I just bought two starts for Trumpet Vine (Tagliabuana -- an orange, and Flava, a yellow) and have been reading the mixed reviews about this plant. Does anyone have a feel for when this plant *is* invasive and when it *is not*? Is it invasive in all hot climates? Only hot and wet? I'm in hot and dry and think it may be okay here but the posts have made me nervous.
Also does anyone know if certain varieties cause more skin problems than others? My kids do have sensitive skin (they get it from me).
I'm planning on planting it pretty far from the house, along the property line's fence between us and the auto salvage yard to help screen the wrecks from our view. What think ye?
Trumpet Vine: Invasive or Wonderful
where you are putting it, lets hope that it is invasive.
I've never had too much of a problem with it (and it does grow wild around here in sandy locations)
but I've never planted it in a formal garden.
It seems to favor, hot, wet sand dunes here, and tends to climb Magnolia trees very nicely.
We had a Magnolia that every year would erupt with red blooms :-)
drew
It's not invasive here either, i had a hard time keeping it alive when I first put the baby plant in (it was from a cutting) and it is hot, dry, and desert here, it is also far away from the house and doesn't grow too fast here it is still about 2 ft tall (for 3 years that is zilch growth) I think. It does bloom real low and close to the ground.
I wish I had asked that question on a garden forum 7 years ago...
The first few years were just the beginning of my disappointments with this vine. It did not bloom for me until the third year. That was a long wait. Once it started blooming I was quite happy with it, until the following year. It started to sucker from its roots something awful! Little babies were popping up many many feet away from the parent plant. It is a nightmare, and even more of a nightmare to control. The roots are hard to dig up(very large after a few years-like a tree!). If you leave even the tiniest piece in the ground, that piece will sprout.
I have half an acre, and so lots of fence space. I planted a dozen. I fear it will take me the rest of my life to rid my yard of it. I cannot seem to keep up with the ones that keep popping up, after I thought I had it killed.
Please, take a moment to reconsider! Take it back!
There are SO many truly wonderful vine choices out there, I'd hate to see you plant this monstor weed.
If you like trumpet shaped blooms on vines, consider the lavender trumpet vine, or the pink trumpet vine. The lavender trumpet vine(clytostoma callistegiodes) is gorgeous in Spring, and has evergreen foliage in zone 7/8. The pink trumpet vine(podranea ricasiolana) also has gorgeous blooms, but this one is actually QUITE fragrant! It will die to the ground, but return in Spring.
I could go on for days with other great vine choices! Clematis, climbing roses, climbing hydrangea, coral vine, --even honeysuckle is better than trumpet vine!
Not to mention the ugly marks it makes from its aerial roots clinging to everything...and, it requires lots of pruning.
If it is the hummers you are concerned about, trumpet vine is not the only plant they like! Again, many other BETTER choices.
Please don't plant them! You might not regret it right away,... but on down the road, my warning will echo in your head, if you DO plant them! lol...
I have the same problem with little suckers coming up from the main plant as far as 30 ft. away, but once I mow them off they don't continue to grow, above ground anyway. I had a heck of a time killing off one of the mother plants about three years ago, but a good saw and some Toredon took care of it. The other one nearby continues to grow even tho it was treated the same way and now I'm glad it is alive and well. Mine in the front yard get more sun and bloom nicely. In the back yard, they are just foliage vines. Our trees have grown and made so much shade that they barely see the sun now. My biggest problem is the one planted on a fence near the garage. Twice I've had to cut and pull the vines out from under the steel siding. Mine is the old fashioned trumpet vine that people used to grow near the outhouse to shade it. I know I'm probably dating myself here, but really, I'm not ancient yet.
I know that there a many horror stories about this vine. I have campis radicans, which is the vine that horror stories are made of. I planted it about 7 years ago to hide a storage building (red barn). I know it is invasive, but I do love the orange, red and yellow trumpet blooms and so do the hummingbirds. I do have suckers come up in places but we just mow them down. One day I may be very unhappy about them, but it hasn't happened yet! Here is a pic in 2002. It is the vine on the right side of the barn, almost difficult to see from the pic, but I really hate the barn!!! LOL
Here are the vines last summer!
