It does branch as it gets older, but you may need to encourage bushiness by tip pinching if it is being grown indoors with lower light levels. They bloom most heavily with warm summer-like temps year round, but mine here in chilly Berkeley is just now blooming, as it typically does each autumn.

Thanks bahia! My plant has about 13 leaves on it, and plus about 3 more sets on the vine and growing. It is only about 5-7" tall. It sits on the windowsill of south-eastern exposure. The window is a bit drafty, but than it also gets heat blown underneath it from the heating registers. How big was your plant before it bloomed?
-Nicole-

Hi
Just started one of these last spring.. Was only 4 inches high when I got it has already made it to the top of the shadehouse. Mine has branched a lot in fact the growing tips seem to die off and it branchhes twice just below it. Only ones I've seen locally were in flower in spring. Have heard different opinions on how cold sensitive it is. Guess i'll find out as winters on it's way lol gary

I bought mine in bloom as a 6 foot tall, 5 gallon sized plant shipped up from southern California. It was in bloom in late summer when I got it, and continued into bloom until it got cold about November. In greenhouse conditions, it can bloom nearly all year if it gets enough light, and in warmer subtropical locations, it will also bloom in all the warmer months. Under our northern California conditions, as we don't get any accumulated heat until late in summer, it tends to delay blooming until late summer/early fall. I think it blooms much earlier in southern California, and would probably bloom on its own schedule in south Florida as well.

Where I have seen it at its most floriferous, was at the Princess Diana Glasshouse in Kew Gardens. Of course they keep this greenhouse at tropical temps year round, and it responded by being massively in bloom on a very large plant that was over 50 feet across. So I would say, the more heat and humidity you can give this, probably 80 to 85F during the day and 60F or thereabouts at night, would encourage maximum blooming.

It does survive and tolerate our cool winters here, where we flirt with freezing occasionally, and regularly dip below 40F for several months, but slows way down in growth. I think our average 55F summer nights are also abit too cool for best flowering, but it tolerates this and will bloom, just less so than with warmer temps. I have had best luck with growing this under a south facing overhang, which protects from frost yet gets maximum winter and summer warming. Feed it regularly to push growth in warm months as well, because it is a heavy feeder. I also think it will bloom best if branches can climb over a horizontal structure and then hang down...

Thank you for the very useful info. I had no idea of the potential largeness this plant was able to achieve :) I'm sooo excited to see what I can get this to do. Thanks again!
P.S. Bahia I like the word "floriferous"
-Nicole-