General snail vine care

16 years ago

Hello,

We just recently purchased a house in Phoenix and have a great big back yard that seems very bare to me. Our yard is surrounded by cinder block walls so all I see when I look out is gray cement - not pretty! Needless to say, I am looking for ways to beautify the ugly walls. I was thinking of planting Snail vine along the sides of the house. We get N/S exposure, so they will get full sun during the middle of the day, which I think these will handle nicely. But I have a few questions that I thought you all could help me with.

Would I need to trellis the vine, or would it creep up the wall itself?

Being that it is nearly April, is it too late to plant it now? 100+ is not very far away now, and I'm wondering if I should wait until October.

Could you tell me about how much and how often these plants require water. I'm not sure that we have the drip set up in those areas, so for now I'll be hosing them as needed. Just want to get an idea of what that will mean for my daily routine.

Thanks for your help in advance, it is much appreciated.

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Comments (4)

terrie2
16 years ago
They're very easy to grow. We planted a couple of one gallon snail vines in Tucson five years ago in the heat of August - western exposure - and they took off right away. They definitely need a trellis of some sort or they'll turn into a massive ground cover, lol. Even on a trellis you'll have to watch them or they'll sneak through the yard - One of ours took off around the side of the house and ended up about twenty five feet away onto our back patio! They'll work beautifully to cover your wall. As for water, I just throw a hose on them about once a week and give them a good soak.
Have you considered painting the block wall? I hated all of that boring grey here too but after seeing a couple of photos of painted walls on this forum got brave and tried it myself. What a major difference! Plus, plantings show up beautifully against a nice color.
redfordaz
14 years ago
Sorry to awaken a dead thread. But, can you put these vines up against stucco? I want these vines to grown up the stucco columns on my back patio that go up to a balcony. Can you use wire? Is it bad for the stucco or the house? Thanks for the advice!
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crista
14 years ago
Your stucco will get damaged by having a vine on it unless the trellis doesn't touch the stucco. BUT, even if you can get a trellis fixed up, it is a really bad idea to have bed or anything that needs watering up against your house because the moist soil attracts termites. To give your house the best chance of not getting a termite infestation, put all plantings at least two to three feet out from the wall. Yeah, I know you don't see that happen often, but having battled termites it's well worth the trouble to plan your landscaping this way. Sorry for the long answer --- having had to deal with termites, your question his a nerve! :-)
lazy_gardens
14 years ago
It's not a good idea to have vines over houses ... they trap dampness and rot the walls. Making an arbor that matches the outline of the pillars and balcony and growing the vines on the arbor would solve that problem.

Many AZ vines are deciduous and freeze to the ground ... is that a problem?