millettia reticulata

does anyone grow it? know where to get it? how hardy is it? how big is the spread? thanks. barb

I have it, but it's still quite small. My friend has a huge one, loaded with seed pods. We are in zone 8b/9a and it overwinters just fine. My friend's vine is massive - covers a span of about 8' wide - she keeps in trimmed.

I have one--mine's not huge yet but it's only been in the ground for a couple years and I'm very stingy with water so it would likely grow faster in an area that gets more rain. I've seen some places list it as zone 8 hardy and others zone 9, but since I'm in 9a and I've never seen the teensiest bit of frost damage on it I suspect zone 8 is probably closer to right. If you want something that's even more guaranteed on the hardiness, the similar looking Millettia taiwanensis is hardy to zone 7. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/126206/ It can tend to be a little shrubbier than M. reticulata, but I think it could still be trained up a trellis/arbor if that's what you wanted.

there is a tx. co. that has them in 5 gal. containers. i have written to them as they are a wholesale company.

taiwanensis would do though ecrane if reticulata turns out not to be hardy here.

when do yours bloom? how long? from what i've read it's june till late in the year.

They definitely bloom on the later side--June sounds a bit early. I want to say mine starts blooming closer to late July or August although I haven't paid super close attention, I just know it starts blooming a lot later than most things in my garden. It's still got a few blooms on it now but it's getting close to finished. Once it gets bigger it may have a longer bloom period though, I'm not sure since this is the first one I've grown.

i have heard from 2 tx. people from very close to me. it is hardy at least in my zone........the reticulata i mean. the taiwanensis is worth looking into as well. haven't found a company that has it though. how much natural rain water do you get ecrane? your rainfall may be less but i bet it doesn't get into triple digits where you are either, does it?

Lazy S's Nursery carries M. taiwanensis--can't remember seeing it anywhere else though, it's not as common as reticulata.

Rainfall...we typically get about 15-20 inches a year (lately it's been on the lower end of that), but it's all in the winter, we don't get any rain at all during the summer. I do some supplemental watering of course, but I try to keep it to once a week at most for the garden beds (containers I'm a bit more generous!) And yes, it does get into the triple digits here...we seem to alternate between having cool spells (mid 70's to low 80's) and hot spells (typically 95-105). The highest temperature I've seen since I've been here is 115 but it doesn't normally get quite that hot.

but when you go to their site i couldn't find it. i am finding it at some wholesale places. and almost eden has reticulata.

It's there...I can't link directly to the entry, but scroll down the page of vine listings, they're in alphabetical order. http://www.lazyssfarm.com/Plants/Vines/vines.htm

you're right. thanks as i would have missed it. also they have a hardy passion vine that is mauve in color that's hardy to zone 6. here i go again. i guess this company has good feedback. i'll check them out. thanks so much for helping me.

I've always had good luck with Lazy S if you want to try the taiwanensis. And Almost Eden is very good too if you decide to stick with reticulata. I don't think you would go wrong ordering from either place.

thanks for that info. esp. almost eden. i couldn't remember if i had heard negative feedback about them or not. the price is better there as well.

You can always check Garden Watchdog--as far as I know both Lazy S and Almost Eden are in the Top 30 though so you're pretty safe.