Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

rate this answer

Friday - November 02, 2012
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Vines
Title: Vines for an arbor
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
We're building an arbor in a 9 1/2 x 12-ft area on the south side of an urban lot. It's bordered by two-story buildings on the south and west and has a tall,sparsely leaved pecan tree on its northeast corner, but there are no trees directly overhead, so it gets a fair amount of light early in the day. We'd like to grow a vine on it but my husband remembers a jasmine vine in a similar setting dying off in an underlayer creating an annoying, dust-and-insect- catching nest of problems under the green growth. Are some vines less likely to do this than others? Is it just about maintenance? Are evergreen vines a better bet in avoiding this outcome?ANSWER:
Deciduous woody vines [e.g., Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper), Wisteria frutescens (American wisteria), or Vitis mustangensis (Mustang grape)] will lose their leaves in winter but the woody stems of the vines will remain. Unless something happens to kill the plant itself, they should re-leaf on the same woody vine in the spring and add new growth as well. Herbaceous perennial vines [e.g., Passiflora incarnata (Purple passionflower) or Matelea reticulata (Green milkweed vine)] will die back completely in the winter leaving vine remnants that will need to be removed. The vines themselves will grow anew from the ground in the spring. There are some vines that are classified as "herbaceous to woody" [e.g., Clematis texensis (Scarlet clematis)]. In the case of these, you would need to remove the dried non-woody parts after they die back in winter. Evergreen vines would, no doubt, be less trouble to maintain. You would probably want to remove any dead sections, but, hopefully, there shouldn't be much to remove. Here are some recommendations for evergreen vines that do well in Austin:
Lonicera sempervirens (Coral honeysuckle)
Bignonia capreolata (Crossvine)
Gelsemium sempervirens (Carolina jessamine)
You can search for perennial native Texas vines yourself by doing a COMBINATION SEARCH in our Native Plant Database by choosing "Texas" from the Select State or Province slot, "Vine" from Habit (general appearance) and "Perennial" from Duration (lifespan). If you want to see only evergreen or semi-evergreen vines you can select those under Leaf Characteristics.
From the Image Gallery
More Vines Questions
Climbing vines non-damaging to walls in Round Rock, TX
July 07, 2009 - Will fig vine tendrils grow into a stucco wall? Is there any climbing vine that won't damage a stucco wall over time?
view the full question and answer
Vine for stucco wall in St. Petersburg FL
November 21, 2009 - I would like to cover a 15' stucco wall with a fast growing, low maintenance vine. The wall faces south. I live in St. Petersburg, FL. What do you recommend? Would star jasmine or creeping fig be...
view the full question and answer
Identity of fast growing vine in San Francisco
March 20, 2016 - Really need to know what kind of vine is growing rapidly in the garden. Can't find out in plant identification: started to grow profusely after rainfall. Grows at rate of 6-8" per day (!). Has ivy-l...
view the full question and answer
Identification of vining shrub near Fort Worth
August 07, 2015 - Please let me know what this plant might be. Saw it one county west of Ft. Worth, in a wooded area, and I've never seen this in this region before.
The form is a vining shrub. Leaves are heart-sh...
view the full question and answer
Looking for an evergreen vine to grow on trellis as a privacy screen
July 11, 2015 - Hello,
I'm looking for an evergreen vine to grow on a free standing trellis. It is used as a screen on our back porch, so ideally we would not like to use anything that flowers due to the insects ...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |