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Mandevilla Vine

This is a tropical vine that can be used as an perennial in your area. It grows best in full sun and will produce lots of flowers all summer long. It will die when temperatures go below freezing, but you could bring it indoors and keep it as a houseplant, although it probably won't flower either indoors or until late in the summer next season. These plants need specific hours of daylight in order to come into bloom - they are given this at commercial growers but home owners don't tend to supply the artificial lit "long days" turning into shorter days that bring the plant info flower. So many people who overwinter this are disappointed that although the plant lives and grows well once it's outside again, they don't start to flower until sometime in August. If you want one that's going to bloom all summer, leave it outdoors as long as the weather remains frost-free or treat as an annual and purchase a new plant after danger of frost has passed.

By | 2016-02-18T14:10:26-08:00 February 18th, 2016|Vine Plants|0 Comments
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Mandevilla Vine

This is a tropical vine that can be used as an annual in your area. It grows best in full sun and will produce lots of flowers all summer long. It will die when temperatures go below freezing, but you could bring it indoors and keep it as a houseplant during predicted frost, although it probably won't flower either indoors or until late in the summer next season. These plants need specific hours of daylight in order to come into bloom - they are given this at commercial growers but home owners don't tend to supply the artificial lit "long days" turning into shorter days that bring the plant info flower. So many people who overwinter this are disappointed that although the plant lives and grows well once it's outside again, they don't start to flower until sometime in August. If you want one that's going to bloom all summer, leave it outdoors as long as the weather remains frost-free or treat as an annual and purchase a new plant after danger of frost has passed.

By | 2016-02-14T18:15:47-08:00 February 14th, 2016|Vine Plants|0 Comments
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Bittersweet

This may be Oriental bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus. To confirm, pull one out and check for an orange root. Oriental bittersweet is highly invasive. In fall it produces decorative yellow and orange seeds, which germinate profusely. The vines can choke and kill trees and shrubs. Cut it out and learn to recognize young ones as they appear in your yard and garden. However, we think it is American bittersweet, Celastrus scandens, which still grows vigorously but doesn't produce as many seeds. The easiest way to distinguish Oriental from American Bittersweet is the location of the flowers and fruits. American Bittersweet produces its flowers and fruit in clusters at the ends of branches, while Oriental Bittersweet produces flowers and fruit at the base of each leaf. You may want to take a sample to your county cooperative extension office to determine which bittersweet it is, and get their advice on eradication.

By | 2016-02-13T07:50:53-08:00 February 13th, 2016|Vine Plants|0 Comments
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Passion Flower Vine

The genus Passiflora contains over 400 species, so the common name Passion Flower can be a bit confusing. To muddle matters further, most are vines, but some are shrubs, annuls, perennials and even trees. What they all share are exotic flowers that only remain open for about 1 day. They have a wide, flat petal base with several rings of filaments in the center which surround a stalk of sorts, that holds up the ovary and stamens
Passion flowers look extremely exotic, so itäó»s a surprise to find them growing in fields along the sides of the road. There is considerable variety between the species.
Although passion flowers are native in many regions of the southern U.S., they can become a nuisance, to the point of being invasive. Check with your local Cooperative Extension or DEC to see if you should avoid passion flowers altogether or if certain species are preferable.
A lot of gardeners prefer to grow their passion flowers in containers. Passion flower grows quite happily in a pot and you have the convenience of being able to move it to a sunnier site or even bring it indoors for the winter. Plus, it limits the spreading by rhizomes.

