I had one and it quickly succumbed to spider mites -- indoors -- before it could flower, of course (I didn't know about the garlic cayenne-pepper remedy then, mentioned on this site.)

It sounds like a good bet (less heartbreaking) would be to grow it from seeds. I am attaching a link from the vines forum about some peoples' experiences growing it successfully from seeds, outdoors, unless you have a greenhouse. You might find the seeds on Amazon -- or by googling.

Here is a link that might be useful: growing corkscrew flower from seeds

Monarda,

Thanks for the info. I guess I will try my hand at seeds. See what happens.

barnbatt

I found it easy to grow this plant from seed. It's readily available and relatively cheap. I started my plants in containers and let them scramble up a wire fence in dappled shade.
The vine did take a long time to bloom but delivered a lot of flowers. Granted, they are pretty when fresh but quickly fade to a yellowish shade and the scent reminds me of stale beer! So I'm not growing this plant anymore, but it was an interesting experience.

I grew mine from seed a couple of years ago and got them from the Seed Savers Exchange (5 seeds for 5 dollars--not cheap in my mind). Don't expect much out of them the first year but from then on, the flower production will be greater and more prolific. Just realize that you will have to plant it in a large pot and overwinter it in an area where it won't drop below freezing since it is not hardy in your area. I have overwintered mine in the garage in the past. Never noticed any off odor as the flowers aged on mine.

The vine did take a long time to bloom but delivered a lot of flowers. Granted, they are pretty when fresh but quickly fade to a yellowish shade and the scent reminds me of stale beer!

Lisa11