Monday, August 11, 2008
While I was volunteering at Heathcote Botanical Gardens of Fort Pierce Florida a few weeks ago, I noticed a beautiful vine covering something. The vine was so thick I could not see the object being covered. This vine is known as the Cypress Vine ( Ipomoea quamoclit ), also known as the Hummingbird Vine and Star Glory. I was fascinated by the vines flowers and the leaves. I do not have any pictures of the flowers but they will be here soon.
I collected the seeds from the Star Glory Vine at Heathcote and germinated them at home. I have several pots of them now, they germinated so fast. I think it only took a week to get several sprouts. The seeds are very tiny.
I had an old umbrella laying around that I decided to use as a topiary frame for my Cypress Vine. So far so good, I tied the Cypress Vine up to the umbrella frame using a twist tie and it is doing the rest.
Some people say that this is a very, very invasive vine. To me, it is alot better than the vines that are taking over my fence line. At least this one has amazing flowers. The flowers are deep red and shaped like a star, hence the name Star Glory Vine. This vine is also very attractive to hummingbirds, hence the other name Hummingbird Vine. I would love to have hummingbirds in my yard.
The Cypress Vine is happy in full sun to partial shade. It also likes to be watered regularly and has been reported to climb up to heights of 20 feet. Maybe one day I will set it to climb a Palm Tree and see how high it grows. For now here are the first pictures of my Cypress Vine Project.
I collected the seeds from the Star Glory Vine at Heathcote and germinated them at home. I have several pots of them now, they germinated so fast. I think it only took a week to get several sprouts. The seeds are very tiny.
I had an old umbrella laying around that I decided to use as a topiary frame for my Cypress Vine. So far so good, I tied the Cypress Vine up to the umbrella frame using a twist tie and it is doing the rest.
Some people say that this is a very, very invasive vine. To me, it is alot better than the vines that are taking over my fence line. At least this one has amazing flowers. The flowers are deep red and shaped like a star, hence the name Star Glory Vine. This vine is also very attractive to hummingbirds, hence the other name Hummingbird Vine. I would love to have hummingbirds in my yard.
The Cypress Vine is happy in full sun to partial shade. It also likes to be watered regularly and has been reported to climb up to heights of 20 feet. Maybe one day I will set it to climb a Palm Tree and see how high it grows. For now here are the first pictures of my Cypress Vine Project.
I hope you enjoyed the post, stay tuned for updates!
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2 comments:
What a great way to reuse something destined for the dump. I love Cypress vine, it is an annual here, but most annual vines can be quite invasive anyways. I think it will be nice to attract some hummingbirds to your garden.
I remember my grandmother grew this vine in her garden when I was a child. I had to get my seeds from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello because I could not find them any where else. I do not find it to be invasive in my garden. Since the seedlings are so distinctive, it is easy to pick them out where they are unwanted. I love the idea of your unique trellis. It will be beautiful with the ferny folliage and deep red flowers.
Jan
Always Growing
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