BTW.....Originally I planted 3 vines! An orange, a yellow and a red! Moles killed the orange by chewing the roots! LOL I hate those things!
seedpicker, I will look into the vines you mention -- do they do well in drought conditions? On an average year we get only 14" of rain here, and lately not that. Here's a photo of the fence I'm trying to cover. Take a look and see if you still think trumpet vine would be invasive in this sort of place.
Brinda -- green waterfall! It makes the barn look lovely. What's the blue and white?
Deeproot and Gourd, what are the conditions like where you are growing them? Any hints as to what's keeping it uninvasive?
Brugie, it sounds like mowing is a worthwhile strategy. I also read that planting inside a 5-gallon container with the bottom cut out will limit suckering, so I'm going to try that as an insurance measure and see how it goes.
nowheat....Good Morning! The blue and white on the first pic...... The vine is a morning glory mix and the plant in the whiskey barrel is Lisianthus Forever Blue! The Lisianthus should do great for you in Midland. It likes it "hot".....LOL....the hotter the better!!! Have a great day everyone!
Brinda :)
Here is a close up of the mg vine bloom. Very pale dusty blue color.
Nowheat-
How many feet of fencing is that?
I can certainly see you wanting to cover that. It is really a GREAT opportunity, as I see it, since you can plant so many wonderful things that will just thrive there in the sun! My fence is wood, and believe it, or not, I've always wished it were chain link. Plants can cling to it and climb so much more easily on that than they can wood. I am always stringing wire, bracketing vines,-- anything I can to attach them to go up the fence.
If you simply cannot restrain yourself from planting the trumpet vines, you might at least keep them away from the trees. Mine were near a live oak, and even pruned to 6ft before Spring, they topped the tree by the end of summer. Not a good thing for my live oak...and very difficult to untangle and remove it, once it has stuck itself all over the tree.
Trumpet vine will still be invasive. That is its very nature. Just like mint, plant it in a pot with the bottom out, and it just HASTENS the suckering, but before long they'll find their way up to the surface again, and run rampant. They know which way is up and will find it! lol...
By the way, mowing over them, only prunes them(purges them to grow stronger and seek out another spot!)
You could plant Clematis under the trees. They like their roots in the shade, and will lean out to the sun to bloom.
Morning glories and moonflowers would look gorgeous, too, and so easy! They'll reseed themselves for you.
As for the lavender and pink trumpet vines, they'll need supplemental watering their first year(as do any plants their first year), but the lavender is pretty drought tolerant once established. The pink needs a little more care(but smells SO good!)
There are plenty of evergreen choices if you need year round privacy. There is an evergreen mg (Ipomoea accuminata, syn. learii). Also honeysuckle is evergreen and fragrant. Regular old ivy is evergreen, too. Both honeysuckle and ivy will root if they touch the ground, but don't sucker from their roots like mint, wild blackberries, and trumpet vine.
I have seeds for a lavender mg that forms a tuber, and would be very drought tolerant once it gets going...but you'll really have to like that color, because it is pretty permanent.
Like I said before, trumpets vines were my first choice, when I didn't know any better. No one told me they were invasive. I just liked the blooms, and the way they attracted hummers.
If you ask me if they are beautiful, I'd say they are gorgeous. If you ask If I'd plant them again, I'd say no.
I'd have to say vines have become "my thing" and I now grow several dozen different wonderful vines, and regret planting the trumpet vines. Even my neighbors began to complain that I planted "that horrible creature". It began to creep into their yards, and now they are probably cursing me every time they have to dig another runner up...
They both(on each side of me) came to me and asked If I'd please not plant anymore. I felt terrible.
If only someone had warned me...
-Taylor
Taylor,
I have 190' of fence to cover. I've got moon vine and three colors of morning glory sprouting from seed in my kitchen window right now, along with a slip of honeysuckle and the two trumpet vines.
