Folsom Gardening - Vines

Hardenbergia

One type of plant that has many uses in the garden is the vine. There are evergreen vines, deciduous vines, but the most popular are the flowering vines and the fragrant vines. Vines have been used for privacy, shade, and hiding unsightly views or objects, such as garbage can areas. Vines do well on trellises, on strings or wire, on fences, and sometimes on walls. I, personally, always hate to see a vine growing on someone’s house though, as the vines can cause damage. It is better to keep them confined to a trellis or fence, or arbor.

Most vines are easy to grow, but be careful of the invasive ones. Some vines can easily take over a yard and choke trees and other plants to death. Honeysuckle, for one, is quite invasive. I chose to center this article on the following vines: hardenbergia, Lady Banks rosa, jasmine, and clemantis. These certainly do not include all the many vines available, but all of these do well in Folsom gardens. Just be sure you familiarize yourself with the vines' soil, water, and sun requirements.

Hardenbergia is also known as lilac vine. It is a strong vine and intertwines with its own tendrils. It can cover a trellis or a wall or fence in no time. This vine has purple blooms late winter to early spring. It is an early bloomer, but stays green year round. We have used this vine to create a bower of shade by training it over wire to become like a roof. I have also seen it cascading over walls in various yards.

Lady Banks rosa (banksiae) is not really a rose, but the vine produces large clusters of small yellow or white blooms in spring that do resemble roses. It is good for covering banks, ground, fences or arbors. It lasts many years and can develop quite a large trunk. It can also cover your fence, and your neighbor’s side as well. This vine does not require a lot of water. Lady Banks grows fast and blooms profusely but for a short period, approximately two weeks.

Jasmine

Probably the most common vine used in gardens is jasmine. True vining types of jasmine climb by twining stems, but placed against a tall trellis, they can be used for privacy. Ours are a good three feet higher than the fence. The fragarance of jasmine is strong but lovely. Jasmine also comes in vining shrubs that do not climb. However, all jasmine adapt well to less than perfect conditions. A particular favorite of mine is often confused with the regular jasmine, but, in fact, is a different species. It is called Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens). This climber is evergreen, grows at a moderate rate to 20 ft. and is often trained onto fences. What I like is that it has tubular yellow flowers and blooms best in full sun.

In addition to the mentioned vines, there are also Passion vine, Morning Glory, Virginia Creeper, Creeping fig, Ivy, Trumpet vine, Whisteria, and the Pink Bower Vine and White Bower vine.

One of the most difficult, yet most beautiful vine, is the Clemantis. There are some 200 odd varities of this vine, and most are deciduous. The situation with them is that the roots like it cool, moist, and shady; however, the vines like the sun. Plant next to some support so that the stems can twine.

It is always recommended to learn about your particular choice of vine on the internet or the SUNSET Western Garden book.