I'm in the midst of creating this new potting area.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/901664/
I'm looking for some fast growing, pretty vines that would cover this Pergola. I have to say that I'm not really into the Gloriousa lily's or really heavy foliage plants. I know it sounds "picky", but I'm looking for something light and small leaved to cover this structure. I love Wisteria, but I don't think it's suitable to this zone (9b-10a).
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...
I love Mandevilla and I have some gorgeous ones growing in my yard. Just not sure they would grow enough to cover the top.
Thank-you
Kat
This message was edited Sep 30, 2008 8:36 PM
What about Bower vine? I like it because it has small delicate leaves, it's not a dense vine...at least not in phoenix. And it has bloomed pretty trumpet flowers all summer.
It's on a drip, other than that I pretty much ignore it.
Hi Kat! Who told you wisterias don't grow in our zone? I have wisteria in my garden! Do you want some?
Roberta
I don't know whether wisteria would do well in FL or not, but the only thing zone 10 means is that your winter low temperatures are similar--other than that there are a lot of climate differences between CA and FL so what grows well one place won't necessarily do well in the other. I've tried to grow plenty of zone 9 plants that are perfectly happy in FL but struggle along or die altogether here! LOL
You are totally right Ecrane! I only saw whe was in FL after I posted, hehe
Kat-
I noticed in your other thread, that it is located in the shade of the house for part of the day.
Can you tell me which part of the day it gets sun, and for how long?
Also, what colors do you like?
I think bougies, would definitely be able to scale that pergola, if you want to continue your garden congruency, but if wanting to try something new, my first vine to come to mind, in response to
I'm looking for something light and small leaved to cover this structure
I like Coral Vine - light green heart shaped leaves, clusters of pink flowers. Not evergreen.
Ann
Seedpicker, the orchid vines are really beautiful. I'm planning on adding one to my garden myself! I couldn't really catch the difference between these 2, what is it?
Ann-I like coral vine, too. They are pretty well behaved in ours zone 8s, but she is in zone 10.
I have a friend in only one zone warmer, 9, and she says hers is a beast. I think it might end up being more vine that she seems to be wanting, but could be wrong.
Roberta-not much difference at all, ...main difference is the color. One is white with violet markings, and one is light violet with darker violet markings.
I've grown both, and my corymbosa is the darker one, but all lot of these are marked one, but they are the other. Really no big difference... They form a caudex, so that tells you they don't like too much water, and they love heat.
A major plus over bougies, are that they do not have the large spines :0)
-T
Sounds like a perfect candidate for san diego!
a little blurry, but here is a recent shot of corymbosa I grew from seed. It now covers my entire garden room(it shares with the new dawn and other vines)
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/186663/
Thank-you all for such great suggestions! I still haven't had time to look them all up but they really are all up my alley! I'm pretty sure that Ecrane is correct - Wisteria just doesn't do well here because of the humidity (you would think all plants would love that!). I was on U of Fla. extension site looking at various vines and one that was mentioned was Queen's Wreath...
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/71592/
Doesn't have the small leaves, but the flower is gorgeous! It's got that Wisteria look!
The other one was Chalice Vine - looked interesting.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/11003/
Seedpicker (absolutely adorable Yorkie owner) I love the Boug's also...but I just want something a little more delicate and not so woody. I do like the bauhinia vine. I had something similar but it was called an orchid tree. Grows like crazy.
Has anybody grown the Queen's Wreath?
Kat
Kat-
I am sort of a vine freak...I have grown over 200 vines and many of them are still tucked somewhere in my garden, lol...
I grow both the queen's wreath, and the solandra...in fact I have both the regular solandra, and the variegated one, which has a gorgeous tri-color variegated leaf.
I didn't recommned either of those, though, because you said small leaves.
They both have very large leaves, and the queen's wreath leaf is huge. I'd say one and a half times as long as my hand. The solandra is about hand size. Either of those will do well in your climate, and will show off with beautiful blooms, but big leaves mean they can block off more sun.
