Illustration
Cup and Saucer Vine
Cobaea scandens
Also called cathedral bells, monastery bells, cobaea, cathedral bell vine and cup and saucer plant
Also comes in white.
Cup and Saucer Vine blooms from August through October.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Cup and Saucer Vine
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 9–11. Expect it to reach about 15 ft tall and 4.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (a house reading).
Pets
- No toxic listing found for dogs and cats in the sources we check.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Cup and Saucer Vine. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Cup and Saucer Vine
Plant Cup and Saucer Vine in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 9, the middle of its hardy zones 9 to 11, spring means January to March and fall means October or November. Once settled, it blooms from August to October.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 9, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 9 in January. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Cup and Saucer Vine get?
15 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult4.5 ftwideSee Cup and Saucer Vine in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Cup and Saucer Vine
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Cup and Saucer Vine about 4.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Cup and Saucer Vine to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Cup and Saucer Vine's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom color and trait tags were checked against 9 published sources on October 19, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- NC State Extensionheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- selectseeds.comSelect Seedsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- The Morton Arboretumheight, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Iowa State University Extensionand Outreachheight, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societysun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Swallowtail Garden Seedshardiness zones and bloom months and color
- University of Illinois ExtensionIllinois Extensionbloom months and color
- Chicago Botanic Gardensun
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.