Umbrella trellis project, Mexican Flame vine
halfwaythere
9 years ago
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halfwaythere
9 years agoRelated Discussions
fishing line trellis
Comments (3)I have been using fishing line for years and have only had to replace a couple pieces and that was because the screws pulled out of the fence or I've cut it by mistake. I screw small C-hooks (whatever they are called) into the fence and run the line between them. I've used it for MG's, thunbergias, clematis, Malabar spinach, passifloras, Mexican Flame and canary vine. There's probably others I've forgotten. As long as it's not a heavy woody vine the line holds up well. Just make sure that you buy a strong fishing line. Fluorocarbon lines don't degrade in sunlight or water. Mine has been up for at least 4 years and it's not brittle yet. The only real drawback I've found is that it's a PITA to remove dead vines. It's hard to cut them away without cutting the line....See MoreCaesalpinia Pulcherrima (Pride of Barbados, Dwarf Poinciana)
Comments (18)Thanks much, halfway and Tom B. So, the reason why you don't see photos posted here by me is that I'm one of the leading dorks of the world. I don't know exactly what my problem is, but I just don't ever want to slow down enough to take photos, post them here and everywhere else, etc. Weird, I know! The Caesalpinia is still just a dream for me, Halfway. I'm wondering if it would perform more or less similarly to the popcorn cassia, being from the same (huge) plant family and all. I talk to the folks at Top Tropicals all the time about my mad schemes too. I should be hearing back from them too today. In any case, this is all about next year.....next growing season, that is, here in WI. For whatever reason, ornamental horticulture is a very trend-driven thing. I'm actually ok with that, and usual am riding the trends anyway, but this query represents my efforts to be outside of all that, doing and showcasing things that literally nobody else is doing! And so it is. The flame vine info is most helpful. My crew persons sure don't want to deadhead those vines! Sure, they may have to anyway. It's on their list of many things! But the advice I've received from you guys is priceless. Thanks a lot. It seems like the vine pushes waves of blossoms. For example, even before we planted our stuff-in the greenhouse-they were full of blooms. Then, after being placed out into the early-summer coolness of WI, they went into straight vegetative growth. About a month ago, they just exploded in blossoms and are now seemingly going into a resting or vegetative stage again. Truth be told, I'm evaluating them this season. It was a cinch to get them, due to the excellent contacts of the grower who supplied our stuff this year, so that's not an issue. It's always about, is this or that plant "good enough" for our relatively short season. I don't waste my time with something that's any less than excellent, or try not to anyway. Thanks again, and Halfway, I look forward to further reports! +oM...See MoreUnique Vine Application - Treehouse Roof
Comments (11)OK, I've been researching this further and I've given up on the idea of planting something at the top of the tree for the fact that it likely will not survive our winters. I'm now looking for a vine that I can plant in the ground next to the tree trunk, and send it up the trunk to reach the roof of the tree house and spread from there Its been an interesting journey while researching these vines. Im looking for a fast grower that can reach a significant height, and Im not easily scared away by pruning & that type of maintenance - I enjoy it. This led me first to Trumpet Vine. It sounded like it could climb to the roof of the tree house in a season, and its not delicate or hard to grow. The flowers would look nice, but would also attract bees and insects that we don't really want... Then I started reading more of the posts about this vine and I had visions of this vine taking over the tree house, then the yard, my house, and also my neighbor's houses. I didn't want to bring this kind of destruction on my neighborhood so I started looking around for another vine. There are a lot of horror stories out there. One of the images that came to mind: I then started looking for a fast & tall grower that didn't flower and bring the bees along with it. We already have hops growing in another part of the yard and love it for that area. However, for this tree house I am hoping to find a vine that will not die back to the ground each year, so it doesn't have to make the 16' climb each season before it can start to fill in the roof. Next up was Virginia Creeper. Doesn't have the insect problem, fast grower, woody stalks stay through the winter, so far so good. It sounded like it also would try to take over the neighborhood, and has to be kept in check and requires pruning - OK, I like pruning, I can run a mower around the base of it, and I have a chainsaw in case it goes Jumanji on us. I've nearly made up my mind about going with the VC and planting and then I come across posts like this one about how poisonous/toxic/allergenic this plant can be! Other sites and forums & sites dont mention it at all... And I was getting ready to make this a significant part of a children's play structure! So far this experience has made me realize how clueless I am in this selection - apparently I am attracted to all of the wrong types of plants. Any input would be appreciated. I am starting to wonder if rafters, sheathing and shingles wouldn't be a better route. My latest search has me looking at Hardy Kiwi vine. I like the first word in it's name. Im not really looking to harvest any fruit from it or deal with that mess, but it might be interesting in the future to get a male pollinator and have some hardy kiwis. I read that it can reach 60' heights and can grow as much as 20' in a season, which sounds good. Does anybody have any experience with this vine? Does it sound like a potential fit?...See MoreTree Shaped Trellis
Comments (6)the thing is a want a "tree" in the back yard and I dont want to wait years, if I could have a trellis that was shaped like a tree with branches then I could have a small flowering tree all year long in the center of the yard - it would give a little shade and look pretty... we are short ppl, so even a 10- 12 foot "tree" would be spacious to sit under. ok fast and ugly mark up in Microsoft Paint, but gives a sort of idea for ppl who are able to interpret ramblings of a crazy person. lol Thin poles set in a circle each with branches, try and picture this in 3D - the shorter looking branches are not shorter, it is just the perspective. The branches would stagger heights like a real tree (I guess a "modern" tree could be made for ppl who like clean lines and have a mod landscaping). The branches might need to be made of thinner poles and have 2 or 3 with webbing to give the vine space to grow. I would think the hardest part would be training the vines to grow on the different branches, but maybe depending on how large the diameter of the "trunk" is maybe the vines would stay to their own trunk and branch set until they get big and start to become "over grown". I drew 4 trunk and branch sets, but maybe 5 or 6 would be better.... maybe each trunk would only have 1 branch, and the branch would be wider (maybe fan shaped) - set of 6 then alternate the placement of high and low branch. If I won the lotto I would work on making this idea and then selling commercially, if anyone sees this and beats me to it... I want some sort of inventor fee and a complimentary tree and installation. I also want Shade Sail trees - why does it always have to be the the shape of a large triangle or square with 3 or 4 poles - My mom once had a fake chrismas tree that you attached each branch into it's trunk slot, do something like that with Shade Sails. I would think this would be very expensive due to cost of steal construction for safety in high winds - but for parks and what not. They make Cell Phone towers that look like trees so I know that they could make a Shade Sail tree!!! Can anyone tell that the Florida heat is starting to set in!!! lol I think about shade a lot!...See Morehalfwaythere
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