Also, you said "a little more delicate and not so woody"...the solandra is very woody. It is usually grown as a bush, instead of a vine, and not sure why it is classed as a vine. It is a very floppy bush with thick(thicker than my finger) woody branches that sorta flop if not pruned compactly...thus people tie them up, and they become "a vine".
You certainly can choose the queens wreath and the solandra, and they would look beautiful, but if you still want smaller leaves, and not to block out all your light, you may want to consider these for a different spot...
Here is a picture of a solandra grown as they are supposed to be grown(as a bush) in a landscape setting on Mustique Island:
I have a better picture, from further away that shows the entire bush, but this is the only picture that is still on my computer...the others are burned to a disc, that is not handy at the moment :0)
What I think I "hear" you saying is that wisteria, would have been your first choice, and that is why queens wreath appeals to you so much...
How about another wisteria look-alike for warmer climates. This vine has MUCH smaller leaves than solandra...they are only about 4 inches long, and narrow.
edited to add: They also come in three colors...purple as shown here, white, and pink.
Hardenbergia violacea
This message was edited Oct 3, 2008 6:05 AM
Brady says hello to Zara and Ziggy :0)
Hey how about bleeding heart vine. it is agressive enough to cover the whole thing and you should be able to find it all over. I was in the tampa area last spring and they had a ton of it in 3 gallons for like 15 to 20 bucks. I personally love it.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/506/
Spike say's HI to Brady!
Ziggy and Zara say's HI to Brady and Spike! haha
Have you seen this thread? http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/889954/
It has several pictures of vines.
A couple of other suggestions: rangoon creeper, honeysuckle
Pughbear, I never, ever got my bleeding heart vine to bloom. What's the trick?
The Solandra is a truly amazing plant. I saw one at Quail Botanical Gardens that had climbed a mature pine tree and totally covered it. I have pictures at home and will post later!
Seedpicker, have you ever grown the orchid vines from seed?
hahah guess who started the that thread.....THE VINE ADDICT lol!
A fertilizer to push blooming and a bit of shade. I used an 8-10-10 with minors. used to be able to get it from lesco. they sell fertilizers and pestacides to the landscapers and pest people. I know they are a heavy feeder.
Hi Ziggy and Zara!
Thanks, I'll fertilize it some more!
I remember I was feeding both slow release and with foliar applications every week. we had almost black leaves and a ton of flowers.
Makes sense, I've just been using Osmocote (slow release) but I think it will benefit from a little instant boost!
Roberta-
yes, that bauhinia corymbosa was one that I grew from seed. They are pretty easy from seed, and seem to be easier to find than the plants. I get bored in the wintertime, and seem to find more time to browse ebay for seeds, lol...
We convert our back patio into a seasonal greenhouse each year, so seeds gives me something to play with over the winter.
I've never fertilized my clero, ...in fact, I don't drag out the fertilizer for pretty much anything...I didn't recommend the clero, because they get to be a monster for me in zone 8, so I figure in zone 10, they'd eat Kat's pergola,... AND house, lol...
This one is planted on the north side of my house, with diffused soutern exposure brightness...it has never NOT been in bloom. It blooms the most during Christmas for me, but is also in bloom to a lesser degree, any other month of the year...
Here is a picture of the violet-bracted c. delectum, when it was only a year old...
Oh how gorgeous....mine is ridiculous compared to this!!! lol! I paid tons for a 4" clero online, it has barely survived this whole time....and the other day I went to HD and saw a 5gal selling for the same price! (not your variety, but the white and red one...) argh!
Roberta-
yes, that is very frustrating...I've had that same thing happen...
These will almost root in water...I'll see if I can't get some of mine going for you. There is certainly plenty of it to chop on right now. It has nearly choked out my green jade vines, and my stephonotis. In fact, it has connected to my nearby thunbergia coccinea, and they've tangled into a knot...
OMG what are these? I ADORE pendulous blooms! Pleaaaaase send me whatever you chop down, I'm usually pretty good at rooting cuttings and if they even root in water, wow!!!!
that is thunbergia coccinea...same family as thunbergia grandiflora, and mysorensis, but dark orange...some call it red.
