Sunday, October 14

The garden's clinging vines

The Daily Journal/Kim Carpenter Dropmore Scarlet (Lonicera x brownii 'Dropmore Scarlet') is the hardiest and longest-blooming honeysuckle vine for our area. Another plus is the fact that it's non-invasive. Lonicera japonica, called Japanese Honeysuckle or Hall's Honeysuckle, on the other hand is so invasive that it should never be planted.

Every August, my sweet autumn clematis rambles up onto our side porch, filling it with fluttering green leaves, white butterfly-like flowers and a soft honey scent. I have an old house, but the vine lends an ethereal sense to the rickety old boards and cracked columns.

Vines are solution-makers. They grow fast, require very little bed space and offer a variety of options: evergreen, deciduous, flowers, fruit, and fall color. As a designer, I have come across many landscaping problems that could be solved with a vine.

Homeowners often wish to create privacy in areas where there simply isn't room for much plant material. The conventional solution is to plant arborvitae ('arbs' in landscape lingo). Now, arbs are nice narrow evergreens, but they are overused. They take several years to fill in and offer just one 'look' -- evergreen. For a comparable cost, you could erect a wooden structure (be sure it is sturdy and rot-resistant) and start some vines on it. Privacy is immediate and lush green beauty is not far behind. A deciduous vine can shade a sun-scorched patio or window in the summer and subsequently let warmth in during the winter. Vines can also camouflage air-conditioning units, garbage cans, chain-link fences, compost piles and just about any other eyesore you care to mention. {Note: When screening an a/c unit, be sure to allow sufficient airflow around it.}

There are two basic categories of vines: clingers and twiners. Clingers are the Spidermen of the horticultural world. They can scale a wall with no outward means of support. A close look at a clinging vine will reveal aerial roots or holdfasts. In some cases, they look like miniature suction cups. These structures secrete a cement-like compound that secures the plant to the surface. It is important to note that these fascinating superpowers of the plant world should be used with caution. The word 'cement' may have tipped you off -- clingers don't let go easily. They shouldn't be used on wood siding. They can permanently damage it. But clingers are ideal for rough surfaces, such as stone, stucco, brick and even tree trunks.

Although I've warned you to use caution, I don't want to scare you away from these vines. A climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris), with its elegant flowers and exfoliating bark, can turn a stark garage wall into a sophisticated extension of the landscape. Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) and its cousin, Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), blaze through autumn with scarlet color. English ivy (Hedera helix) effectively covers unsightly views year-round with its evergreen foliage.

All of these vines can extend your landscape vertically.

Although the traditional larger-blooming clematis are exotically beautiful, the vines can grow like molasses spreads. Sweet autumn clematis is an exception to that rule. Each spring, it comes up from nothing and by August it can be 30 feet long. It is virtually covered with simple, yet delightful, fragrant white blossoms late in the season when other plants are shutting down for the year. A highly underused plant, they can be a bit hard to find in nurseries, but are well worth the search. Photo by Guernsey Clematis Nursery.

Twining vines weave themselves around supporting structures. Twiners do need some direction. I prefer to use plain white string to guide them, but there are plenty of options available. (One year, I tore the handles off white plastic grocery sacks and used them to tie my honeysuckle to its support.) The key to the training material is this: something that blends in (I have white fencing, hence the white ties), and something soft. Wires can cut tender young stems, so avoid them if possible. Once your vine is established, you can simply weave it where you want it to go.

Honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.) has an addictive fragrance and reblooms throughout the growing season. Other twiners include hardy kiwi (Actinidia kolomitka), which produces edible fruit if you plant a male and female, Japanese akebia (Akebia quinata) and porcelain berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata 'Elegans'). The ever-decadent wisteria is a heavy-duty twiner that requires serious support -- a metal structure is best. (The Chicago Botanic Garden recommends Kentucky wisteria (Wisteria macrostachya) for our area.)

For those of you bonsai wannabes, like me, who like to play barber with your plants, twiners are wonderful. You can trim them and weave them to your heart's content and any mistakes will be covered with gracious regrowth.

Some twiners produce tendrils, thin stem-like growths that wrap themselves around anything that sits still long enough. Grapes and garden peas are familiar members of this group. Perennial sweet peas produce tendrils, as does my sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora).

Climbing roses are not true vines. They simply grow very long canes and hook onto structures using their thorns. All the same, they are fragrant, beautiful and not to be overlooked when searching for vine material.

All vines are not created equal. Some like sun, others shade. Some have variegated foliage, which extends their season of interest. Just be aware of your site conditions when selecting a vine. Also, be cautious regarding invasive vines. Research your selection carefully.

All the vines I have mentioned to this point are perennial in our area. Annual vines to consider include hyacinth bean, passion flower, black-eyed Susan vine, and hops. These vines don't require heavy-duty supports like perennial vines do and rarely need pruning.

Mollie Uftring developed a green thumb as a teenager working in the perennial beds at Hornbaker Gardens in Princeton, Illinois. After graduating from the University of Illinois with a degree in ornamental horticulture, she worked as a landscape designer in Ohio before returning to Illinois.