Jun 11, 2026 / By Anas Heaba / in Growing Guides
Garden Nasturtium, known in Arabic as أبو خنجر (also called كابوسين), is a cheerful annual from South America that rewards beginners with masses of red, orange and yellow flowers. The Arabic name "dagger-bearer" comes from the slim, dagger-like spur behind each bloom. It is one of the easiest ornamentals to start from seed, it trails beautifully over the edge of pots and baskets, and climbing types can scramble up a support to about 1.5–2.5 m. In Egypt it shines as a cool-season flower: it dislikes our scorching summers but thrives through the mild, frost-free winter.
Treat أبو خنجر as a winter and spring bloomer, not a summer one. Sow the seed in autumn, roughly from mid-September through November, so the plants establish and flower through Egypt's gentle winter and into spring (December to April). The reason is simple: flowering stops once temperatures climb past about 29°C, and our summers regularly exceed 35°C. In the Delta and coastal areas like Alexandria you can sow a little earlier and may hold plants longer into spring. In hotter Upper Egypt (Aswan, Luxor) sow on the later side of autumn and aim to have plants in full bloom between December and March, before the spring heat ends the show.
Soak the seeds in water for about 8–24 hours before sowing to speed germination. Sow each seed 1.3–2.5 cm deep and cover it fully with soil, because these seeds need darkness to sprout. At a soil temperature of roughly 16–18°C they germinate in about 7–14 days; cooler soil simply slows things down. Choose a spot in full sun, since partial shade gives leaves but few flowers. Nasturtiums have fragile roots that resent being moved, so sow directly where they will grow whenever you can. If you must raise transplants, use peat pots 3–4 weeks before planting out and shift them carefully. Thin or space plants 20–30 cm apart; in a hanging basket or a 25 cm container, keep just 3–5 plants.
This is the one rule that surprises most growers: do not feed أبو خنجر. Rich soil and high nitrogen push out lush leaves and almost no flowers, which defeats the purpose. Plant in well-drained, lean soil and let the plant do its thing. Only if your soil is extremely poor should you add a light, low-nitrogen feed, applied sparingly at planting and once more when the plants reach about 13–15 cm tall. Otherwise, less is genuinely more.
Water regularly through the growing season and keep the soil evenly moist. The plants will survive a little drought, but consistent moisture keeps them blooming strongly. Pinch off faded flowers (deadheading) to push the plant into producing more, and the display will carry on through winter and spring until heat arrives. Give climbing types a trellis or string to grab onto. Watch for aphids and for cabbageworm caterpillars, the two most common pests; leafminers may draw pale winding trails on the leaves but cause little real harm. Under cover, whitefly and red spider mite can appear, and the plants can catch virus diseases, so remove badly affected growth.
The "harvest" here is the flowers. Red, orange and yellow blooms open through the cool months and keep coming as long as you deadhead and temperatures stay below about 29°C. In Egypt that means a long, colourful run from roughly December into spring. Cut a few stems for the table or simply enjoy them spilling over a pot. When summer heat sets in and flowering stops, the season is over and you can clear the plants and save seed for next autumn.
Start with fresh, reliable seed for the best germination. At tna W rna you can pick up بذور ابو خنجر for general planting, or choose the clearly labelled بذور زهرة أبو خنجر (Nasturtium Seeds, Tropaeolum majus) if you want the botanical name confirmed on the pack. If you are planting a larger bed or several baskets, the بذور ابو خنجر option gives you more to work with. Soak, sow shallow in lean soil under full sun this autumn, and enjoy a winter full of colour.
Jun 11, 2026 by Anas Heaba
Jun 11, 2026 by Anas Heaba