By | 2016-01-24T18:34:53-08:00 January 24th, 2016|Vine Plants|0 Comments
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Virus Or Nutrient Issue

When we see yellowing on foliage such as this there are two possible causes and without testing in a lab it's impossible to say with certainty which you are seeing. That said, at the bottom of this message we're listing the action that you can take that might help. Yellowing of leaves in this manner can either be a nutrient issue or a virus. There is no cure for viruses in plants. The first thing you can do is to cut off the worst of the leaves and throw them away. This will improve the look of the plant and will allow you to monitor the plant more easily. Next, have the pH of the soil tested. Clematis prefer a pH between 5.5 and 7 - anything outside of that range might result in a nutrient deficiency. Sometimes plants show symptoms if nutrients are out of balance as well. For example if too much phosphate is applied (super phosphate) or too much magnesium (Epsom salt) that can make other nutrients unavailable to plants. So in general it's always best to use a fertilizer that is slow-release and balanced. An example of such a product would be Plant-tone by Espoma. If the leaves continue to yellow you might want to have a complete soil test done that includes pH as well as nutrient levels to see if something is out of balance. Finally, an application of composted manure around the base of an ailing plant, and a deep soaking once a week (not more often) is never a bad idea.

By | 2016-01-24T11:21:46-08:00 January 24th, 2016|Vine Plants|1 Comment
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Climbing Hydrangea

Best grown in rich, fertile, moist but well-drained soils in part shade to full shade. Tolerates full sun only if grown with consistently moist soils. Somewhat intolerant of the hot and humid conditions of the deep South, and typically will not thrive in USDA Zone 8. Slow to establish, but quite vigorous thereafter. Propagate by seeds or stem cuttings.
Hydrangea anomala, commonly known as climbing hydrangea, is a vigorous, sprawling, deciduous, woody vine that clings and climbs by twining and aerial rootlets along the stems, typically maturing over time to 30-40’ long. Horizontal lateral branching often extends several feet beyond supporting structures. Unsupported vines sometimes will grow in the form of a mounding shrub to 3-4’ tall, sprawling along the ground like a ground cover eventually covering an area of up to 200 square feet. This plant is native to wooded valleys, stream banks and mountain slopes in the Himalayas and China.
Fragrant white flowers in flat-topped clusters (to 8” wide) bloom in late spring to early summer (May-June). Each flower cluster consists of non-showy, creamy white to greenish-yellow fertile flowers in the center surrounded by showy white sterile flowers. Dried flower heads are reddish brown. Exfoliating bark on mature stems is also reddish brown and attractive in winter. Fruit ripens in September-October. Flattened clusters (corymbs 6-10” wide) of fragrant, white flowers in a lacecap configuration (small creamy white to greenish yellow fertile flowers in the center with a marginal ring of showy white sterile flowers) bloom in late spring to early summer (June-July). Fewer than 10 stamens per flower. Exfoliating, reddish brown bark of mature plants is attractive in winter. Once established, this vine can develop a somewhat bushy habit, with lateral branches growing out several feet from the support structure, thus giving the foliage a somewhat tiered effect.

By | 2017-09-11T15:49:33-07:00 November 26th, 2015|Vine Plants|0 Comments
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Nutrient Deficiency

From the photo it appears that there may be a nutrient deficiency showing in the older leaves. If the plant is growing "in-ground" deficiencies are usually not due to lack of nutrients in the soil, but usually caused by over or under-watering for the plants needs. Over-watering can cause the plant to produce vegetative growth rather than flowers, and underwatering is stressful for the plant and it may respond by not producing flowers. In water stressed situations, plant roots either begin to rot or dry out and therefore can't function sufficiently to absorb nutrients along with water. We notice in your photo that some of the leaf tips are also brown. This could also indicate a lack of water sufficient for the plants needs, or not enough water is applied so that it travels down into the soil and past the root zone; consequently salts (from water and those in the soil) are building up around the roots. We recommend watering more deeply and less frequently rather than providing smaller amounts more frequently. If the water does not soak into the soil quickly and begins to runoff before you can provide a sufficient amount, you can apply water until it just begins to runoff, let that water soak in, apply more again until just before runoff, let that soak in, and repeat this several times during one irrigation (in the same day). We recommend keeping the soil evenly moist, and avoiding fluctuations between dry and flooded soils to keep the salts diluted in the moist soil.

By | 2015-11-15T11:08:18-08:00 November 15th, 2015|Vine Plants|0 Comments
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