I grew the long luffa last year and it took all season to grow a dozen or so but man they go a long way. I am still using the same quarter I cut close to a year ago to scrub dishes before putting in the dishwasher. Bought these seeds earlier this year and have 3 wild luffa and 2 long luffa that have grown up a trellis and into our mature mesquite here in Tucson. The vines are about 25' in the air and still trying to go higher. I'd say they are about a 1' above the tree canopy. I noticed flowers in Sept but just looked up here in October and there are hundreds of small wild luffa and a few long. Beautiful plant, beautiful flowers, and the bees are in heaven every morning. These are a great addition to any garden even just to bring the bees. Just make sure you have a very tall vertical space and that you plant on the north side of your garden or it will block all sunshine and take over. I guess if you had plants that needed protection from the sun you could build a tall arch system over your garden and train during the year. Oh, FYI, The plant is a huge water hog.