OK folks, need your advice. I want to plant a climbing vine in this location, so that it climbs up that porch support. Perfect place for a climbing vine, don't you think? This is at Ed's house, so I don't entirely know the sun conditions..it does get some sun but it's north facing so it's not full on. Honestly I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to the conditions out there, but that's what Ed says. I can really observe it through the day next weekend when I'm over (and if the sun cooperates) if it's really important . I thought about clematis as really the only perennial climbing vine I know of. I'd prefer a perennial, but am not adverse to an annual if that would fulfill the conditions I'm trying to meet which is basically I'd LOVE something that will climb up and around that support, and that will flower continuously, or as close to that as possible, through the summer. Any ideas?
Clematis will take partial shade but does need a few hours of full sun, preferably morning or early afternoon. Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper) will take full shade to full sun. Bignonia capreolata (Crossvine, Dragon Lady Crossvine) Mine gets only morning sun, blooms like crazy in Spring and again in Fall if the weather is right but year round is a very happy green vine that does need to be controlled a bit.
My first thought was a black eyed susan vine ... the yellow blooms would look so delicate against the black trellis.This is an annual vine. Thunbergia alata (Black-eyed Susan vine)
Thanks guys. Doing my research and it looks like the virginia creeper is a vine...now flowers right? That black eyed susan vine is gorgeous! I'm leaning towards that. But the dragon lady crossvine is also pretty sweet. Is it a perennial? Hey, what about morning glory? I have a friend who grows this every year around one of the arches over a garden path. It looks gorgeous. She says it's a bitch to clean up though, after the season is over. What say you all?
Virginia Creeper does bloom but is known more for the black-blue berries in the fall and the red color of the leaves in fall. The Dragon Lady Crossvine is evergreen which means it is green year round...doesn't go dormant like perennials do. It blooms in Spring and sometimes again fall when the temps are cooler. And hummingbirds love it. It will also keep growing up and will eventually need to be either trimmed back or it will take over the roof. But you can cut it to the ground in Fall and it will be back hale and hardy the next spring, that way you can keep it under control. The Blackeyed Susan vine and Morning Glories are annuals and will have a tangled mass of vine to pull down each year after the weather takes them out. But the MGs come in some very pretty, bright colors.
There are some very lovely morning glory's to be had. They are usually around for one season, but whilst present---quite lovely. My favourite is the "Sunrise Serenade" ( http://www.rareseeds.com/sunrise-serenade-morning-glory ). Seeing your penchant for colour on the porch, I believe that this would be a good one for you. I have grown the Sunrise Serenade alone and also with the `Heavenly Blue`...which is itself a beautiful thing. You will probably have to order it online, but perhaps not. It is worth a look in Nashville. Only one thing to advise and that is-- shop around. Check the prices from several different places before buying...check the seed pricer but also the postage costs.
At one time I had trouble finding the 'Sunrise Serenade' seeds, but this year they are on almost every seed rack I have seen. Black Eyed Susan vines would be a little easier to remove from the trellis at the end of the year I think. I would avoid the Virginia Creeper at all costs ... that stuff canbring your house down, and it is MESSY!
Love getting all this information...thank you so much!! OK couple more questions...Ed wondered about honeysuckle. His grandma had it growing in her garden and he has such fond memories of it as a boy...the wonderful smell and the pretty flowers. Anyone have any info on growing it? I thought it was a bush, but apparently it's a vine as well? Also wisteria...a suggestion from a friend. She said it takes a while to start to flower, but once it does, watch out!!! Anyone have any info about that?
I have both a Honeysuckle and a Wisteria in my garden. The Honeysuckle is a very hardy vine, and the Hummingbirds love it! The Wisteria, while gorgeous, is a very aggressive vine and would need a very sturdy support system, not to mention a Wisteria can easily go wild and eat your house.
Oooooh! What about a climbing hydrangea? Any one have any experience with that? Or how about a climbing rose? ...............I think I'm gonna need more trellises.
Yes, that would be a lovely spot for a vine! Any woody perennial vine is inappropriate for your spot, IMVHO. Eventual damage to the structure would be the main reason, and they are generally very large entities, much bigger than a porch post. MG debris would be easy to clean up, and pose no danger of getting out of control/too big for the location. Just take a broom and "brush" the leftover vine bits after a freeze turns everything brown & crispy. Purple Hyacinth bean vine would be similar to clean up. I saw some Wisteria yesterday. If I can figure out which one, I'll upload the pics I took to the correct species entry in the database here. Some aren't so monstrous, and IDK much about them individually. This one was owning a Magnolia grandiflora tree. Gorgeous but my yard is not big enough for something like that. Wisteria (at least this kind owning this tree) also produces suckers/runners under ground that pop up quite far away from the main stems. I'd avoid deciduous vines that do that too, like Passifloras. If choosing a Clematis, I'd get one that dies back to the ground every fall so I wouldn't have to look at "dead vines" on the trellis all winter. The most diminutive, well-behaved vines I'm aware of. A rambling rose is lovely, but they don't just climb up a support. If you would enjoy winding/training the stems along the trellis, that could be fun, if there's plenty of room to walk around it w/o getting poked by thorns. If that faces south or West, that should be enough sun for a rose. Climbing Hydrangea is much too big for that spot. Slow to get going, but can climb all the way up a mature tree eventually, and the woody stems get bigger/fatter every year (like Campsis, Wisteria, most woody perennial vines.) A native Honeysuckle would probably be awesome, IDK anything about them to share.
Purple, as usual, gave good advice. Honeysuckle, especially since Ed likes it so much, is a good choice. Jung's (www.jungseed.com) has two varieties, Dropmore Scarlet, and Goldflame. Goldflame blooms more frequently, and like all honeysuckles, attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. They also have Scentsaation honeysuckle, which I have no experience with, although it is listed as highly fragrant.
Again, thank you all. I LOVE having this wealth of information from which to draw. Being the relative newbie that I am to gardening still, there are so many things I don't know. Like this, below......I don't know what a "woody perennial" means. I have no frame of reference...woody perennial as opposed to what, exactly? Also, another friend suggested growing mandevilla there. Anyone grown that? Looks like another annual.
Mandevilla is a bit tropical for your area--it's even iffy here in central Texas. It is lovely, but one good cold snap and it could be gone for good. A woody perennial (e.g., roses) is one that doesn't die back to the ground and then reappear in the spring. A herbaceous perennial is one has a soft green stem. The plant dies down, then reappears at the appropriate time. Delphiniums are herbaceous perennials.
I have a Honeysuckle vine that I think is a Dropmore and thought I'd post this picture to show you the size it can get. There would be a lot of pruning to keep it small enough, width wise, to fit on your trellis. The swing the honeysuckle is on is a regular swing set with a 5 feet wide, 4 feet deep lattice top to give you an idea of the size they get after a few years. The Jackamanii Clematis is the most controlled vine I have.
