A challenge for FL vine experts!

Ocala, FL(Zone 9a)

So...I have this overgrown confederate jasmine and bought an arched trellis from a "junk" catalog (yeah, yeah, when will I learn.) ;) Not sturdy enough for the jasmine, so looking for an attractive lightweight flowering vine for next year.

I usually container garden, so that's an option for any vine normally invasive. Even open to annuals. (Currently growing morning glories on another container trellis and whilst the foliage is healthy, there are no flowers, no matter how much I cuss at them.) If I were back in MI, I'd plant clematis, lol.

Advice or suggestions? Coral honeysuckle or black eyed susan vines?? Here's a picture of the trellis, legs are hollow & can be reinforced with rebar sunk into the ground.

Thumbnail by denisemb
Lee's Summit, MO(Zone 6a)

From experience, all you can put on this flimsy trellis is SILK flowers! If you really must use this trellis, about the only vines you can use will be morning glories, and they will be 'iffy'. Any vine I know about (except the Manettia vine) will get too heavy for this trellis - ask me how I know.

As for your morning glory vines not blooming, neither are mine - I just figure it's too hot and humid right now.

Ocala, FL(Zone 9a)

I should have known better than to order it. ;) Hey, I just checked my MG's and they were blooming this morning for the 1st time! You brought me luck - thanks!

Lee's Summit, MO(Zone 6a)

You're welcome! Now, could you send me some luck for MY morninglories?! LOL

mid central, FL(Zone 9a)

i would try the Black-Eyed Susan vines anyway. especially since they'll be in pots at the sides....beats a blank! lol and they're not a heavy vine as a rule. just don't go with a Cypress Vine. they look airy but they'll be with you forever and ever and not in a good way!

Clermont, FL(Zone 9a)

I have some blue sky vine and it's not heavy. Right now its about 25 feet high. Dies back to the ground in winter but keeps coming back. Grows fast.
Would love to have some black eyed susan vine. It's beautiful.
Bonnie

Lee's Summit, MO(Zone 6a)

No, Bonnie - this trellis is made from light, hollow aluminum - it would fold under the blue sky vine. I grow these and some have stems as big around as my middle finger!

Spring Hill, FL(Zone 9a)

Reinforce the legs, and unless you want to add it to the list of things to take care of, worry about while a tropical storm/hurricane is on it's way to your house, put it into concrete footers (easy enough to do. You need instructions, give a yell, I'll send them). You didn't mention the cultural conditions of the area it's to be in. If full sun, consider Cypress vine. It's an annual, will reseed itself for the next year (plant it once, it keeps on going). Delicate looking foliage but a tough little vine. Foliage looks cut lacy ferny. Blooms are small trumpet shaped VIVID crimson flowers that attract every Sulphur Butterfly and Hummingbird for miles around. (There are pink and white forms- not as common, or as effective). Those small blooms are visible from across the yard.
Make sure there's good air movement around the trellis so spider mites or whitefly won't be a problem. Add compost to the planting site and plant your seeds. Keep them moist until they germinate. After they're up they don't require much in the way of care. Maybe some fertilizer every once in awhile. I'd recommend a slow-release granular with as many micros as possible.
Any stray volunteers next year are easy to pull-can be transplanted somewhere else, given away... When it dies out and goes brown at the end of the year it's incredibly easy to pull off any structure it's on.
Seed packets can be purchased from any number of seed sources. Many can be accessed through DG.

mid central, FL(Zone 9a)

LOL, so you have one OH NO and one YES on the Cypress Vine. yes, it's an annual but an annual pain in the whoo-hoo.

Ocala, FL(Zone 9a)

KayJones is right, this is a flimsy piece of poo-poo trellis - just looking for SOME way to get some use out of it. ;) Think I'll sink it into my largest containers next year & grow MG's or black eyes susan vines. I can either lie it down during a tropical storm or let it sail away. ;) Live and learn.

But ya'll have given me good ideas on what to grow next year on my sturdy trellises that are bolted to the screen house. Love the Blue Sky Vine and Cypress vine.

Thanks!

Ocala, FL(Zone 9a)

tracksinsand, trust me, I can kill anything by just looking at it cross-eyed! LOL

mid central, FL(Zone 9a)

roflol

Jacksonville, FL(Zone 9a)

Can you please come and look cross eyed at the cypress vines in my yard???? They pull everything around them down and just make a tangled mess of everything.

How about if you thread thin rebar into the four legs (just the straight parts) of the arch leaving enough to insert into the ground, that would at least stabilize the base. I had one like that myself, it was a Martha Stewart from K Mart and when it fell - it fell hard. LOL I always wished I had reinforced it somehow.

My Poet's Jasmine is very delicate, I don't know if it is that way for everyone but a light trellis would be plenty for mine. It truly is a bright lemon/lime green . http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/93202/ Just a thought.
.

This message was edited Jul 7, 2012 3:20 PM

mid central, FL(Zone 9a)

oh, i like that! i wish i had more places for climbers.......

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
BACK TO TOP