Versatile vines - vine growing tips

Sunset, April, 1999 by Sharon Cohoon

Whether you train them up a post or let them sprawl, vines are incredibly obliging. Here are four easy ways to grow them

* Vines are models of versatility. Once established, they provide privacy and they camouflage, converting unattractive necessities like storage sheds and carports into decorative backdrops. They provide shade, blocking harmful ultraviolet rays from well-used decks all summer. Come winter, when more light is welcome, the deciduous types courteously drop their leaves.

Vines can accentuate an architectural detail by outlining a porch railing, softening a roofline, or curling up a column. They add interest where there is none - greening up the narrow stucco canyons on either side of a tract house, for instance.

Garlanding entryways, vines welcome. Blanketing gazebos in the background, they beckon. Climbing a casual tepee of bamboo poles, vines add drama. Carrying color to the eye and fragrance to the nose, they contribute sensuality.

And those are just the ones that grow upward. Dangling through an overhead lath, vines can envelop a patio in green drapery. Trailing downhill, bold vines like bougainvillea turn slopes into riots of color. Vines can grow horizontally too. Delicate ones are particularly good this way. Clematis, for example, can weave through campanula as readily as it can reach for a rose.

In addition, vines are notoriously easy to grow. Most are light feeders, and many are drought-tolerant. Best of all, they require little ground space - just enough soil for their roots and stems. Even the smallest garden can squeeze one in. Isn't there room for a vine in yours?

How to choose a vine

* Find suitable locations for vines in your garden before you shop. Are the potential sites sunny or shady? Are there other factors to consider? Boggy ground suitable only for plants that love wet feet, for instance, or lots of reflected light that heat lovers could tolerate? How's the soil? Is the planting area you have in mind under eaves where the vine won't get rain? How will you irrigate - drip, soaker hose, or by hand?

* Flowers or foliage or both? Will the vine be a solid backdrop to set off your flowering plants? If so, evergreens like star jasmine or creeping fig are what you want. For shade in the summer and sun in the winter, on the other hand, shop for something deciduous like grape or wisteria. If it's sky-high flowers you're after, when and in what color do you want them?

* Clinger or nonclinger? Vines with their own Velcro-like pads, such as Boston ivy, attach themselves to any rough surface without help. But don't grow them next to wood shingles or surfaces you'll repaint often, because clingers don't detach willingly. The majority of vines, however, climb with clasping tendrils or by twining and need three-dimensional support.

* What kind of support? For annual vines, a casual arrangement - like bird netting tacked to a - fence will suffice. But perennial vines require a more permanent toehold: a chain-link fence, trellis, galvanized wire grid, or sturdy pergola. When choosing a support, consider the vine's ultimate bulk and woodiness. A lightweight twiner like Chilean jasmine (Mandevilla laxa) will do fine on a nursery-variety trellis, but a woody wisteria will need a sturdy trellis, of 4-by-4s at least, to support its ultimate weight.

No place for a vine? Try a clematis in a pot

* Greta Garbo had it. Lauren Bacall still does. Like these two famous actresses, large-flowered clematis have an undeniable mystique. Yet these beautiful vines are no hothouse untouchables; they're versatile, obliging, and easy to grow - even in containers.

If you have no room for a big robust vine, grow a compact clematis in a pot and train it up a small trellis. Now is the perfect time to start; many are in full bloom this month, so you can readily find the flower colors you want.

GETTING STARTED

Buy a big pot, a bag of potting soil, and a trellis. The pyramid obelisk ($57; pictured on page 66) is available by mail from Kinsman Company (800/733-4146). The Scroll Pot trellis ($18.95; pictured above) is available from Park Seed (800/845-3369). Use compact, large-flowered clematis in 1-gallon pots.

HOW TO PLANT

Thoroughly water the rootballs before planting. Fill the container halfway with potting mix; blend in a balanced, controlled-release fertilizer. Remove each clematis from its pot. Slightly loosen any roots circling the base of the rootball.

Arrange plants in the container near where the trellis supports will go. The crown of the plants (the point where the plant's roots and top structure join) should sit 2 to 3 inches below the soil level and 3 to 4 inches below the pot rim. Cover the rootball with soil and press to firm; water well. Position the trellis in the container, remove existing nursery stakes, and tie stems to the trellis. Keep soil moist during the growing season.

During the first growing season, tie vines to the trellis as they grow. Cut off spent flowers after first bloom to encourage a second flush of blooms. The following winter or early spring (depending on climate), cut stems back to about 10 inches to encourage new shoots, cutting just above a single bud or pair of buds. After three pairs of leaves have formed, pinch off the tip of each stem just above a pair of leaves. As the stems grow, tie them to supports. Thereafter, prune annually in late winter or early spring to remove weak and dead stems.