Climing Shell Plant

I am thinking of ordering some of this and have seen the same picture in numerous catalogs. The picture is up close to show the flowers, which is great, but I would like to see a picture of the entire plant in a container or in the ground. Not just a close up of a 4 inch section of the vine. Has anyone grown this? It says it gets 25 feet tall, but I wanted to put some in a big container with bamboo in a teepee type formation, maybe 2 feet high. Then let it grow up the 2 feet to give it some height, and from there it would just hang over the sides of the container. That's my thought anyway, I just don't know if it would be full enough to do that or if it is one continuous vine with lots of blooms. I hope I am explaining my question clearly enough! I mean, is it going to grow like a long strand of ivy, or would it fill out a container like jasmine, wisteria, etc. If anyone has grow this, in any fashion, and has pictures, I would LOVE to see them!

Thanks,

Jamie

TG, isn't that shell plant a corkscrew vine?

Yep- same thing! :)

Here is a picture of my snail vine(phaseolus) whose growth is similar to vigna (corkscrew). It is in a rubbermaid type container with hole in bottom and 4ft trellis. I wound the vines in and out till covered and then let the vines grown down and out the pot. Every now and then I trim the runners back and root them for new plants.

Jan...

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL10/655234/4990086/63455827.jpg

Jan-

THANK YOU! That's what I needed to see. Wow, if the corkscrew grows in the same manner as the snail vine, I am going to up my structure to 4 feet as well.

You could easily go 10 ft if you have a heavy container support. I was afraid if I went too high that it would get too top heavy for a plastic container and fall over. 4ft is very manageable.

I have several of the vignas started and will probably grow them in the same way but they only range from 4 to 12 in tall right now.
These are my newest vigna seedlings. 6 seedlings out of 6 seeds. Can't wait till they grow up!
Jan...

That's quite a handsome plant, I love the shiny leaves, It looks great in that trellis form, so thick, how old is this plant, Jan? Are they Perennial?
Bj

It's about 5 yrs old but only in it's second year with me. Here it blooms pretty much year round.
Jan...

Wow! Do they grow from seeds or cuttings?
Bj

They grow from both. I prefer to do cuttings because the vines are mature and flower quicker than from seeds.

If you ever decide to trim your's back, I'd love a few cuttings, keep me in mind.
I suppose I'd have to bring it in in the winter here. Z 7b.

Before we moved I had a corkscrew vine that grew up the 10ft side of a greenhouse and spread out over the back half. If grown in a frost free climate, I bet they could get really big. We had a weird freeze here at Christmas so my little vigna vine is barely hanging on, but someone shared seeds with me and they should be germinating any day now.
I tried to get the snail vine to grow up my fence last year but it took off across the meadow. It doesn't want to twine around a support like the corkscrew vine but prefers to scramble across or over stuff. I think some of the vines were 15 ft long. It also froze back to the ground but is coming back now.

I am posting a link to a picture of what I want to order just in case someone is reading this and wants to see what we're talking about! :) But I'm not ordering from Springhill. I found bigger plants that are cheaper in another catalog- I think they are 2 for $7.49 (I think). Anyway, it's cheaper than $9.99 that Springhill wants. And since they are always "hit or miss" for me, I don't want to risk it.

http://springhillnursery.com/product.asp?pn=20180

The info I have read says they are hardy in zones 9 and 10. In Northern climates it says you can bring them indoors and grow as a houseplant in the winter. But I figure in zone 8 I can "push it" a bit by leaving the container outside but protecting it. I have done that with a few other tropical types that aren't supposed to make it here over winter, and it worked. So, we'll see. I am for sure ordering this plant now, and y'all can hit me up for cuttings as soon as the time comes. I'm a such a giver. Ha! :)

BJ-
Let me know if you want some for postage. I've just cut some to root a couple days ago.
Jan...

Tex,
The first one is a true vigna.
I'd be wary of the second offer without seeing pictures that look like the first. The price seems too cheap for true Vigna.

Jan...

Jan-

It's that exact same picture as on Springhill's site. I mean the one in the catalog I was going to order from. And it had that same "vigna whatever" as the Latin name. Sorry- I'm no good at remembering Latin names of plants!!! On that note, maybe it meant if you order 2 they are $7.49 EACH. However, it seems like it said one was $3 or so. I'll just have to look again. I did get a catalog from this company in the fall and they weren't that cheap, so maybe it's a sale?

A lot of people and catalog use "stock" photos that have gotten from other sites so I am always careful to be sure to ask for a description and whether they have grown out the "mother" plant and if it is fragrant or now. I bought a lot of phaselous that were sold as Vignas when I first started looking.
Jan...

Thanks Jan-

I just got home and pulled out the catalog. It is Inter-State Nurseries in Bloomington, IL. I looked them up on the Watchdog and they have a 96% NEGATIVE rating! The climbing shell is listed as "Vigna carcalla" and it is $3.95 each or two for $7.50. Every other place I have seen this plant it is at least $9.99. I mean, Springhill is pretty cheap but even they aren't selling for that cheap. I firmly believe that if something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is. I still want some, but I will find a different source.

