sorry, vinelover- no pic. and, i timed it perfectly to see it. today i checked and it had become heavy, fell to the ground, and got chewed up. more buds forming though!! it is still a small vine and i need to get a proper trellis instead of a shepherd's hook.

FTM, did you ever consider training it to be a tree? They are so beautiful like that! They also stay in one place. :) Arum

no, actually i never thought of that,arum. i don't even know if i am capable!!! maybe i will try that sometime in another spot. my silver moon's job is to conceal the gas meter which was moved to the front of the house when we added on. what an eyesore!

FTM, you'll haveft to forgive me, I think I was thinking Wisteria, somehow my brain short circuited. A WISTERIA tree. Boy, I don't drink, but sometimes act like I do! :) Arum

you know,arum, i was wondering! how on earth could you get those little stems to stand up! i can see you now supporting them all day until you get tired, so you put them in a cast or splint. then, i wondered if you meant training it up a tree. just think what you could have gotten me into, like i don't get enough strange looks from dh!

FTM, you had me laughing so hard I almost peed myself! I can just see you trying to hold up that Clematis, while your husband looks on, thinking you've lost your mind! Hee Hee Hee Ha Ha Ha!! :) Arum

yet again, dh has thought i lost my mind. i am getting ready to cover an area of lawn with newspaper and mulch. "when are you going to mow that? what are you doing?" me- "covering the grass." dh- "you can't cover the grass, that won't work!"

he should know better when i get something into my head to jsut let my roll! i may try a clematis "tree" after all, just to make him wonder :)

FTM, you know what they say about men? Including husbands?
" Men are like a fine wine. They start out like grapes, and it's our job to stomp them down, and keep them in the dark, untill they finally turn into something we want to have dinner with!" :) Is that a mean man joke or what? :) arum

climbing snapdragon????? I would kill for it....where to look...i just started some purple hyacinth bean vine, i hope it does good, i cannot waait. i soaked the beans for a day and then stuck them in a pot on the deck....what do you guys think...

Keep those babies in the sun, and I hope they have someting good to climb on! I'm sure they will do fine. :) Arum

arum, i do love the way you look at things!!!!

guess what i found! from now on i will always soak my cardinal climber seeds in a mixture of weak tea and baby shampoo (or dish soap)! i just poured it on the ground b/c it was dark, forgot to water until everything looked dry as a bone. that was at least a week ago. couple of days ago i am watering, i see a clump of seedlings grouped together. could it be!!? better not be those mg's i grew 3 years ago that still come up! i usually cannot get my c climber to germinate well, so if this is it, i will remember to use this brew!

FTM, I DO know what you mean! I have gotten sooooo many good tips on the good ole GW! Like how to cut the pods off my Moonvine, put them in a glass of water in the sun, and the seeds dry naturely, and you get soooooo many seeds that way! Also to nick and soak them so they come up eaiser, whereas before I would plant a ton of them and about two would come up, not only that, I would have'ft to buy them every spring, cos I couldn't get any seeds. Oh,- thanks for the compliment, you seem to be kind of good natured yourself! :) Arum

Guess what? I have SEVEN seeds that have germinated to my,-( I mean Emma's) Plum Frost! Man O Day am I exicited! However on a sad note, and this is no place to mention it, but I think a black snake ate my big ole Bullfrog Bullet that I feed by hand. :( This is a sad day. Hold off on the smypathy cards, but let us all stop for a moment of silence. Good thing my morning glories are doin so good, or I couldn't be consoled. arum

notice how long that moment of silence lasted :) sorry to hear about that missing frog, but (feeling ornery here)the snake will be happy for a few days. that really was mean, i am sorry. i get very protective over things that i think are mine, so i do understand. oh, good natured?- it is our secret :)

great about your morning glories! too bad i couldn't send you mine. pulled up a few more today- amazing. i grew a mmoonflower one year and had one bloom. was it not in enough sun?
on a final note, perhaps bullet went to find some shade, or love...

