Native Plants

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Saturday - January 08, 2011

From: Logan, UT
Region: Rocky Mountain
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources
Title: Fragrant native vine for Logan UT
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

So as a general question for the Utah climate, (Logan to be precise) is there any kind of climbing vines that would take the place of a jasmine even if deciduous in nature? I read the article about the woman in salt lake buying the confederate jasmine, (which is the kind I grew up with in northern California) but almost any fence-climber with a sweet smell and flowers would placate me. Do you have any ideas on any vines or things of that nature for this area?

ANSWER:

Gardening in Logan, as we are sure you already know, is somewhat challenging because of its USDA Hardiness Zone and altitude. This USDA map shows that Cache County, in the northeast corner of the dogleg on the state of Utah, is mostly in the hardiness zone of 4b, with a tiny spot (perhaps where Logan is) in Zone 5a. That would suggest that your average annual minimum temperatures would range from -25 to -15 deg. F. It is therefore a given that the vines will be deciduous. When we searched on our Recommended Species for vines native to Utah, we found two: Clematis columbiana (Rock clematis) and Clematis ligusticifolia (Western white clematis). Both appear to grow natively in counties close to, or just to the south of Cache County. The only honeysuckle native to Utah is Lonicera ciliosa (Orange honeysuckle) growing, according to this USDA Plant Profile, to the east and south of your area. This honeysuckle and Campsis radicans (Trumpet creeper) both appear in our Native Plant Database. You can follow each plant link to find out more about the vines, when and for how long they bloom, projected size, and Growing Conditions. We hesitate to recommend the Trumpet Creeper because we have complaints from other visitors to Mr. Smarty Plants about its invasiveness. Our thinking is that your environment might just be hostile enough to keep it under control, and it is a lovely blooming plant that attracts hummingbirds.

From our Native Plant Database:

Clematis columbiana

Clematis ligusticifolia

Campsis radicans