How far do you think my trees need to be away from the vines (how far can they reach)? I'm planning to plant trees in front of the fence, maybe 8 feet away, and shrubs behind/between the trees. And blackberries in the farthest corner. This area will get very little attention from me, and is planned to be on the wild side -- very little water once I get it established. It is on the south side of our property, so I am planting for screening, shade, and to some degree wind control. We're going to have horses pastured between the fence and our house, so I doubt that the trumpet vine will have a chance to travel very far into the yard.
Someone wrote and asked me about "in a pot"...I figured I should post my response, since someone else might be wondering, too:
HI-
ABOVE the ground, in a pot, would be fine for trumpet vine. It is a great way. There is one downtown, on the square planted this way. It is gorgeous, and climbs three stories directly up from the large pot. It is about a 15-2o gallon pot. This is definitely the way to go, if you want them! They just snuggled the large pot close to the wall, and it climbed up from there...great way to enjoy them, but contain them.
the botanical for Pink trumpet vine-Podranea ricasiolana
the botanical for lavender-clytostoma callistegiodes
Nowheat-
Mature trumpet vines can spread about 7 feet across on a fence(or more). Even more in height.
I'd make sure you plant them more like at least 15 feet(sounds like you still want to plant them, lol) away from the trees. Besides, there are many vines that would be happier, and appreciate the shade of the trees, than the trumpets. Trumpets love full, hot baking sun.
I didn't realize you have horses. Would they munch on your vines? MGs are very poisonous! I cannot plant them near my aviary, for that reason. The birds love to chew on green leaves, but don't know poisonous from non-poisonous, so I plant flowering beans, and edible vines, on their cage, on purpose, because I know they'll sample them.
Be sure you plant things that are safe for them. It is a lot more costly to pay the vet for a horse call, than to spend a little time doing research on your plants. Your vet may even have a list of plants that are poisonous to pets. I see them all the time on the web...
I don't have all the vines I own on my page, but do have a small assortment for trade, listed.
You might at least look at my vine list, as I have links to pictures. This might help you discover some more vine choices?
By the way...cat's claw vine(macfadyena ungui cati) is a great heat/drought vine with yellow flowers, that forms a tuber and is a tough plant...
Scroll down to the plant for trade, and scroll down again to the climbing vines: http://members.gardenweb.com/members/exch/taylor_tx?21847
Don't forget to ask your vet for a list.
-Taylor
ps-
If you don't care about a rose blooming only once a year, I have two different rambler roses(yellow lady banksia, and a pink 'seven sisters' southern rambler). The both get monstrous in size and would help make quick cover. They are on the wild side, and would be tough.
I'm sure what is keeping mine in check, is that it gets hot here (from 110-117 degrees for about three months straight) and it doesn't get that much water. We have over 2 acres of land and if it grows (someday) I think I would love to see some blooms. I can see, however, if you have a small area how it could become invasive. In Riverside, about 15 miles from me there is one that is about 100 years old and has climbed up a fence about 200 feet, the spread is about 20 feet and the trunks are like trees. They do keep it trimmed, but it looks gorgeous.. the one I have is a cutting of that one vine. I tried and tried to get them to root, that is the only one that did. I have purchased a couple of them, and the too died with this heat. I sure wish I could get a yellow one, and a red one.
I also have some other vines Lady Banks Rose, in yellow and white (now they have spread something immense) I only planted four of them and they have cover the chainlink fence of 100 feet across. You have to keep tieing the branches all the time to get them to stay on the fence That will definitly go to the other side of the fence also.. The tiny roses are nice. They took only one year to give us cover and provide a windbreak.
I will take photos sometime this week, it is sooo very cloudy here. They are in the middle of the 2 acres. If you don't have time or the funds and need cover, these are probably the way to go. But, if you want tropicals and other nicer vines, along with that comes the care you must provide for them.