These don't root in water. I was referring to the cleros, when I said that part...
I even had one section try to go variegated on me, but never got any of the variegated sections to root :0(
Gorgeous stuff, seedpicker!
I want to second the Hardenbergia - when they bloom they are simply spectacular and I like the leaf shape, too.
I always wanted (and never got, so am not sure it will fit your criteria, perhaps seedpicker has it?) a Duranta - perfect little flower sprays with gold berries afterwards.
Here's a pic of one from http://www.jamesdeandesign.com/Slide_Show/Plant_Catalog/SHRUBS/, Sapphire Showers
Ha! That's why I like it so much! I have a T. mysorensis! It's its first year and doing really well for a little twig it came to me as! I'll take a pic tomorrow...Of course I'm probably going to have to wait a long time before I see any blooms...how long did it take your coccinea to bloom?
Pagancat, the Hardenbergia is very popular here in SD. But it's mostly grown as a shrub. It's very pretty!
It was also very popular in Phoenix, where I used to live. You'd see it draped across all of the [miles of] block walls... mmmm....
Yes, duranta is more of a shrub, but draped over a low wall sounds gorgeous. :0)
There are a couple of other behaved vines with smaller leaves that I thought of yesterday, but I doubt I can top the hardenbergia.
Mascagnia macrotera(http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/28605/) and mascagnia lilacina(http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/57319/) are two different colors of a vine that has blooms similar to crepe myrtle blossoms.
Also, red wing vine(herteropterys galabra syn. salicifolia) also has yellow blossoms like mascagnia macroptera, but fruits with a red samaras, similar to a japanese maple.
http://www.fortunecity.com/business/koch/3/images/heteropterys_salicifolia.jpg
This message was edited Oct 4, 2008 8:25 AM
Oh, yeah - the yellow Mascagnia I first saw planted outside of a nursery in Tucson with no blooms, just the seed pods and I knew I had to have it! Love that vine.
Thank-you all again for such incredible suggestions. I just might have to do a mixture of vines! hehe
Seedpicker - I cannot believe some of the incredible beauties you have...it's amazing! You mentioned that you have the jade vine also. I bought one of them last year because I think they are so unique and gorgeous. However, it died on me. I kept communicating with the nursery owner who sold it to me and it just wouldn't spring back. It was a real healthy specimen when I transplanted it but for some reason it just didn't like it here. I'm so tempted to try again though and probably will.
I've been looking on this garden site - They sure seem to have a large variety of tropical vines and plants. Also decent ratings in Garden watch. Has anybody purchased anything from them?
http://almostedenplants.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=745
Patty - I love the Rangoon creeper also. However, I've got these cutter bees that just love it too!
Thanks again all...Gorgeous photo's too!
Kat
Kat-
green jade vines shock very easily. Also, they like filtered bright light, not direct hot sun.
I'd definitley suggest trying it, again. :0)
I grew mine from two different seeds, that I was extremely fortunate to get. The seeds came from a green jade growing over an arbor in Florida, so I know they should do well there...
I've ordered from Almost Eden and they have great stuff. Also check out zone9tropicals(http://www.zone9tropicals.com/vines-c-23.html), and toptropicals(http://www.toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/store/store.cgi?group=vine) for other vines to drool over. I bought a third green jade vine from zone 9 tropicals recently, and was very happy with the size of the plant. It was in a one gallon, and spilling over a 3 ft. bamboo garden stake. Toptropicals has a one-cent giveaway vine today: combretum fruticosum with plant purchase:
http://www.toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/store/store.cgi?group=vine
Dalechampia is another vine with papery bract type flowers in a bright violet purple.(http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/55263/) They are quite showy, but again may grow too large for you, unless you are really good at pruning regulary.
I am NOT, lol...
-T
Seedpicker: Fabulous vine it looks great. If you have extra I would sure apreciate some as well. I am not sure what you might want. I do have seeds from a lavender with red eye rose of sharon. I noticed you were looking for the satin blush in your wants list. I have a lot of different things.
Thanks dave
