

Water regularly throughout the growing season, but be careful not to over-water your plants.
Cutting off the faded/dead flowers will prolong blooming.
If you’re growing nasturtiums in containers, they may need to be trimmed back occasionally over the growing season.

Pests/Diseases

Flea beetles
Caterpillars
Aphids
Slugs
Whiteflies
Viruses

Harvest/Storage

Save the nasturtium’s chick-pea-size seeds and replant them in the spring! Let the seeds dry out on the vine; they’ll fall off. Collect them, brush off the soil, dry them, and store them in a paper envelope in a cool and dark place.

Recommended Varieties

‘Salmon Baby’, to add a pretty salmon-pink color to your garden.
‘Variegatus’, which is a trailing type with red or orange flowers.
‘Peach Melba’, which is derived from nasturtiums and has creamy yellow flowers with orange-red centers.

Wit & Wisdom

Nasturtium flowers are said to symbolize patriotism. Find out more flower meanings here.
Nasturtium flowers are one of several common garden flowers that are edible!

Recipes

Cooking Notes

The entire nasturtium plant is edible and makes for a beautiful garnish on any summer meal.

Reader Comments

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Nasturtiums

Will they grow in clay in central VA

planting nasturtium in zone 8

My nasturtiums are not growing. Small leaves, no flowers. They are in sandy soil.

Nasturtium not flowering

Can i use mono potassium phosphate to force my nasturtiums to force for blooming . As by mistake I have put fertiliser to nasturtiums

mono potassium phosphate

This is an eco-friendly fertilizer and your plants should benefit from it, if applied as directed on the package.

Nasturtium

Nasturtium grows fast in my small pot. Sunny climate in India. Temperature is rising now. Average 12-14 degrees C. Put water in afternoon.( 4-5 p.m).

nasturtiums rising

Sounds like ideal conditions are in your favor!

Nasturtium

I have seen germination of Nasturtium seeds . It will grow in my flower pot. It's December. I cherish to see saplings now. Hope to give flowers in due time.

Nasturtiums

I buy packets of nasturtium seed showing a variety of colours but only ever get orange and yellow flowers. What is the cause of this?

Nasturtium leaves

Our nasturtiums bloom profusely, but the leaves are large and taller than the flowers. The leaves cover up almost all of the flowers. We would have to cut off the leaves to see the blooms. Is this because our soil is too rich or has too much nitrogen? Thanks in advance !
Ron and Gloria

nasturtiums flowers lost in leaves

Shade reduces the number of blossoms and increases leaf size (and reach). It may also be due to too-moist soil.

Nasturtiums in the Fall

It is the end of September, do I need to pull my plants out or do I just leave them alone for next year? Will they die back over the winter?

nasturtiums in fall

Nasturtiums are annuals. They will die with the first frost—and not comeback.

nasturtiums in fall

Nasturtiums are annuals. They will die with the first frost—and not comeback.

Nasturtiums not making seeds?

I have a few beautiful Nasturtium plants in handling pots..growing OK…lots of leaves and beautiful flowers…however, after each bloom…I am waiting for the seed pods…and they are NOT making seeds for some reason…never happened before???…Does every bloom/flower make a seed?…only some?…more toward the end of the blooming period?..what can I do or expect?..Thank you, Anthony Vento Brooklyn, NY

eating Nasturtium

please tell me how are these Nasturtium able to be eating by humans ? how would one prepare them?

Eating nasturtium

They have a slight peppery taste. I wash and use fresh to add colour and flavour to salads and smoothies. I have also used in stir fries

Eating nasturtium

Take a stick of butter and let it soften to room temperature. Chop orange or red nasturtium flowers into small pieces and mix into the butter. Reform into any shape and refrigerate. The nasturtium butter will have a peppery flavor and will be a colorful addition to the lunch or dinner table. Use on toast or in any dish where pepper would compliment the taste and color would enhance the presentation. Also, simply chop nasturtium leaves and add into any salad. Like the flowers, the leaves add a peppery flavor. Add flowers and/or leaves in meat,vegetable, fruit or cheese dishes where pepper and color would be appreciated. Add just before serving to look brighter and taste fresher.

