Need VERY fast growing shade vines and trees

18 years ago

I moved to Vail recently and have an acre of land. The house is already warm and we havenÂt even got close to the upcoming summer temperatures. I wanted to plant some vine that acts like cats claw with its growth, just not so destructive, around the whole house to provide shade, I am also planting a lot of trees and such. Does anyone have any suggestions? I read the Vine faq and there were a lot of ideas, but none focusing on fast growing, good shade providing vines (that I found at least). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Comments (8)

MaryMcP Zone 8b - Phx AZ
18 years ago
eadaein, I've done a bit of research on this subject and have this to say about that!

I chose a Shamel Ash for the front yard. It's a fast grower, looks great now and this is its first spring. For the backyard I'm planning a 'second patio' area that will be three Royal Poinciana's in a grouping, each tree about 20' apart. I believe they are also fast growers and will grow to a wide, flat umbrella if properly trained. The only thing about that Indian Rosewood is the upright shape. For a shade tree I prefer a wide crown, rounded crown or even the vase-shape to an upright. But it depends too on where the tree is going, etc, etc.

There is a free booklet available at most nurseries called Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert. It has lots of great information. For example, they list the Indian Rosewood tree as a fast grower (40' x 30')with an upright shape, low litter, no thorns and it's a large shade tree. Eucalyptus grow fast but I hate those trees.

Re: the vines the booklet says cat claw grows fast but can damage walls and fences. Think about Lady Banks roses, little maintenance, fast grower, thick evergreen. I guess I would put a sturdy trellis around the house for whatever you plant to climb up so it's not climbing right onto the house. Just an idea. HTH and good luck.
Mary
aztreelvr
18 years ago
For your location in Vail you'll need something that is hardy down into the low 20's or high teens and isn't a water hog. Why not look into the various mesquite varieties? I especially like the thornless Honey Mesquite called 'Maverick' and of course the native Velvet Mesquite. You could also use the Chilean varieties. The Afghan pines do well in your area and are also fast growers. Unfortunately the Indian Rosewood mentioned above is only hardy to 25 degrees. I've found that the Blue Palo Verde and the new thornless Palo Verde hybrids grow fast and both are hardy to 15 degrees.

As for a vine how about Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) or a Lady Banks Rose? The Lady Banks will need support when young but develops strong woody stems as it matures. Plus the flowers are fragrant and pretty.
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Your probably bang on with the cedars however they will take a long time to fill in an area. They don't require a lot of work compared to a vine generally speaking. I certainly don't recommend vines to fill your need because the privacy they give would generally be subject to the season. Below are some comments on the ones I have experience with. Most of the summer one of my chain link fences gets covered in Clematis Tangutica. I think it was called Clematis Bill MacKenzie. Its an amazing mess of yellow flowers. The nice thing with Bill MacKenzie was how fast it fills in during the spring over my other vines. I do have other clematis but nothing as bushy and filling as Bill MacKenzie. You could also look at Virginia Creeper but be careful as it can get out of control very fast. The neighbor behind our house has his crawling over his back fence snaking through the back lane and strangling parts of my garden. If you don't mind planting annuals every year you could try morning glories depending on the size / height of the area you want to cover. I've had good experience with morning glories all over my limited space. I'd seriously consider a long term investment though like cedars or some other type of bush. Evergreens for your area will give you all season privacy. Or if winter privacy isn't a big deal consider an edible bush like saskatoons. Well my 2 cents.
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Sunlight Gardens, a mail-order nursery with a very good selection of regional natives, especially recommends the Dutchman's Pipe or Pipevine (Aristolochia macrophylla) for "screening" uses in a shady location. This vine will grow in sun or shade although probably not really deep shade. Not evergreen; however, the large, 6 to 12 inch, heart-shaped leaves, will effectively cover a fence or trellis during the growing season. The plant is named for the shape of the flowers. More description: "Dutchmans Pipe is a common vine in moist southern Appalachian hardwood forests in coves and along stream banks easily twining 20 to 30 feet high. It has been popular as a porch screen for ages because it is fast growing, has large heart shaped leaves, and has odd little flowers. The two inch pale brownish purple flowers are pipe shaped or s-shaped with a widely flaring triangular "mouth" perfect for catching careless flies. The curious looking early summer flowers are borne sparsely among the wide leaves. Try it on a trellis for screening or let it ramble among shrubs and trees. It likes good moist soil and can take either shade or sun." For even more information, see http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=J410 "Will quickly provide dense cover for sun porches, verandas, pillars, posts, trellises, arbors, fences or walls. Has been used for many years to screen front porches, and is capable of creating a deep shade." And, as a further benefit, pipevine (Aristolochia) is the main host plant for the caterpillar of the beautiful pipevine swallowtail butterfly, described here. (So if you do plant this vine, and then eventually a weird looking black caterpillar with orange spikes all over its body shows up, please take good care of your "babies" and don't spray them!) http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratfordLandingES/Ecology/mpages/pipevine_swallowtail.htm Here is a link that might be useful: Dutchman's Pipe Vine available - Sunlight Gardens
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People will need to know where you are located, especially if you want something perennial.
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Hi good ?? lol All of the above are highly aggressive and I eventually had to remove them but never measured them WAY too fast for my tiny space lol The flame/sky vines went from planting to climbing trees in less than a year I still have the morning glory and a red form passiflora which I prune twice a week!! For a trellis you'll probably want something that will stay dense at the base and that will branch rather than wander?? As to wind resistance all held onto their support through two hurricanes even though the structure was completely flattened!! Then they started climbing the debris piles !!lol If it were me and I lived in Miami I'd probably go for something more exotic such as New Guinea trumpet the jade vines or maybe a chalice vine or even more exotic Sulewesi shingle vine in the red form of course .lol These are very cold sensitive but will tolerate into the 30's for short periods As to the other factors have no idea as I killed mine lol gary
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User
18 years ago
For temporary shade, try Scarlet Runner Beans or Purple Hyacinth Beans. They are both annuals.
jacquelinesoule
18 years ago
Contact "Trees for Tucson" (even tho you are in Vail) they offer 2 very low cost ($5) trees per address. Current offerings are mesquite and blue palo verde, either wil do fine in Vail. Avoid the Willow acacia as they can be very invasive into sewers and water lines.

Be sure you water deeply so the roots grow deeply on your trees. Otherwise any tree can heave your walls or foundations. Tucson Water has a free booklet, "Landscape Watering by the Numbers" with all the details.

Good Luck
desertplumeria
17 years ago
I bought a 1 gallon snail vine last year that has taken over the trellis and string supports LIKE CRAZY...It has hundreds of flowers all I really did to it is ad water
MaryMcP Zone 8b - Phx AZ
17 years ago
Is your snail vine in full sun? Baker's told me yesterday it will not tolerate full sun all day. Just curious. I bought a pink trumpet vine (podranea r.) instead but really wanted the snail vine.
desertplumeria
17 years ago
Its in my east back yard up against a brick wall and
chq0928_yahoo_com
13 years ago
Someone suggest Bamboo as a fast growing hedge/wall. I am trying to isolate my neighbours back yard. Any comments.??

Need VERY fast growing shade vines and trees

Comments (8)

MaryMcP Zone 8b - Phx AZ

aztreelvr

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jacquelinesoule

desertplumeria

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