Hyacinth Bean Lablab Purpureus is a tender perennial that is most often grown as an annual plant in most regions. Hyacinth Bean seeds should be nicked with a knife and soaked in water for 24 hours prior planting. Hyacinth Bean Vine is a fast-growing, climbing vine that typically blooms from mid summer to fall with purple and white bi-colored flowers which are fragrant and very attractive to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Also called Dolichos Lablab this climbing plant produces extremely showy, electric-purple colored seed pods that blend fabulously with green tinged purple foliage.
Hyacinth Bean grows fast and reaches up to 20 feet in height, so the plant is very popular for establishing a quick screen on a trellis or fence or as the annual privacy vine for porches. Lablab Purpureus seeds do not need light to germinate so they can be planted as deep as one inch. Not only Hyacinth Bean Vine makes an effective ground cover, and container plant, but it is also often grown in vegetable gardens, because it's leaves, flowers, pods, seeds and roots are edible. However the dry Lablab seeds are poisonous due to high concentrations of cyanogenic glycosides, so they can only be eaten after prolonged boiling. Chinese and Indian traditional medicine uses Hyacinth Bean Vine as a medicinal herb.
PLANT PROFILE
Season: Perennial/Annual
Height: 120-240 Inches
Bloom Season: Summer/Fall
Environment: Full Sun
Soil Type: Average/Poor/Dry/Moist well-drained, pH 6.1-7.8
USDA Zones: 9-11 (As Perennial ) All Regions of North America (As Annual )
PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS
Sow Indoors: N/A
Sow Outdoors: Spring
Seed Depth: 1/2 - 1 Inch
Germination Time: 14-21 Days