FTM, I would rather a snake get him than the bad little boy behind me! :) I guess he's gone to frog heaven. I tell you though, he was wonderful.
Yeah,ftm, Moon vines need a lot of sun. Sometimes I think they don't grow just for spite, cos they know how much we want to see the blooms. Start some more. :) Arum

oh, the poor baby!

spite, huh. sounds like it fits right in at my household :) i just love those huge white flowers, but i don't know why. i think they are also more fragrant at night, correct? better to attract moths to attract bats with, my dear! on that note, i would love some night blooming or very fragrant jasmine outside. i would then take cuttings before fall for next years plants. do you think zone 5 growing season is long enough for a bloom?

vinelvr, i missed that short window to get a pic of my clematis bloom!! whaaaaa! i didn't even know it was there until today, but it is all chewed up. pretty soon i will have suffocated in earwigs reminiscent of an x files show involving cockroaches.

FTM, when you try to start MV's any sooner, it usuall dosn't work anyway I find. They love the heat and won't really take off until it gets warm. Try nicking the seeds swith a toe nail clipper then soaking over night, then after you put them in at this time they will probably tke off like a rocket. If you want to save seeds try "Ron's" method. Surely with ALL my blabbing, you know what this method is by now! Then again I think you were talking about growing Night Jasmine. You'll have'ft to excuse me, I ahven't had my coffee yet! :)The MV"s are more fragrant at night cos they don't come open till dusk, and they sure DO smell heavenly! :) Arum

yes, i was talking about jasmine, arum, but you lack of jitterjuice paid off. it asnwered another question about mv's/starting earlier does no good...

believe it or not, i do not know "ron's" method. with your lack of coffee and my lack of memory something MAY get accomplished :)

Well FTM, I didn't understand your last post too good, are you sure we aren't related somehow? :) Are you growing any MG's right now? :) Arum

don't feel bad about not ;understanding it! dh can't figure o;ut what i am saying half the time. and, with typing, i tend to use as few words as possible. sorry about that!

i don't have mv or mg growing right now/ or jasmine :)
dizzying, isn't it?
jitterjuice= coffee

well, yesterday, i noticed i had a bloom opening on my silvermoon clematis. oh goodie, i thought. i will get a pic tomorrow, it should be opened by then. last night, i go out with a flashlight and spray bottle full of garlic/redpepper/bay leaf/clove/cedar oil brew. i get to my clematis and the bloom is already half eaten! it was perfect 9 hours earlier! gggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Yeah, the slugs are aweful this year, I keep puting out raw potatos for them, but I forget to collect them at night, so they are just multiplying and eating both the potatos AND my plants. My yard long beans seem to be their favorite. :)

hmmmm, arum, you are working against yourself! i think we must be related!

Just wanted to say "Thanks" for all the good information to newbies like myself. I learn so much from you.
Susan

Susan, I'm learning all the time! Isn't this a great site for pointers? What did I do before with out all these great folks on the vine forum? :) Arum

probably read a lot of books trying to find an answer while your plants slowly succumbed :)

i have had so much help here!

So, how's it goin folks? My MG's although slow growing are really doing well health wise. Sounds funny dosen't it? :) I'm soooooooooooo excited!!!!! How's yours??? :) Arum

yesterday, i transplanted some cardinal vine from when i dumped the soaked seeds all in the same place. i am hoping to train one of them through my now out of bloom honeysuckle- this was quite a light bulb i had yesterday! might even be easier for hummmers to find since they usually drink the "honey." i once tried the idea of training them up sunflowers, but they grow faster than the sunflower the times i tried.

also moved one more of my passionflower cuttings outside and into the ground.

FTM, I love Cardinal vine! I am growing some now, although I am mainly growing "MG"s. A great trellis can be made from an old wooden child gate that you can pick up at a yard sale, thrift store, etc... It he spaces are two wide, just add some string. :) Arum

that's an idea. thanks!
now, on my rounds last night i see one of my transplants was eaten! gggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

not again! two days ago i watered the transplants by the honeysuckle. today i go to water them, and they are all shrunken up. i barely could even find them. too late!

