Polk County Master Gardeners
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Annual Vines
Annual vines are a great way to get quick and inexpensive color in your
garden. They grow quickly, are easy to start and some will even reseed
themselves.
But with annual vines, as with everything else, I seem to learn only by doing
it wrong the first time. A couple of years ago, I decided cardinal climbers
would be great for along the back of the vegetable garden. They should provide a
screen; they have lovely lacy foliage; the red tubular flowers even attract
hummingbirds. They did, indeed, do all of these things, and I want to plant them
again - just not so close to the vegetable garden. They are aggressive and it was
quite a chore to keep them out of the squash and tomatoes. In addition, getting
the dead vines out in the fall was no small task.
With that bit of experience, the next decision was to try gourds on the fence
around the vegetable garden. Again, beautiful foliage, lots of white flowers,
and the bonus of gourds to make birdhouses after they dry. Again, it was
entirely too successful and keeping them trimmed back so that they did not shade
out the peppers and okra was a summer-long task.
So the word I have to pass along this week is that annual vines are
wonderful, but be careful what you ask for because you might get it. Choose a
place that gets plenty of sun and has soil with a fair amount of humus. Go easy
on the nitrogen fertilizer or you will get lots of vines and few flowers. You
will probably only need to water if we have an especially hot and dry summer. Be
sure to read package directions carefully for the type you select.
Plant them beside something you want them to climb on: a chain link fence, a
dead tree, that brush pile you are keeping for the birds but do not particularly
like looking at. If you cannot plant the seeds immediately below the trellis,
put twigs in the ground beside the seeds so that they can follow the twigs up to
their support.
You can use annual vines to provide shade for your patio or deck or to create
a living playhouse for children for just the cost of a packet of seeds and a bit
of elbow grease. You can put them in large planters on the deck or directly in
the soil. Some of the best choices are: cardinal climber vine (up to 20 feet in
a year, red flowers); hyacinth bean vine (6 to 20 feet, flowers and purple bean
pods); moonflowers (10 to 20 feet, white fragrant flowers at night); morning
glories (8 to 10 feet, morning flowers, open all day in the fall); sweet peas (3
to 5 feet, fragrant flowers great for cutting).
So pick your size, color, fragrance, and go seed shopping. Just avoid your
vegetable plot.
By Barbara M. Tobias
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