Thought this day would never come!!!

It finally did and what a fragrance these have,somewhere between honeysuckle and jasmine!!!

not fair!

I've got about half dozen in bloom right now but I have to get pretty close to smell them as the p. edulis out fragrances them.
I'm hoping for some seeds but I haven't had many ants around for pollination this year but I have lots of seeds left from a bulk purchase on Ebay this spring. I'm going to start a few seedlings for our roundup next month.

Well done! Did you grow from seed? I grew mine from seed this year and they've been blooming for awhile and mine have a beautiful, strong fragrance. I also have alot of seed pods forming, but I'm afraid that they won't have a chance to fully form and ripen before I have to dig the plant up because of cold weather. Does anyone know how long it usually take for the seed pods to be ready?

jessmerritt: what do you have for a pollinator?

ants, lots of ants...all summer long, I've been attacked by swarms of them, but now that the vigna caracalla is in bloom, I do have to give them credit for something, lol.

Budgie,well both send you some ants!!!!Millions of them!!!LOL
Fragrance is really strong here too!
Started mine from a 4 inch potted plant.
Jess,have you over wintered these before?
I might try and dig mine up too and put in the greenhouse.

What Is this plant? I never knew ants were pollinators!

It is Vigna Caracalla, aka Corkscrew vine. The best way to pollinate them is with the tiny, tiny ants because the bees and butterflies can't get into the "curls" to get to the stigmas and stamen. There is a relative called Phaeolus Caracalla (Snail Vine) *** some contraversy over relationship *** that is pollinated the same way.

BTW, my cassia alata in the front yard has come into full bloom and is covered with ant pollinators so I will be going out tonight and transferring some to the vignas in the back yard to see what happens.

I like that, lol. Shipping off my problem ants. Tropicman, no I haven't overwintered this yet, but to my understanding it has a tuberous root system that can be dug up and overwintered dormant. If I get seeds, I am going to save some as back up, though, as it is easy to grow from seed.

Goodluck transfering ants, Jan. I try not to mess with the ants too much, lol.

Yeh, you know you're desperate when you have to beg ants. LOL

so do ants pollinate passiflora, too? They are on my vine but I thought they were eating the butterfly eggs.

Carol

Not that I'm aware but they could transfer the pollen if they walk over the blooms.

i used ants this year for my cannas dont know where the bees was Paul

Wow, gorgeous! I have tons of buds on mine, but I doubt there will be enough time for them to develop before our first frost. I'll keep the plant over the winter and hope for better luck next year.

Erick

Look what I found on one of my vignas. Hooray!
Will take a better picture tomorrow. Getting too dark to focus

Budgie,how big are these seed pods supposed to get!!!!?????

Ill get some of these Texas ants that migrated to Kansas,and send some to you in Pinellas Park Florida!!!!LOL

My wife is making me confess to my little joke,so please forgive me,I've taken a enough slack from here!!!LOL
Those are caltapla tree seed pods!!!LOL
Sorry I couldn't help myself

LOL. But I thought they got that big. Perhaps that's only in Texas!

LOL! Please let me know how big your seed pods get,how long has yours been in bloom,might give me an idea on getting seed pods on my vine!!!

If this helps, my vine has been in bloom for most of the summer, I have dozens of pods and each one is about 3 inches long. I know they get bigger than that. Since I grew from seed, I know how big the seeds get, so I'd say that mine have a whole lot more growing to do. If I remember correctly, the seeds are about the size of pea or alittle larger. I hope my pods get big enough in time.

Mine didn't start blooming till August so this pod was a surprise. It is also about 3 in at the moment.

Thanks Jess and budgie,well I guess I stand much of a chance on getting any seeds so I better try to dig up and overwinter,would you let it go dormant,or continue to let it grow in the greenhouse?

Due to limited space, I'm letting mine go dormant.

I have about 7 plants in the ground and 4-5 in 3 gal pots. I will leave the ones in the ground there all winter as we don't get the freezes you'll do. I may have to cover or mulch the base for a few nights over winter but the roots will be fine. The potted ones can come in the house if it looks like a freeze.

Thanks,I just hope the insects don't like them too much!!!!
Had seen anything on them so far!