Lexington, KY - Vines can serve many landscaping purposes in addition to providing beautiful blooms. They are useful as dividers or barriers or to screen unsightly views. Climbing plants and vines can be strategically placed throughout the garden to cast shade or provide privacy as needed. A vine will break the monotony of a long fence or blank wall and soften harsh structural lines. Climbing vines draw the eye upward, adding a vertical element to a horizontal landscape. On steep banks and in other areas where grass is difficult to establish and maintain, vines can be used as groundcovers.
Some vines have tendrils that wrap around any type of support. Twining vines climb by winding their stems around the available support. Clinging vines climb by means of disk-like adhesive tips that attach to any surface or by attaching themselves with small aerial rootlets along the stem.
Twining and tendril-type vines climb best on wires, trellises and arbors. They can be grown on walls or other flat surfaces only if proper supports are provided.
Clinging vines can be used on either brick or masonry walls, although some say that they will eventually damage the mortar and the brick. They should never be used on the walls of frame buildings because they cling so closely to the wall that moisture is likely to collect under them, causing the wood to rot. Grow clinging vines on trellises far enough from the siding of wood structures to allow for free air circulation behind the vines. The trellis should be removable in case you ever need to work behind them.
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There are many beautiful vines, but only native vines provide larval food for our butterflies and moths. They are adapted to our climate and soils and provide nourishing food for insects and birds. With so many beautiful native vines to choose from, you're not giving up anything by supporting our local ecosystem.
Spurred Butterfly Pea (Centrosema virginianum) is a rather glamorous plant - its two-inch diameter showy pinkish lavender flowers are head turners. This dainty trailing or twining vine grows to just five or six feet in length. In my garden, it is trailing over some other plants and is covered in blooms. (Next year I'll get that trellis up.)
Most gardeners know clematis, a twining or trailing vine with seed heads that are almost as decorative as the blooms. The lovely, rather refined bell-shaped blooms of the native clematis have great charm.
Southern Leatherflower (Clematis crispa) bears lavender blue, bell-shaped blooms with curly edges. While this plant prefers moister soils, it grows well in a garden setting in full sun or partial shade.
Pale Leather Flower (Clematis versicolor), with its purplish blooms, prefers a shady northern or eastern exposure.
Vasevine (Clematis viorna) grows to about 12 feet long and seems to be quite variable, depending on the location from which the seed was gathered, with the flower color ranging from pale lavender to reddish purple.
Virgin's Bower (Clematis virginiana) is covered in fragrant, showy white blooms at this time of year. Watch out though, this is a vigorous, twining vine with a rampant growth habit. If given support, it will climb rapidly. Without support, it will sprawl along the ground as a dense, tangled ground cover.
Our native honeysuckle, known as Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), is a high-climbing, twining/trailing vine that can grow up to 20 feet long. It has clusters of red, tubular blooms followed by red berries. Give it a sturdy trellis or a fence, some sun, and let it go. Wherever Trumpet Honeysuckle grows, hummingbirds and butterflies will find it. Songbirds relish the juicy fruits. It blooms primarily on previous year's stems, so prune to shape right after flowering.
Dutchman's Pipe (Aristolochia macrophylla), a twining vine that can reach over 30 feet in length, is the host plant for the pipevine swallowtail. Pipevine had its gardening heyday over 100 years ago when Victorian porches and arbors were standard features of the house and garden. This vine tolerates shade and has a very odd, pipe-shaped bloom. A conversation starter, for sure.
For those of you who have the room, there are some great larger vines with extremely showy blooms. Kentucky Wisteria (Wisteria macrostachya) reaches 15 to 25 feet and its flower clusters can be a foot long. American Wisteria (W. frutescens) bears its flowers in short, condensed clusters about six inches long. These are not as aggressive as their Asian cousins. Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnate and P. lutea) is a rapid growing tendril-climbing vine with flowers that look like they should be in the tropics. Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) is vigorous, climbs by tendrils and has fragrant, trumpet-shape orange flowers. For great fall leaf color, consider Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), a vigorous tendril-climber that needs no support and typically grows 30 to 50 feet. It adheres to vertical surfaces with adhesive disks at the tendril ends.
A warning about Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans). The problem is usually not how to grow it but how to restrain it. This is an extremely aggressive plant which suckers profusely from underground runners and freely self-seeds. Vines must be grown on sturdy structures because mature plants have considerable weight. While beautiful in a large naturalized area, this vine is not for your city home. It blooms on new growth, so early spring pruning will not affect the flowering.
Some of these plants can be tricky to locate, and it is very important to be sure that the plants you are purchasing are not wild dug, unless from an approved plant rescue site. Some local garden centers may carry some of these native vines.
The local wildlife will enjoy these vines as much as you - plant some. Become a good host in this wonderful web of life.