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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

Not Yet Rated

Monday - June 10, 2013

From: Pittsburgh, PA
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Poisonous Plants, Vines
Title: Non-floweriing vines not poisonous to dogs from Pittsburgh PA
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Are there any vines or crawlers (nothing that flowers) that are non poisonous to dogs? Everything I am finding is poisonous, I want to plant some vines up a chain link fence around a swimming pool.

ANSWER:

We had the same question yesterday from Madison WI. Please read it for information on poisonous plants. We will look at a similar list for Allegheny Co., PA, but we have to tell you there are no non-blooming vines. All vascular plants propagate themselves by first blooming and then producing seeds. It is necessary for the plant's survival. You can follow each plant link on our list to find out when they bloom, with size and color, and some may have more inconspicuous blooms than others, but they will all bloom. You can snip off blossoms and then you will have no seeds but they will spread by underground roots.

Vines for Pennsylvania:

Campsis radicans (Trumpet creeper)

Clematis viorna (Vasevine)

Clematis virginiana (Devil's darning needles)

Ipomoea pes-caprae (Railroad vine)

Lonicera sempervirens (Coral honeysuckle)

You will also need to follow the links to each webpage to learn what their growing conditions are, particularly their sunlight requirements, as you did not mention that in your question,

From the Image Gallery

Trumpet creeper
Campsis radicans

Vasevine
Clematis viorna

Devil's darning needles
Clematis virginiana

Railroad vine
Ipomoea pes-caprae

Coral honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens