Just arrived back to my home in Mexico and my flame vine looks like it is dead! These are well established plants and every other year at this time when we arrive, the vines are all green and leafy. Now everything is brown and woody and not a leaf in sight. The trunks have some tiny new growth happening, should I prune it all back right to the stocks?? Just can't understand what's gone wrong. Anybody out there that can shed light on this problem?
Thanks
Mattie
Help with flame vine
Did you get some blow by from TS Rick or another storm while you were gone? I know they are sensitive to salt.
Thanks so much for your reply but these vines where here when we bought the place 10 years ago so they have weathered many a storm, don't think that is the answer. I've been out there all morning tidying them up and although there is new growth on the larger sized trunks and vines, the small whips are still not showing anything. Maybe I just have to wait. On a brighter note, the jasmine vine that is intermingled is showing some leafing, but it has suffered too, doesn't look like previous years either. Do these vines have a life span?
Thanks again, are you from Merida?
Mattie
I live in Merida but I am from California. Before we bought this house we spent 7 years traveling in Mexico and C.A. in our RV and I remember Rincon de Guayabitos, it's north of PV isn't it? We never stayed there but had friends who did and we visited them once or twice. I mainly remember buying a huge jackfruit from a stand on the road near there, it was luscious. The lady also sold empanadas and jams made from them.
It does sound like salt damage, the vines will come back fine once the salt is off them and washed off the roots. They may have done this many times in their lives.
A question. Flame vine= Pyrostegia venusta? if so here in my area is a hardy one. I don t water it during the dry season = May to November
I think that is the one she means, it is the vine I have in mind. It is very hardy, almost hard to control. I see it out in the campo on trees here and it would not get any water in the dry season although our dry season is the opposite, November/December to May. We usually get a few days of rain in that time but not very much. April and May are very dry, hot and humid. Over on the west coast where she is they also have very distinct dry season in the winter months. They have had several hurricanes and tropical storms this season, none that I know of hit as far south as PV but they would have brought lots of rain and perhaps salt laden wind.
Yes, that is the vine I am talking about. I'm going to go out and really flood the roots and see if that helps. Also had some work done in that area and see that the men spilt some wet concrete on the ground surrounding the roots. Not much but maybe enough to be the cause. Nice to see gardeners from Mexico and Costa Rica here. I love Costa Rica also, haven't been back in 12 years.
Mattie
I am sorry, May to November= wet season, December to April dry season
i just checked this plant on my garden encyclopedia, very beautiful!! we don't have it here in Mozambique, a flame vine is something else here.
i certainly hope your plants return soon back to life, Mattie!
Isaac
Good luck with flooding your vine, Mattie. Sounds like the spilt concrete hurt the plant - I know how bad it can be when I get in on my hands...takes a whole layer of skin off!
Nice to have you posting, please post some pics of your garden - I just love pics!
Jenn
i love pics too!