Can nasturtiums be planted in a hanging basket

Hi,
I'm from Islamabad...Pakistan. Our spring is almost here with no danger of any more frost.
I had these nasturtium seedlings....alĺ in one small pot...which were quite leggy and had yellow leaves. I planted these in a hanging basket(wire basket with coco liner) along with petunias and verbebas. Nasturtiums are inserted through the side slits. But now Im worried if they are going to catch back with petunias, which are quite healthy, or not...as the nasturtiums look very weak n shabby. The soil is a mix of peatmoss n perlite.
Shall I remove the nasturtiums or they'll do fine in the basket? Please advise.
Thanks

Hanging basket - Nasturtiums

The peatmoss and perlite soil may be too nutrient rich. These flowers prefer poor soil. The rich potting soils used for hanging plants may not agree with it.

Compost

Hi
Can I compost Nasturtium vines? I am worried that seeds may be a problem and not break down as I do not wish Nasturtiums to spread to other areas where I will use this as mulch.
Cheers

Composting Nasturtiums

Hi Melodee,

Yes, you can compost nasturtium vines, flowers, and seeds. There is only a small chance that any seeds would spread through the mulch. Nasturtiums don’t spread quickly or aggressively.

If I plant Nast by the garden...

If I plant Nasturtium near the garden to keep the bugs away- it will get water as the garden does. How far do I keep them from the garden to be useful but thrive?

Nasturtium

Nasturtium do like to have regular waterings; they just don’t like to sit in water for extended periods. If you water tham as you water your veggie garden, they should do fine. Plant them far enough away from the veggies so that the two plants won’t physically touch when fully grown. Approximately two yards away would be great. The idea is to use the nasturtiums as bait for the bad bugs, so we want to draw them away from the garden and keep them away.

Transplanted with good soil by mistake

Hi I transplanted some wild nasturtium into pots with good fertilizer without knowing they thrive in poorer soil. I cut them all the way back and they have grown and thrived besides the lack of flowers. They were nonexistent. Is there a way to simulate poorer soil or somehow get them to produce more flowers? Thank you.

Nasturtium Soil

It may be a bit late in the year for your nasturtium to produce any new flowers unless you are in a rather warm climate, so your best bet would be to harvest whichever seeds you can from the flowers that were produced and save them for spring. In order to make the soil poorer, you will have to dilute the nutrients by mixing small amounts of the soil with other, poorer soil. It would be best to simply use a different bag of soil next year, if possible, and save the good stuff for plants who crave it!

Nastrutium Seedling

Hi,
I am from India. Sowed nastrutium seeds 2 weeks back. Few have sprouted today but the top part does not look like leaves they are kind of weird. When will green leaves start coming? They are in container right now. They get 2 hrs direct sun.

Thanks in Advance,
SB

NATURTIUMS

I hope by now that you've had some growth on your plants. If they're only getting 2 hours of sunlight a day, that may be a problem. They require full sunlight to do their best. They're not shade lovers.

I have ants all over my

I have ants all over my nasturtium plant and am wondering if this is bad and need to do something about it? If so, what do I do?
Thank you!

ants on nasturtiums

Ants on nasturtiums usually mean that there are aphids attacking your plants. The aphids secrete a sugary liquid called honeydew, which the ants love. (Ants actually tend aphids, sort of like livestock.) To control the ants (which will fight off predators of the aphids), control the aphids. Check along the stems and under leaves for these soft-bodied insects, which come in all sorts of colors, depending on species. For control, please see this helpful video:
https://www.almanac.com/video/aphids-pest-control-tips-how-protect-your-plants

And here is another article on aphids and their control:
https://www.almanac.com/pest/aphids

Good luck!

Mulch on top while germinating?

Hi! I just planted a bunch of nasturtium seeds in my garden in Pennsylvania. I had mulch in that area, so I went on and put a little back over the seeds in the dirt. Can they germinate like that?