I just planted these two plants for hummingbirds and butterflies, and want to know if any of you have them in your gardens? If you do, what are the pros and cons of them - if any?
I heard the coral vine is invasive - that worries me! I still regret planting the cypress vine, and will be digging up millions of little seed sprouts for a long time to come. Passion vine too - it is trying to take over! I don't know if the passion fruit were eaten by my dog and spread - or if it's roots got out of the container I had it planted in, but it is everywhere. I loved it - now I hate it :-(
I planted the coral vine on a east facing iron fence to give it plenty of room to grow - 30 - 40 feet scares me too!
The coral bean I planted front and center of my garden because it looks like It will not be dense and bushy, but I will be able to see though it like my tall verbena. I hope.
I did visit the plant files on both of these, but can't get my questions answered completely there :-)
This message was edited Jul 3, 2007 5:20 PM
Coral Vine & Coral Bean
I had Coral vine once and it died in the winter and never came back, so i never bothered with it again, besides it is not a Texas native and I am trying to concentrate on those.
I do have the Coral bean and i like it very much, it dies to the ground in the winter and in the spring the flower spikes come up first and after that the leaves.
It is very slow growing, I have had mine 5 years and it hasn't changed much in size, except for one or two extra flower spikes.
The flowers are really beautiful, and so bright, everyone notices them.
Here is a picture of mine.
Wow! It is gorgeous - I forgot to ask if it blooms the first year? Or am I going to have to wait it out...I hope not!
I can't wait if that is what I have to look forward too :-D
Coral vine can get invasive but if you have the room it can be quite awesome when in full bloom and full of butterflies. This is a photo of a place out in the country that is overgrown with it...it's a hotspot for butterflies!!!
The vines have completely covered existing trees...so it's well over 20 feet high. I know it's hard to tell from this distance but it is covered with thousands of butterflies....snouts, queens, julias, crimson patches, swallowtails, whites, sulphurs, satyrs, hairstreaks etc.
~ Cat
...and here's a close up photo of a cluster of blooms...just so you can see all the butterflies.
~ Cat
Oh my goodness! I have try it for all the butterflies - they look like they adore it... Hmmm. Don't really think I have quite enough room it appears to need from the photo.
Covers trees? I wonder if I could run a support over my pergola, or just see how it does on the fence for now. It is about 40 feet long, but it might take over.
It is one of those plants that you think you just can't stand not to have! Here is my pergola, and the fence in question is to the lower left of the gate in the center. What do you think?
I would try growing it at the far end of the fence and watch it closely to see how invasive it is. Or try growing it in a large pot up your pergola. I have a Trumpet Creeper planted in a pot to keep it from taking over my yard. If it says invasive, you want to be able to contain it somehow. It does look like a great butterfly plant!
That sounds like a good solution - I already planted it at the far left corner of the fence, but will keep an eye on it. Otherwise the pot idea will be my next try :-) Good suggestions!
Aggressive is more appealing to me than invasive... I don't like prolific reseeders and spreading roots etc! Time will tell -
Just remember, you can always keep it pruned back.
Easier said than done as I am terrible at cutting my vines back. I really hate cutting into them and pretty much let them grow until a neighbor starts mentioning Audrey III is knocking at the door!!!
~ Cat
ROTFL!!!
Depending on how large the Coral bean plant you have, it may not bloom the first year.
The Coral vine is not hardy here in north Texas so you don't have to worry about it getting too big.