Several are invasive and you have to weigh your decision on what is best for you. In my front yard I did put in 28 vines. It depends on how much of a hurry you are, you can start several with cuttings and airlayering. Enough of my rambling. Good luck.. I know Taylor has some good advice there and so does everyone else up there.
I also put in five clumps of Pampas Grass and they look great, but I regret doing that, they are huge.. it would be okay in a different location than where I put them, so those will be moved. But they sure do look nice in the breeze..
Hello Gourdy girl!
If you want you can send me postage, and I'll send you a yellow trumpet vine(flava). I traded for it before I decided I didn't want them, and have kept it in a pot for a trade.
You can just have it...
Let me know.
-Taylor
Oh Taylor, will do.. I just sent you an SASE for something else.. Thank you so much.. You are too kind to me..I would love it. A.
Taylor, I appreciate your offer of vines in trade, but I don't really have anything to trade.
I've got some Woods' Rose seeds I'm trying to start (no success yet) -- I'm not sure most roses would do well in my garden -- I'm really looking for low-care items.
You've almost got me convinced to not plant these trumpet vines. The evergreen purple looks good (anything evergreen would be best since I *never* want to look at that junkyard.
I like the idea of Clematis under the tree (I have some Virgins Bower seeds). I was also thinking of Carolina Jessamine but I think it might not survive the droughts.
I'd send you some things for postage, if you promise not to plant trumpet vine! lol...
In the ground, that is...in a large pot up against something, or with a trellis in it, would be fine.
I have a gorgeous double pink calystegia that I keep in a 15 gallon pot with a 5ft. trellis that fits perfectly inside. It allows me to have an invasive plant I want to enjoy, but not suffer for it! lol...GOURD will grin if she reads this because she promised to keep it a secret, but I even have bindweed(*gasp)in a hanging basket. Can't help it. It is a childhood memory, and still just love those pink with white striped morning glory blooms...(Just in case you weren't aware, it is a horribly invasive "weed"-that just happens to be gorgeous)
Now it's out! See? I like invasive stuff, and appreciate the gorgeous blooms, but just don't want to see you fight in in the ground, where IT will control YOU. Better YOU control IT.
Now I don't want a single one of you reading this, to email me and tell me the horrors of bindweed! I know, already! I didn't plant it in the ground, and I DO NOT let it go to seed, so contained and unable to set seed, it poses NO THREAT.
Carolina Jessamine is a fabulous plant! It is evergreen, and blooms. Not only that, after it gets established, it is quite happy all on its own. I don't think I watered mine, but once or twice past the first year it was planted...I have lots of seeds, If you want. They grow pretty fast! Another advantage of C. Jessamine, is that it blooms when everything else is done! Mine blooms in the Fall, and first thing in Spring. It is in bloom now. It stays in bloom for quite a while, too.
The two roses are definitely "no care" after the first year...The pink one has a really pretty pale pink with touches of darker pink and a little apricot. Apricot/pink is my favorite color!
You must be thinking of hybrid roses...I'm suggesting the rugged old antique roses that have grown on their own for hundreds of years, without any care, fuss, pruning, fertilizing, etc.-the tough stuff. The two I can offer you are just that. The pink 'seven sisters' is especially recommended for the hot South. I am in Texas, zone 8, and it loves it here.
Now, just one warning about roses...if you begin to love roses, you will no longer be happy with these two, since they only bloom once a year. You might eventually wish you'd chosen less aggressive roses, that bloomed more often. Personally I'd rather plant more roses, that bloom more often, than a couple that grow huge, but only bloom once a year. But, my yard(and yours) is big enough for both...
My fence is close to the same length as yours, and while it may seem like a large area, you'll have it covered in no time. A few Jessamine, a few honeysuckle, some lavender trumpet vine, and those roses, will add evergreen foliage, and then you can sprinkle in some other things, even annual vines, to crawl up and into them, to help fill in the bare spots.
