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| HEADY FRAGRANCE WAFTS FROM FENCES, WALLS AND ALMOST ANYWHERE | |
| Published: August 26, 1997 | |
Sweet autumn clematis is to fall as Confederate jasmine is to springQ:Is there a Confederate jasmine vine that is blooming now? I have been seeing an evergreen-looking vine with small white flowers growing over fences and often over other plants. It has a delicious fragrance.A:As a matter of fact there is a variety of Confederate jasmine vine blooming now, but it is far too polite to be the vine youre asking about. Also, its not nearly as fragrant. The vine blooming like seven-minute frosting on fences and the tops and sides of large azaleas and other shrubs is sweet autumn clematis (C. paniculata and others), though we should really call it sweet August clematis due to the regularity of its August bloom in South Louisiana.Even after the flowers fade, this perennial vine continues to perform. Female plants develop clusters of plumed seeds that are as pretty as the flowers. You can collect and plant the seeds, but its easy to dig one of the many seedlings that sprout around mature plants. Back-to-school plants for science projectsFrom Ann:Want to send your child back to school with a unique science project? Zoe Lynch of Orchid Gardens and Lynch Botanical Gardens has three varieties of plants especially packaged to appeal to kids and teachers.These include Venuss-fly-trap, a carnivorous bog plant with long, hinged leaves which snap shut when triggered by insects; also, nepenthes, the tropical carnivorous plant sometimes called pitcher plant, that traps and digests insects in its hollow tube; and finally, fern spores in a container topped by a clear dome through which developing ferns can be viewed. Call Zoe at 233-8817 for information. Why doesnt rosa montana vine flower?Q:I have two rosa montana vines planted in containers. They are very healthy, but they dont bloom. They get 4-5 hours of sun a day, and I regularly feed them with Miracle Gro.A:Antigonon leptopus, better known as coral vine or rosa montana, normally blooms during summer and fall until frost. It blooms best in full sun, but will tolerate most conditions except full shade and heavy, moist soil.I suspect that the nitrogen provided by Miracle Gro is resulting in a great deal of vegetative growth at the expense of flowers. You can choose between two approaches. One is to switch to a bloom-booster type of water soluble-fertilizer with a very low first number and a very high middle number. Or you can try withholding fertilizer for the remainder of this year. Fertilize once in late winter (February), then withhold after that. Hope you get some results! Responses to column on trumpet vineGretchen says, "Beware!" She planted a trumpet vine 12 years ago and now it has climbed to the top of three 40-ft. tallow trees, and it comes up everywhere.Genee says to please let readers know that some people are highly allergic to trumpet vine and break out in a poison-ivy type rash after contact. |