Also does anyone have lespedeza bicolour anywhere in Australia?

I started mine in a pot, then moved on to a bucket. It was The Most Miserable Plant.

So, wot the 'eck - in the middle of a drought I put it into stony,clay soil and watered it sometimes. On the eastern side of the house.

It muttered for about a year, then took off. Each year I haul out the adventurers from under the verandah, gather the hops, and chop it back for winter.

After all that rambling, in my experience, they're not much in pots. They prefer to be planted and in a spot that is not sunbaked. South or east side and watered over summer to keep the spider mites at bay. They don't mind the rinsing water from the washing machine if you're on tight rations. Reasonable soil, preferably not sandy unless it has plenty of humus for the Humulus. (Forgive...) If they get good air movement they don't seem to be troubled with mould.