Tex:
Check back with me in a month or so.
Jan...

Ok, will do... but remind me what I am checking back for again? :)

Jamie

Does the Montecello place still have plants? Seems like everyone was happy with their plants from there last year and I'm thinking they were 9.99 each and were pretty big.

Yes as far as I know they still have some.

I looked on the Montecello site and they do have them, but the picture they show has the blooms being purple and white. If you go to that link I gave, there are more pink, silver and yellow tones in them too. But the latin name is exactly the same. So is the same plant or not? I wanted to order from Montecello but what they call "Vigna carcalla" is NOT the same color that I have seen elsewhere. Is there more than one color or what?

If you look up each in the plant files, you will see the difference more clearly.

I see that there are different shades, but does it mean that the age of the bloom determines what color it is? I mean, it looks like the newer blooms are purple and white, then as they age on the vine they turn more pink, yellow and silver. My question is just this- is there ONE and only one Vigna Carcalla Corkscrew Vine? If I order a plant by that name off of Springhill or Montecello will it be the exact same plant?

Yes there is only one Vigna Caracalla. The amount of color on each bloom will vary a bit but they won't be the nearly solid purple that the Phaseolus Caracalla is. Monticello definitely sells true Vigna but I haven't seen the one from Springhill so I can't say.

Well I don't really trust Springhill all that much anyway! :) I will order from Monticello just to be safe- it's the same price anyway. Thanks for the info!

I would be leary of Spring Hill also, so many things I ordered in the past either didn't live, or were not anything like the picture.

For me Springhill has been sort of hit or miss. They at least honor their refund/exchange policy, and despite others saying the opposite, I have always had a good experience with their customer service. But, at some point, you have to decide to just pay a little extra! I mean, I want PLANTS, not a bunch of replacement certificates and/or credits on my credit card account. :)

BTW- just ordered from Monticello last night. I am confident it will be fine. Also, their price was only $2 more than Springhill so that's not much extra to pay for the security of knowing my plant will actually grow!

I just bought some snail vine seeds from EBay for very cheap. They have both snail vine and corkscrew vine seeds for sale: http://search.ebay.com/snail-vine_Gardening-Plants_W0QQcatrefZC12QQfromZR40QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQsacatZ2032QQsojsZ1

I just ordered corkscrew vine,vigna caracalla, from Park seed for $9.95.I wanted the seeds but they were sold out.I am also in zone 8 and it will be iffy.I will be sure to take alot of cuttings and save alot of seeds.I have always had alot of luck with parks both with seeds and the occasional plant and they are right here in South Carolina

Yeah, I have had good luck with Parks too. I got some evergreen wisteria seeds from Ebay for cheap. The thing is, they don't grow fast and take a while to bloom. Also, of the 5 seeds, only 3 germinated. A 4th one did germinate, but it is clearly NOT the same thing as the other seeds! I emailed the seller and he/she said they don't grow their own seeds so they can't tell me what it is or identify any of the seedlings for me. Nice! I just hope the other 3 are what they are supposed to be! I ordered my corkscrew vine as a potted plant b/c I want more instant results. :) Also, I will be taking cuttings and overwintering the entire container in my sunroom so hopefully it will be ok.

http://www.avantgardensne.com/vigcar

http://www.avantgardensne.com/vigcar
Please save me a seed or two if anyone orders it.Thanks,Jody

Jody-

I checked out Advant Gardens a couple of weeks ago. I will say they have great feedback on the Watchdog, and their prices seem very good. But shipping is REEEEAAAALLL high! If you are local, it seems like a great source for plants. As I understand their posting on Watchdog, they do not factor shipping into plant prices so that local shoppers don't have to absorb that cost. And it seems they pack really well and that takes them a good deal of time so they have to factor that in. Plus shipping supplies, etc. Also, they have a $30 minimum order. So you spend $30 minimum on plants and then some pretty high shipping on top of that. Again, QUALITY does NOT seem to be a complaint against them so I don't want to imply that. But for me, I just wanted one plant and could find the same thing elsewhere without ordering additional items and pay a lot less for the shipping. But if you live near the nursery, go check it out! As for seeds, when mine blooms I will collect seeds and share them. :)

oh I didn't read all the fine print.I'd love a few seeds I think a freind ordered 3 plants and she's sending me one.So I may not need the seeds if they send the corkscrew and not the snail vine.lol.Jody

Well when/if I am able to get seeds off mine, I will post it on the seed forum. If you still need some, just remind me that I promised you! :)

Thanks texasgarden that's very kind of you.
Jody

texasgarden when you have seeds of the corkscrew vine could I do a trade with you for some seeds, please?
:) Donna

I just looked on e-bay 5 seeds $18 and change forget that: I don't need them that bad.lol.I'd rather buy 2 roses bushes that will be here until I die.heehee Jodyody