Super-fast growing annual vine I can grow (and find) here?

14 years ago

The situation:

- 100 feet of west-facing wall (white stucco) in varying degrees of sunlight. We do have very large pines and it's in the backyard, so it gets breaks throughout the day and in the late afternoon.

- Currently planted its entire length with oleander. They fill/screen the wall pretty thoroughly.

- Oleanders are going bye-bye, to be replaced with climbing roses. Roses are currently 1-gallon, but will be very large and very thorny.

- In a perfect world, the oleander would stay until the roses get fairly large, so they (the oleanders) can reduce reflected heat and break up the long expanse of white wall until the roses can take over that job. Theoretically, I could plant the roses a couple feet farther out from the wall than the oleander is.

- In reality, getting rid of the oleander after the roses are well established would Really Not Amuse whoever had to do it (the large and thorny part) and Really Not Amuse me (I know the roses would take something of a beating in the process). Plus digging the oleander (and their roots) out would presumably disrupt the rose roots.

- So I'm wondering if there's something I can plant in front of the wall that will cover/screen it fast, but that I can get RID of when I don't need it anymore? "Annual vine" seems to fit the bill, but I'm open to other options. I've heard of runner beans and such, but realistically I'll probably live with a blank wall before I start from seed (unless I can direct sow, I guess, or MAYBE do one cycle of pots).

Any thoughts?

Help and thanks!!

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Comments (9)

User
14 years ago
Either an annual or an easy to remove vine?

Scarlet runners do not survive the summer here. Purple Hyacinth bean (Lab Lab) reported loves the heat, as does "Malabar Spinach).

For something tall and not a vine, perhaps sunflowers or even one of the taller varieties of okra (which has the added benefit of being edible - you could supply the entire neighborhood with okra from a planting that size) which I know LOVES it hot and sunny.

For the shadier parts, tomatoes can scramble if you give them some trellis or wire mesh .... Matts Wild Cherry can go 10-15 feet quickly.
sparklynnrose
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks! I've heard of the purple hyacinth vine too, but is there any possibility of getting it NOT as seed? Or scarlet runners? Even something that will make it partway thru the summer would be better than nothing.

I was thinking about tomatoes in a couple of big containers -- hoping to find some Celebrity -- but I hadn't thought of growing them up the wall. My main criteria for back there is "green," so getting some tomatoes (or ANY tomatoes) out of it would be a bonus. Will tomato vines live through the summer here, even if they aren't setting fruit?

I'll check out okra, and sunflowers might be cool. You've got me thinking outside the box now. Heck, maybe I'll try some corn back there, or some other type of bean or pea. Direct sow and see what happens. Again, if it doesn't do "all that well" or gets fried or eaten or makes a bit of a mess back there I won't be heartbroken. I just want a bit of a screen that won't be a nightmare to get rid of later.

One other option would be something viney that is quick and long-term but controllable -- if it would stay on the wall behind the roses and not try to eat them, that would be completely acceptable. I just don't want cat claw or something horrific like that.
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There are many lovely vines you could use. If you want a fast-growing annual vine that would bloom repeatedly throughout the summer, you could try any of these: Morning Glory, many named varieties, fast grower, morning blooms Moonflower, fast grower, heart-shaped leaves, large white flowers that open in the evenings, lovely fragrance; starts bloomin in mid-summer You could plant moonflowers and morning glories on the same trellis, and have blooms in the morning and in the evening. Cardinal Climber Cypress Vine Purple Hyacinth Bean Vine Black-Eyed Susan Vine Scarlet Runner Bean Vine, fast grower but can balk at high heat Mina Lobata--can be hard to germinate, but then grows quickly and has lovely flowers Cathedral Bells aka Cup-and-Saucer VIne If you want a perennial vine that will return every year: American Crossvine--lovely, tough, fast-grower, loved by Hummingbirds Sweet Autumn Clematis--sort of slow the first year, but will reward you forever after with lovely, sweet-scented blooms in August when you really need something lovely in the garden. Likes shady feet and at least partial sun. Worth trying again. Once established it is very tough. Clematis--there are many lovely clematis vines that have beautiful blooms, but you will need to do careful research to find one that can survive our summers Wisteria--fast grower, but doesn't know when to stop, and this vine is a monster, so be sure you really, really want it because once you have it, you can't get rid of it easily Trumpet Creeper, Madame Galens--One very fast-growing, very tough vine. Orange tubular flowers. Sometimes this can be invasive, so again, be sure you really want it. If you plant one, be SURE it is a named hybrid as they are much less likely to become invasive. There is a yellow-flowered version called 'Flava'. I grow them both on a trellis and they have not been invasive for me. Honeysuckle, Coral--a hummingbird magnet. This is the well-behave American native (Lonicera sempervirens) and not the invasive Japanese Honeysuckle. Lonicera heckrottii--a couple of the named varieties are 'Goldflame' and 'Pink Lemonade' Boston Ivy English Ivy Silverlace Vine and Climbing Hydrangea can be slow to get established. Passionflower Dutchman's Pipe Climbing Roses There are many others, but these are some of the more common ones. Air Potato Vine is an old passalong plant that is very fast growing but is hard to find in nurseries. Coral Vine/Queen's Wreath is only reliably hardy to zone 8 but is a beautiful fast-grower. IT will have tip damage at 32 degrees and will freeze to the ground if temps hit the mid to low 20s, but it is gorgeous. Dawn
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tugbrethil
14 years ago
How about asparagus (yard-long) bean, or Black-eyed Susan vine, or maybe Armenian cucumbers?

Kevin : )
User
14 years ago
OH! Luffa gourds on a trellis.
sparklynnrose
Original Author
14 years ago
Just to update, I decided to go with the hyacinth bean. I'm going to direct sow this weekend and cross my fingers. Then as an experiment I'm going to try lasagnizing the length of the back wall, out about 4 feet. If it works maybe it'll be a real bed someday. If not, I'll still be watering the roses underneath and they'll be fine. Oh the excitement...!
grant_in_arizona
14 years ago
Thanks for the update--keep us posted. Good luck! :)
zone10aridgardener
14 years ago
I would suggest a passiflora edulis. although its a perrenial it makes a great addition to anyones garden. plus there tasty fruit afterwards.
softmentor
14 years ago
Morning glories are really beautiful. the vines will climb and cover the wall quickly. they should still be ok this late but don't wait any longer, do it right away. Very easy to grow.
okra and many of the other idea tend to branch out too much, while sunflowers are fairly straight and narrow, and will reach the full height of the wall this year. Also sunflowers will do fairly well even planted this close to summer.
mullenium
14 years ago
I agree, passiflora (passion fruit) would be awesome

Super-fast growing annual vine I can grow (and find) here?

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Super-fast growing annual vine I can grow (and find) here?

Comments (9)

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sparklynnroseOriginal Author

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