There is a decorative bean {hyacinth bean vine-dolichos lablab purpurea, and a white(dolichos lablab-alba)} that is just beautiful and even adds nitrogen to the soil and acts as a fertilizer for the other surrounding plants. Talk about no maintanence! You won't even have to fertilize this planting! Any legume(beans, peas) will do this. There is a really pretty runner bean(most like the red), that is out called 'sunset'. It is a gorgeous cantaloupe orange. Edible, and just gorgeous! T&M has them, 40 seeds for under $5. Really, really pretty, and very fast annual coverage. Wouldn't have to worry if your horse munched on these, and they'd help fertilize the evergreen stuff!
You mentioned that clematis sounded like a good idea. Here is a link to a gorgeous one that is double blue, huge, and is listed dirt cheap!
'blue light'-
http://www.directgardening.com/detail.asp?cat=Cle&pid=7388&cc=g&dn=75
Have you thought of Oleander? They do need water at first, and probably once every month or so (deep watering). They used those in El Paso, TX when I was working there. They don't need alot of attention and they get really tall too. Those are about the only things that really look good in this heat here. Check out your Lowes for discounts, I went there one night tagging along with hubby on a Friday night, and, they had just discounted 25 vines, Bower vines, the green and the varigated, potatoe vines, etc.. for 2.00, and some were 1.00.. that way you don't have to start with seeds. Keep going on FRiday nights about 7pm and check for their discounts. It is worth a try and most likely they will have only drought tolerant vines for your area. Or buy one and take cuttings to root. It is hard to try to cover a large area, believe me, I know.. Sure wish I could get some poplar trees, they shoot straight up, and grow fast, windbreaks and shade cover fast.. but they don't sell them or ship them to CA.
Gourd -- oleander is way too poisonous for me -- the leaves and branches are poisonous so there's a danger year-round if the horses get out and try eating them. With Morning Glories it's just the seed -- so the danger isn't constant and can be controlled by dead-heading.
I am certainly on the lookout for cheap vines out here -- that's how I came by the trumpet vine which I've seen blooming all over this town and it looks lovely. Only problem is that *now* is the best time to plant but everyone around here waits until April and May to plant so the local nurseries have almost no stock of anything (and I can't really afford to be buying online; trying to save every penny so I can get the electric fence up and bring my horses out of boarding and onto our property).
Taylor -- ok -- I'll buy a *great big* pot and put both trumpet vines in it. I need a *great big* pot because I'm not going to be watering often. (Someday I may get a dripline out there but it won't be in the first several years.)
I think the thing you're missing though is just exactly how dry it is out here. July and August are considered our "monsoon" months out here -- we get an average of less than three inches of rainfall in those two months combined (1 inch one month, 2 inches the next, more or less) -- in weather that's usually 100 degrees and the land is so parched by then that it sucks up what it can and the rest evaporates!
I had Caroline Jessamine by my front door when I moved here -- mind you it's in an area bounded by the walk and the front steps, and it gets about 1/4 of the rainfall caught by the roof... nonetheless, after about 4 years, all of it died from thirst (and neglect) ((Up until now I've always been a haphazard gardener... I've always been a transient... I only just figured out that I'm here to stay so I can finally indulge my life-long desire to have nice gardens.))
I'm going to look at the vines you mention and see what might work well, and get back to you. Someday perhaps I can offer you something special. Right now the only thing I might be able to come up with (not on your list) is wild devil's claw.
Devil's claw are pretty. I already have some, though. You know, I do understand you are in an area with little rainfall, but you also have to understand that without SOME care the first year, even drought tolerant plants will die. They are used to being cared for at a nursery, and will still require some of that care in your yard, until they set a root system, that can help them fend for themselves.
I'd try a few searches on google for "xeriscape, vines" , or "vines, xeriscape", something like that...
Is this area ANYwhere near a spigot? You could set up a few soaker-hoses and let them babysit your newly planted vines...
-T
hyacinth bean vines are good and wont hurt the livestock as they are edible.
scarlett runner beans are good too. we do get pretty hot down here in sc/ga without watering to much and i grow these two. what makes these nice is they like living in pots too. thats where i grow mine at.
imzadi -- as in Troi?
