Vine Suggestions

Hello, I live in Reno, NV and I was looking for ideas for some vines for my zone (7a). I have a knowledge of the mainstream stuff that grows here: Wysteria, Honeysuckle, Virginia Creeper, Trumpet Vine, English Ivy, which is all in my yard. But I have a lot of fence to cover- if anyone out there who lives in a fairly sunny, similar climate can offer any different ideas I would appreciate it. I would like to have my fence perimeter covered with a bunch of neat, different stuff.

I'm having good luck with Passifloras...some of them didn't like my winter last year, but 'White Wedding' is doing great and is doing a great job of covering a large area of fence very quickly (possibly a bit too quickly...I'm a little worried where it might go next!)

ecrane3- I just read your response so I will research what you gave me. Do you think that vine will do okay here in Reno?

I think it should--it's pretty hardy so the winter shouldn't be an issue, and although your summers are hotter than mine it showed no signs of stress at all during any of our heat waves last summer even though I had planted it in early summer which is usually a terrible time to plant things. I have it on a fence that gets 12 hrs of sun a day during the summer so if it didn't like heat & sun it definitely would have died by now.

Hi Bevoreno

Are you looking for perennials, annuals or both?

Sherri
8b

seray53- Hello! Actually, I am trying to achieve perennials (I like to plant- I much prefer to watch grow!) but I am okay with annual if need be. The problem with annuals in Reno is our growing season is fairly short, so unless its something like Kudzu or Porcelain Berry I won't be able to cover much distance with annuals. If you can recommend an annual that 'reseeds' I think I would entertain it. Our winters lately have been getting more mild (global warming/change?) so I've found I've been able to push the envelope with some things in my garden (like Japanese Aralia).

Any ideas you have, perennial or annual, would be greatly appreciated. I actually was thinking of giving bougainvillea a shot, and mulching the heck out of it (and maybe even covering) in winter- I've read a few folks pushing the envelope with that.

Thank you!

I think bougainvillea is a pretty long shot for zone 7--they don't typically survive my winters here so you'd need some pretty serious protection for them to have a chance. When I was a half hour north of here in an area that was just over the edge into 9b they would make it most of the time, but would frequently lose most of their leaves. No reason you shouldn't try if you can find some cheap ones, but you'll need to do a really good job on the protection if you want them to have a realistic chance. If your main goal is getting some fences covered in vines, I'd probably go for something that's more of a "sure thing" in your zone.

Yeah, Boug would be fun just for tryings sake. Even if it did survive it would get wiped back to the ground, forced to begin anew every year. Won't cover much that way...

But please offer other suggestions, though, keep 'em comin!!

Another perennial vine you might consider is Cross Vine. I've seen some lovely photos of this vine being used in various locations. I just purchased one (Dragon Lady) at Home Depot for $7.00. The attached card says it will grow in Full to Partial Sun, average size 6-30 ft Tall by 5-10 ft Wide.

Cold hardiness is 0 to -10 degrees and it is reported to be evergreen under most growing conditions. I think some pruning in the early stages will help density.

Here's the particuliars: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/58823/

I'm curious to see how well it performs for me.

Mary