My BIL lives in San Antonio and needs a vine to cover his back yard fence. He asked me and I don't have a clue as to what does well in that climate as I live in frigid NW Indiana. Can anyone recommend something that would work well in full sun?
Need attractive vines to cover a fence
Crossvine comes to mind, and is evergreen. Coral vine is beautiful, but will die back in the winter. How about some more, San Antonians?
Honeysuckle (Lonicera). One I bought several years ago does a nice job staying green year round on the fence, but the blossoms are not fragrant. I just received two more from Flower Scent Gardens (http://www.flowerscentgardens.com) and hope to get them planted today. Some Lonicera varieties are shrubs, not vines, so it is important to ask.
My wisteria vine is blooming beautifully right now, but it does lose most of its leaves in winter.
What would work someplace with lots of water? I would love to hide some UGLY post for my back porch but since the water runs off the roof right on that spot I'm not sure what I could use. I know that climbing jenny works in some spots of the yard but I really don't like the look of it.
My idea was to have a big square pot built around each post and have the vine climb up. I'll include a picture so ya'll can get a better idea of what I'm rambling about.
Please excuse the mess this is my first year of trying to grow anything so I'm messy AND clueless as well as I'm having siding put on the house.
Don't worry about being clueless, we've ALL been there (come to think of it, I'm still there!) :-)
Hmmm, does the water actually come down those posts, or all along the roof there? Instead of building pots around the posts, why not have pots (like the ones you have pictured) at the bottom and just to the inside (under the roof) so that the water doesn't drain right into them? Or, if you do build the pots around the posts, could you divert the water on the roof somehow? I'd be more concerned about the rain actually "digging" a trench in the pot - losing all the soil - than I would be about the soil simply being wet.
I can put the pots on the inside no problem, and most of the water comes off the roof line but at about 121" a year we get it every way you can have it! I saw a few ideas here and I'm thinking about a few more. Since we just spent a big hunk of money on the outside of the house screening in the porch will have to wait so I'm looking at easy ways to hide those terrible poles for a year more. *LOL* although with as many pots as I have scattered around now no room for anything else.
I'm the authority on being clueless. I'm in that state all the time. Can you put agutter up there? I thought those things were really expensive, until we had an estimate on one for our house. It really wasn't that bad and it makes such a huge difference. Once they put it up you can plant a mandeville or something in a pot next to it. You'll never see the gutter, just the flowers.
honeysuckle, most definately.
I'd like the honeysuckle but I'm afraid that the bees would like it also. That's the reason I was looking at non flowering plants. But I think I'd love to plant some honeysuckle on our back fence in a corner. I love the smell...
Branka, I posted that very question here not long ago, and maggiemoo helped me on this same issue! =) My husband built a lovely trellis across our two back fences (yard spans two neighbors' wood fences), and we planted six cross vines, Tangerine Beauty. I'm so excited at seeing them grow, and just in buying them, saw how vigorous they are.....twining here and there and up and around.......and gosh, those blooms!
Best of luck to your BIL,
MKJ
Thanks so much for all of your suggestions. I'll pass the info on to my BIL, I know that he will appreciate it.
ive looked into vines for my back patio as well, and a nice one I came across that is non flowering with interesting foliage is Hops. Same one they make beer with. It's also fast growing. I haven't given up looking yet, but thats the best I have found
The Chinese yam vine(no flowers) does great in Texas, and is beautiful...Chocolate vine is a winner, Carolina Jessamine is beautiful, Orange Trumpet vine is a hummingbird magnet... then there's wisteria...honeysuckle is a nuisance in SE Texas, altho it is fragrant, it's not worth growing here, it takes over everything!.....perhaps it would die back in SA. Debra~