Project #?.....I would like to completely cover that wrought iron fence with a vining veggie plant, flower or both! Any suggestions? I'm thinking clematis. Can't have trumpet vines or anything invasive.
Go to the Plants section of GS, click on Advanced Search and enter Vines. there are 22 pages of plants with growing information, growing zones and thoughts about some of the plants from members who are growing them.
Clematis would look lovely as I had two...yellow and a white one they was both interwoven and matured and I lost them both to the bad winter of 2017 ….they're fast growers. https://www.thespruce.com/top-choices-for-vines-and-climbing-plants-1402385
Cross vine (bignonia capreolata) which has lovely reddish trumpet shaped flowers off and on all season, and is evergreen here in 8b Texas, is what I'd recommend. It resembles trumpet vine, but isn't invasive. Here are a couple of pictures of ours, growing on an ugly but necessary fence. Did I mention butterflies and hummingbirds love it?
Bignonia capreolata (Crossvine, Dragon Lady Crossvine) I have the red version and it is beautiful in bloom. I chose the wrong place to plant it in 2009, not realizing that it would not only cover the bathroom window and part of the back wall but also be very successful at climbing onto the roof. I just cut it back in after it blooms in the Spring, since mine doesn't get all day sun, just morning, it doesn't bloom as much as it would in full all day sun.
Wow..@Marlingardener & @toni!! For the butterflies and Hummers..this may be a winner. Cayuga...I love that idea also.
Gail...thank you for the link(s). I still don't know but i love what i'm seeing so far. I just know that I can't get everything this year....lol. Note to self: STOP~~
If you want to try something different, you could try Bryonia cretica ssp dioica. This climber dies off each year and comes back the following year. I have covered a hurdle near my bees to break the wind. The first year they will preform for you, but the following year they will do REALLY well. There is a lady up the way from me that has planted them to cover a section of her front fence. It is such a lovely thing to pass by. Bees of all sorts as well as butterflies come to these small but numerous flowers. I am really looking forward to see what your choices will be. Several people on here have come with some good suggestions. I have rose, varities of clematis and lonicera in my garden as well as the bryonia. Good luck !
The vine is beautiful MG!! Our database says zones 7-9b so I'm wondering if it grows quickly enough to grow large and bloom here in zone 5 before our season ends? Propagation also says root cutting but is this something that would grow from seed? This would look great on a section of fence here!!
Netty, I am sorry to say that I don't think Crossvine would make it in your area. It is a heat lover, and starts slowly for the first year then takes off. I've never propagated it by root cuttings. I just keep an eye on the area around the trunk, and little ones pop up. I let them get about a foot tall then dig. Hummerbum, thank you for the compliment, but Mother Nature did all the hard work!
Good Morning All: Thank you to everyone for all the input. I have ordered a Tangerine Crossvine..mainly because of the hummer magnets that they are. I will monitor the characteristics for coverage and the hummers this year and decide if it is what I was looking for. If you didn't know by now, most of my yarden will be dedicated to those wonderful little birds for pest control. The butterflies and bees are a natural.
