Hyacinth Bean Vine & Malabar Spinach Vine

15 years ago

I'm planning on growing Basella Rubra (malabar spinach) vine and Dolichos lablab (Hyacinth Bean Vine)together on an arbor. One on each side. I know the Hyacinth Vine can get enormous. Has anyone had experience keeping this vine trimmed or in bounds - or is that not possible?

Comments (6)

Carla
15 years ago
I had a hyacinth bean on an arbor a few years ago and it wasn't a problem. Was so stunning when in bloom that people driving by/walking by stopped and asked what it was. I had it growing only on one side of the arbor and I remember that it did take over more than its half. I'm getting rid of what is on the arbor now and plan to go back to the hyacinth bean this spring. I've had malabar spinach, too, but not on the arbor. It reseeded everywhere. Carla in Leander
bobbi_p
15 years ago
In my experience, the malabar spinach got bigger, but then again, it was in the garden and the lablab was in a container.

That said, just wanted to add a couple of unsolicited cautions: 1. if you're growing the malabar spinach for salads, I thought it tasted bitter and was extremely disappointed with the taste not to mention, it did seed itself pretty freely. 2. there are conflicting reports on the lablab/hyacinth bean vine being poisonous, so I would use extreme caution if you had any thoughts of harvesting/eating the malabar spinach grown alongside....
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roselee z8b S.W. Texas
15 years ago
Speaking of Malabar spinach, I've grown both the red and green stem and although the red stemmed seems to be more readily available, (maybe because it is more colorful) I liked the green stem variety more. In my experience the leaves were bigger, tastier and it didn't seem to reseed so freely.

Has anyone else had experience with both?

Some people harvest a whole stem and pull the leaves off, but I usually cut only the leaves off and the stems would sprout more leaves. The leaves are big and shiny and easy to harvest and it doesn't seem like there would be a problem mistaking Hyacinth bean leaves for Malibar spinach leaves, but you might get better production if the Hyacinth vine did not over shadow the Malabar or vice versa.

Malabar spinach is GREAT stir fried with olive oil and fresh garlic.

Here is a link that might be useful: Green malabar spinach ...
florida_will
14 years ago
Im in Jax Fl and enjoying Mal Spin. I just stir fried some for dinner last night. The taste is just like fresh cooked store bought spinach but maybe a tad tougher and meatier. Im getting a milder taste than the fresh cooked spinach and both blows canned spinach away. O and the plants themselves are growing like crazy !
as a side note , the mal. spin. vine has entertwined with my grape vine but it seems to help the grapes by providing shade. the grape vines are working harder for sun in return and have healtier looking leaves..not Fl.-sun-dried .
little_dani
14 years ago
I have a LOT of hyacinth bean seeds, if anyone wants some. You can just email your snail mail address to me, and I will get them in the mail.

Hyacinth beans are grown for the table in Indian cultures, (as in Bombay, India), but the white ones are more often used than the purple ones. They are not poisonus.

They are also glorious on a fence, arbor, pergola, or just running up a telephone pole. They make a great screen, growing on a tall piece of fence. I love this vine. It is among the most beautiful I have grown.

Janie
austinwildflower
14 years ago
I am growing both this year, the Malabar spinach for the first time. My neighbor had a fence just gloriously covered with the Hyacinth bean two summers ago, when we had all the rain (such a distant memory now!). It's not just pretty when it blooms but when all the pods are out by fall, bright purple pods. I had trouble growing the Hyacinth bean last year, I planted it in the ground in April but it got too hot too soon and it never did anything. This year, I started it indoors in a pot and it is now flowering like crazy.

But even though I planted them in spring, both vines are barely 4 feet tall. Even with regular water. I'm hoping some year I can get them crawling over my arbor! I don't know where you are, but I have assumed the Hyacinth bean doesn't come back in spring--i.e., needs to be planted every year or reseed.