You may have heat but (poor you!) have the advantage of humidity (my plants would do better with humidity, but I would become unbearable to live with; I know, I've tried!)
Thanks, I'll look into those plants.
Oh Taylor, I wasn't so much saying it's dry here so all my plants will die in the first year (I will care for them -- I'm on a roll here) but I still maintain that the trumpet vine may not be invasive because it's so dry here. Still, I think I'll not take a chance on it.
Hey Taylor,
After some research, I've concluded that the two differently-colored trumpet vines won't work here because our temperatures drop too low (we're zone 7a and we got into the teens this winter -- and it's been a mild winter).
The roses, now... gosh but I love wild-looking roses. I would not have thought most of them could tolerate the climate here but I'm willing to give them a try (fear becoming hooked) and I'm sure they'd get more attention from me than most anything else in my yard.
Caroline Jessamine from seed? What fun! I've already got a triple-window full of seedlings but I'll make room for more! Just let me know where and how much postage to send.
I will definitely look into the beans, too. I have sweet pea seedlings started -- I am thinking they should be nitrogen-fixing, too.
Thanks to you (and everyone!) for all the advice!
I'm in Plano, Tx. That is 20 mins North of Dallas. Just two counties south (or less than 2 hours from)the OK border...
The purple and the pink trumpet vines do great here. You are hours away, and further south. I think If I can grow them, so could you. I was told not to plant the pink, and they certainly don't sell them around here, since everyone marks them zone 9/10. I wanted one badly, though, so traded with a friend in Florida. It has been two or three years, now, and they come back bigger each year. It does die down to the ground, but comes back. The purple lost its leaves the first year in winter, but now that it is more established, it stays evergreen. The pink blooms on new growth, so not a problem that the old growth dies each year. It actually causes it to put on a better show!
I'd say "don't knock it til you try it". I've been pleasantly surprised at a lot of things that I'm not supposed to be able to grow! lol... When they mark a plant, and the zones it is recommended to grow in, they don't include "but will survive two zones more with mulch". lol...
Yes, nitrogen fixing is the proper term, but felt I was already saying too much, so didn't want to go into too much detail...
If you want to send me a sase for a one pound box, I'll send some seed samples and vine starts.
-Taylor
yes Nowheat as in Troi. my hubbys name for me. he is a trkkie through and through i am a fan but not like him. i will say i am for tribbles though. i have both Imzadi books too.
yes do try the beans. if i can find the pink trumpet vine i want to give that a shot in a pot.
the humidity is a killer at times. thank gosh for ac s . it does get unbearable. thats why we water all the time.
Nowheat, I've been looking at some of the vines in my yard. We took a tree down last weekend that our sky vine had latched onto along with the power pole next to it. We pulled down a lot of "Tarzan" size vines. I stuck them in a bucket of water to try and root them. So far they are not dead but no roots yet either. And the same goes for the passion vines, trying to root them too.
Anyway, one of my vines is a honeysuckle, the slowest growing of all of them. I've had mine in for 2 years now and this is the first year for bloom and finally some new runners are sprouting off at the bottom. I love that it's finally kicking off, but I would keep that one nearer to the house for more enjoyment than for covering a junk yard fence.
Actually, you may be able to grow some passion vines out there on that fence. Just looked at the plants data base and the zone may be okay for you. I put 2 purple and 1 red in, 2 years ago and they have almost entirely covered my 90' fence. These vines can't reach too far to trees either. (No more than 3 feet I'd say) I'm trying to root some now, will let you know if they take and if you want some.
:^)
Molly
how do I write a whisper???
....(***whispering: "passiflora are invasive"...)
My 'blue boutique' is popping up in cracks in my porch, as far as 20 feet away, and it is only two years old...)
The hybrid honeysuckles tend to have slower growth than the regular "wild" honeysuckle.