FTM, we win some, we loose some! Some of my Japenese MG didn't germinate, but SO many did! Gotta take the bitter with the sweet, right? :) Arum

do i have to? :(
in my yard, the poor things already have their work cut out for them. that's what makes the survivors even sweeter right? (as my mom would say, hard work makes you appreciate things more knowing you earned it)

So how's the growin goin? I have so many beautiful things that have done well, and tognight the Pink Moonvine bloomed for the first time. What a beaut! :) Arum

wellllllll, my cardinal vine seems to have finally gotten to blooming, but it still disappoints me :(
maybe i hvae them too crowded. it also seems to be blooming better than the cypress vine. don't know.

my passionflower caerulae definitely is not going to bloom. i have cuttings in the house though!

FTM, I have vines all over everything, and yes, some of them are in a tangle! I'm hoping next year I won't grow quite as many so I can single out the really special ones and let them do their thing! :) It seems that the more common MG's like Heavenly Blue do better. These special ones seem to sucomb to the "MG" disease. You should see the Heavenly Blues, they are beautiful!

Your Cardinal Vine is a pretty thing,I think it looks good growing by it"self, cos it's rather delicate. Mine is growing with the 'Shiva" MG which is white with a bluish purple star. The Cardinal vine is not showy enough though. Sorry about your Passion Vine, you can start all over next year. :) Arum

arum,i am planning on potting my passionflower on a nice hot patio. hope your mgs are prolific this year! see my post for pics of my clematis. oh, and i planted a clematis virginiana.

ftm, sounds like a plan! I will be looking for more beautiful pic's of your clematis. :) Arum

lol...i knew i should have taken the evening pics yesterday. i have read that these colors can wash out, so lower light (say an overcast day) is best. it was in the shade, though. i have lots of buds! yipppeeeeee!

now, to get a proper trellis for those buds to rise...

SO,- anyone growing any interesting vines? :) Arum

I'm growing Chilean glory vine for the first time. It took forever to bloom, but it's looking really good now!! Too bad I didn't get blooms before the hummingbirds migrated south though. Robin

Robin, I looked up pictures of that and it's a real looker! Congratulations on getting flowers! Come spring I may grow St. Vincents Lilac again. You probably know that it has purple flowers,is related to the tomato, and is in the nightshade family. My seeds are old, but may still germinate. I've had a love afair with JMG's, and it seems I've not had room for anything else. Vines are so charming, aren't they? :) Arum

I grew MG Benichidori & chocolate and loved the blooms.
But Arum I have the yellow MG growing in a pot over 6 ft tall that has refused to bloom. So what's up with this MG?

Well Helena, I'm no expert by any means, but from over the years I've noticed that some of these beautiful vines need a longer growing season, even more sun than some,- and if the soil is two rich they may refuse to put out flowers. How about trying different plantings, and see what you come up with? The seeds to the yellow may be expensive though, but when it flowers it will be worth it. Happy growing! :) Arum

Arum-I do enjoy growing vines. I have a lot of fencing and vines cover the bare spots between plantings around my pool. Also, I like growing plants that attract hummingbirds and there are several vines that fit the bill!
Robin

SG, what vines have you grown? Do you like the annual ones? I have always grown the Hyacinth Bean, and so may others that I just tear down in the fall. Scarlet Runner is pretty, and the Heartseed vine. But mostly MG's :)

Finally saw my first bloom on the yellow mg yesterday in GH but there's more buds on the vine. The flower was small though. I have heat lamps for the cold nights. I guess I just had to be a little patient. Helena

Helena,now that is exciting! I think i planted seeds to the yellow mg,but nothing came up. I may try again some day. Right noe my focus is on my Koi pond. St. Vincents lilac is interesting, maybe this summer I will grow it. Happy Gardening! :) Arum

Arum, the first time I tried growing the yellow mg, I soaked the seeds & waited & waited even dug the seed up to see if it rotted but it was hard as rock, never came up. This time I nicked and soaked the seeds and only took a couple of days to sprout. I got one seedling under shop lights right now to grow for the winter. I might try in a hanging basket like I grew benichidori & chocolate vine.
Helena

Well, that sounds like it as hard to start as the moonvine! Some of these seeds are hard as rock! Maybe that was why I wasn't successful. In my kitchen window I have a Hyacinth Bean vine that has started growing, and it does have a lot of sun. i've heared of folks growing MG's in the house, but have yet to try it. :) Arum

I know I waisted my first few seeds of y mg. I'm going to try growing moonvine this spring. I just recently discoved the beauty of the morning glories. Helena