Hi, I let my passionvine crawl up the Mesquite tree, as I love the look of the multi trunk tree, but don't really like the mess the Mesquite makes. The tree is also pretty old and has a lot of dead branches, so I figured I "green it up" and let the vine have at it. And "having at it" it is! The passionflower (planted last year in spring) is about 15 feet tall and spread out all over. I have over 100 Gulf Frit caterpillars on there (I quit counting after 53 on about a third of the vine!) It is really beautiful to see all the butterflies flitting in and out of the tree! I am trying to get some pipevine growing up the tree on the other side so that my many many pipevine caterpillars will have a feast too! To kind of answer your question: Last year the Gulf Frits found the vine when it was just 4 feet tall and not very branchy and they really mowed it down. It was just brown dried up stalks twining around and hubby really hated it. This year the vine sent out tons of shoots and spread quickly and is able to sustain all these caterpillars with no problems.... in your case I think it would mean it might drown out other plants. LOL... you will have eggs on there in no time if the Frits are already scouting it out! Be prepared for an onslaught! Best of luck Siggy

Well... I considered this and decided to give it another go. dibbit--Your information was not too much at all--thank you. I have divided shrubs and etc before--but just have never had one of this particular plant before and I had read someone's earlier post that her 'swamp jessamine' had lost all its leaves after she transplanted it. i wasn't sure if that was the same plant and it got me worried. I've been potting things up for years and haven't really had much trouble with transplant shock before--but I've never gardened in the south--so I just don't assume anything I already know is even close to correct. :) Anyhow-- I lifted her out of the container and set her down on some newspaper on the kitchen floor and I rolled her a little then pressed down on her sides and was happy to see things loosened up quite alot. So I started working the dirt out--and found there was more root than dirt--but-- happily she divided up into some pretty obvious clumps. Actually she not only made 2 plants--she is 4. 2 large sized ones, a medium and a little one. So I will be able to fill both my containers afterall and let her climb up both sides of the Arch trellis. I was thinking about all the above advice to only put one annual vine in the container with this one. The containers are quite big-- and I wasn't sure about that. But then I realized. I'm used to anual vines in the north--where it takes most of the summer just to get them to bloom a litle bit. You should have seen my poor morning glories in Fargo last year! I never did see the moonflower bloom. I suppose they will be a bit more vigorous here--so yes--I suppose I wouldn't want to overcrowd things. Well, my vine divisions are sitting in a big canner of water getting a little soaking and I'll pot them up in awhile. Thank you so much for all the help! I am really loving this weather! I love telling all my Wisconsin and Minnesota family and friends things like--I'm sitting outside barefoot --while we chat on the phone. Makes up for all the razzing I got last year when I lived in Fargo. Mary

Wow, thanks everyone for the warm welcome, great suggestions, and wonderful pictures. Brian, I had a similar experience with some honeysuckle left over from the folks we bought the house from. They had 2 separate wood piles that were unidentifiable and a dog kennel that was nearly as bad because they had let the honeysuckle go. I believe it was the Japanese honeysuckle Dawn referenced. I think the passionflower is a lovely, unique looking flower and may well be worth experimenting with in the right location, at worst I may feed some caterpillars, right? Lisa and Ilene, great pics. I have a couple clematis vines planted in different areas and they are not yet as established as yours are. I look forward to them filling out and blooming like the ones in the photos you both posted. Lisa, I am a little further south than the Westville area and everyone thinks it's too far out in the middle of nowhere. My Mom moved down with me, this is were she grew up, and she went to school with all our neighbors. We all tell one another, that we live just far enough away from each other for the peace and quiet (about 1/2 a mile), yet close enough if we need each other. I have loved it down here since I was young and visiting and I'm glad I was finally able to get settled here. Dawn, I have one crossvine and have wished since I had gotten more than one. It was kind of a late season save from the nursery and was a little sickly, so I didn't get many blooms, but it grew tremendously well. I know they bloom fairly early in the spring, are they one and done or do they continue to bloom off and on throughout the summer? I have to say I'm quite intrigued by the cypress vine. If I were to plant it or some of the other mentioned annuals in containers, how big of a container would be sufficient? I have a couple of areas were having something container grown would be excellent. I have this small windmill... and a small trellis at the birdbath.... This is one of the arbors I mentioned initially, I have one on each side of the driveway/carport. It is where some of my hummingbird feeders hang. I have bee balm planted in the bed underneath. For the replacement, I can't decide weather to build wooden arbors or go with a cattle panel arbor. Any pros or cons, suggestions? I also have this trellis out by the building [ pardon the sat dish, did you know when you need a new one they don't take the old one? I do, now : )]. I think I would like to have something here that would still provide some structure and maybe a little cover for the birds in winter. I have strongly considered one of the red honeysuckle varieties here. I do worry a little about powdery mildew, then I see pics like the one Ilene shared and I worry a little less. I have browsed pictures for most of the recommendations and it makes me want to find other places to fit vines into the yard. As for the cypress vine and the hyacinth bean, is it better to start seeds inside, or sow outside and let them go on their own? Thanks again, everyone.

Hi All - First posting here. I stumbled in here, after searching for info on ground cover that grows rapidly and vertically. I live in the Metro Atlanta area, specifically about 30 minutes SW of the airport in Newnan. Our lot slopes up from the street, and our back yard has always been nearly non-existent. It went back maybe 10-15 feet, was uneven, and full of rocks. I had someone come in and do some grading to get a fairly flat surface, and 15-20 feet from the back of the house, so we could actually use part of the back yard. One spot was used to put a cheap pool (You can see it's still filling in the pic). Grading is a lot cheaper than building retaining walls, so that's not in my plan, at least not for a year or two. What I want to do is find something that I can plant at the base of this vertical slope (the loose dirt will be removed), and have it grow up the slope vertically, and hopefully root into it as it grows, to aid in holding it in place. Ultimately, I'd like it to continue to the upper part which has always been weeds, and cover that, choking out the unattractive weeds, and making it more maintenance free. It sounds like Confederate Jasmine may be what I'm looking for. As you can see in the picture, I am surrounded by hard, compacted clay, and to make it more fun, it's probably the rockiest soil I've seen here, and I've been in this area most of my life. How long do you think it would take Confederate Jasmine to grow to the top of the bare area (maybe 7' at the corner peak)? This area is in full Sun from maybe 11AM till just about dusk each day. Would it grow straight up, or would it fan out and grow up and out at the same pace? Should I plant it just at the base? How far apart should I plant it, and how is Confederate Jasmine sold? Thanks in advance!