Nowheat-I'll send you some really good starts. (Might want to make that sase two pounds instead of one.)
ps-I'll include all the blue boutique you want! lol...(just kidding unless you want it in a hanging basket) I think passifloras are gorgeous, and very useful for the bees and butterflies, but I think the best solution, is growing the annuals, so they don't sucker. They are very easy to start from seed, if the seed is not old.
I have some wonderful passiflora morifolia seeds you can have. They REALLY put out a show! They bloom like no other passiflora I've grown. They seem to love the heat, and once they mature to flower, they don't stop!-very unlike the usual ''stingy" passifloras...
Blue sky vine will come back from the ground for you, but would require more water than I think you're going to have for it. ?
-T
Molly, thanks for the offer of the passion vines -- if you have extras, I'd be glad to try them out along the fence.
I have a "Dropmore Scarlet" honeysuckle slip rooting on my windowsill. If it's slow-growing, that's okay. I'll just give it extra room so the others don't beat it out, and wait patiently. Honeysuckle grew where I was raised in New England so it's a childhood favorite -- and I'm astounded it grows both here and there.
I think Taylor's probably right about the Blue Sky Vine. I just looked it up in the plantdatabase and it is certainly beautiful -- I'd love to have it -- but the "constantly moist" is a big problem here. We are on well water and I easily overtax our system just watering the tiny front yard garden. (This weekend I'm working on installing a drip watering system in the front garden.)
Taylor -- ok, 2-pound postage it is. Do you want me to send a box along with the postage?
I never did answer your question about a spigot -- we only have two, one in the front yard, one in the back. I just figured that once we've got the horse fence in it's going to take about 300' of hose to get out to the furthest reaches of the junk yard fence. Eventually I'll have to put something out there but can't afford it time or $-wise just now.
I also never answered you about a few other things:
Horse poisons -- I have some good books on the subject of plants poisonous to horses, plus lots of links. I rather quickly figured out almost everything is poisonous. Apple seeds? Horses eat apples all the time! (it's only if they eat too many seeds...). So I guess I have to make choices about where to plant things and just *how* poisonous...
Xeriscape plants -- I've got the county extension list and am working a lot from that. Anyone ever seen Silver Lace Vine (Polognum caerulea)? It's on the list but I couldn't find it in the databse.
yes, I have silver lace, but don't have any plants for trade. I can send some seeds, though. It grows like a weed, and doesn't need much care. The correct, or at least more common botanical: is polygonum aubertii. You should be able to find a lot of information by looking up "silver lace vine", or "polygonum aubertii" on google.
No, you don't need to send a box. I've got plenty.
Wondering how you are going to water these, if you cannot get a hose out there?
-Taylor
I can get a hose out there -- I just bought 3 (lifetime guaranteed) 100' hoses. :)
I've just been out watering my newly planted apple trees and figs. *They'll* need some extra water, I know. So vines that need a bit of extra water should be down near the apple-tree end, I guess, since that's where the hose'll spend most its time. (The figs are close in on the south side of the house, so no problem getting water to them.)
For a continuation of my adventure in Trumpet Vines, please see the Garden Talk thread "War of the Vines". :(
I guess they just grow better in Texas! My red trumpet vine was planted 4 years ago and has yet to bloom, it hasn't spread all that much either.....anyone know how I could trick it into blooming? I'm in Massachusetts in zone 6 and the plant is in at least 6 hours of sun.....it's on a trellis and also climbing onto a nearby lilac....had no idea they were invasive!
THey can spread out a bit lol I had em wild on my property when I bought it many years ago here in MS. I left it alone and even moved a bit and trained it against an old barn wall. Reason - Swarms of hummingbirds on those huge red flowers.
When it suckers out where I dont want it, I dont nuke it with chemicals or break my back with a shovel. I turn a torch on it for a good long while until the top is burnt gone and the roots are boiled. It dont come back there. It is not a vine you plant and forget about though - you will have to keep it cut back or it will "explore a bit". HOpe this helps if you do decide to give it a try. I like it cause I like humingbirds and of all the flowers I have spread out over my 12 acres - they visit this one more. Go figure.