Saturday, April 22, 2017

Fine Vines for Quick Displays

Vining sweet pea Lathyrus odoratus.
By Rita Pelczar
The American Gardener, Mar/April Issue
American Horticultural Society

Annual and tender perennial vines are the aerial acrobats of the summer garden. As if shot from a cannon, they quickly scale fences, cover trellises, and tumble over walls. In a single season, many grow 15 to 20 feet tall and produce an extended flower show while they’re at it!

Sure, this speedy growth may make certain vines pests, but there are plenty of choices that won’t take over the world. The following are some of the showiest, carefree, and well-behaved climbers for gardens across the country.

Climbing Canaries and Butterflies
Yellow-flowered canary creeper (Tropaeolum peregrinum, uSdA Hardiness Zones 9–10, AHS Heat Zones 10–5) grows 10 feet tall, using its threadlike petioles to grasp onto supports. native to the Andes mountains, this tender South American perennial bears an abundance of one-inch blooms from summer to fall. Each flower has five petals, the upper two are wide spread and fringed, resembling wings of a small bird. The deeply lobed gray-green leaves are an inch or two across.

Download and read the full article on vines from the American Horticultural Society: http://www.ahsgardening.org/uploads/pdfs/Vines_TAG_MA17.pdf

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