I like sweet potatoe vine. Don't have one because I am trying to lean more towards drought tolerant . But I don't think it gets very big. I had one at my old house in a pot on patio. I am in Sylmar ( Lake View Terrace) and also in zone 10 . My old house was in Tujunga also zone 10.

Trachelospermum jasminoides should work for a confined space if kept trimmed. Wonderful smell when in bloom, nice dark green, glossy foliage. Often grown in containers with a trellis. Be sure it gets adequate water in a container.

Ohh yea sorry of course Sweet potato vine does not flower. Forgive my oversight . Lack of sleep lately.

Any honeysuckle will work for you, just keep it very well watered during the heat of your summers out in the valley. Remember, you were zone 9 just a couple of years ago :-) If you look around your area, I'm sure you'll see plenty of it growing all over the place. It's pretty common here in S. California. I'm much cooler and more coastal than you are in Glendale, and honeysuckle grows very well here. There are some very pretty hybrids out, one in particular is 'Gold Flame' by Monrovia. Hummingbirds like it, which is nice to have on your patio. And, a brand new compact cultivar also by Monrovia, a compact honeysuckle called 'Peaches & Cream' honeysuckle. Have not seen this in person, but it looks like exactly what you're after. I've included a link to the cultivar, and I think you can enter your zip code to see if any retailers in your area might have this in stock.

Patty S.

Here is a link that might be useful: Monrovia 'Peaches & Cream' Honeysuckle

Try the exotic Giant Burmese Honeysuckle...big flowers,glossy green leaves and yes,I've seen doing great in a half barrel outdoors in the bay area's z10. Not weedy looking like most honeysuckles.

Have you seen the Goldflame honeysuckle? Its so pretty ! I have one in a pot that doesn't get too big. I would post a pic if I had time...but look it up! Armstrongs usually has it.

Let's clarify the size of that container before making sweeping statements like "any honeysuckle will work for you" :-) If that pot is round (30") but only 8" deep, you are going to have trouble with most vines and certainly any vining honeysuckle. It will dry out very rapidly and like most perennial vines, honeysuckles produce some pretty hefty root systems. Confining them to too small a container stunts the growth and can limit flowering as well. If you want a honeysuckle, I'd seriously consider increasing your container size.........the half barrel suggested above is a good place to start. And fwiw, I'd not consider many vining honeysuckles as 'compact' - most are big, vigorous vines.

The star jasmine (Trachelospermum) is a good choice, as are several other jasmines, like J. officinale or J. polyanthum. These are more amenable to pruning to keep them in size and/or are not that big a vine in the first place.

True, gardengal, but two things - first, a pot will naturally keep plants from growing out of control due to keep roots contained. I have not had issues with limiting of flowering, especially for a very sunny location, but I suppose that would also apply to Jasmine, as well, and not just Honeysuckle. Secondly, 'Peaches & Cream' is compact, and suited for container growing. Also, some folks really don't care for the smell of jasmine, especially Pink Jasmine (J. polyanthum). I personally love all jasmine, but some folks really don't like how it smells, and it can be pretty potent. I wouldn't be afraid to try 'Peaches & Cream', and if it doesn't perform as expected, then I'd find a nice place on a fence, or side of the house to re-home it, and try something else. Anna was partial to Honeysuckcle, and I think trying a compact cultivar would be worth a try.

Patty S.

Thanks for the ideas, everyone! Very informative reading - and I didn't even know that we used to be zone 9 as I'm new to Glendale. :) I also didn't know that you should be able to plant zone 9 plants in zone 10 (is this true for all zone 9 plants)?

I think that I'll try the star jasmine in this particular location because it sounds like it'll be easier to keep compact, and a little hardier. And I do like the smell!

I still love honeysuckle though, and I'll probably try one of your suggestions in a different spot now that I know the zone shouldn't be too big of an issue.

I've been waiting for years to move into a place with some outdoor space and now that I have, I can finally have outdoor plants!! My other new project is a dwarf Meyer lemon tree.

Anna

Anna,

USDA zone ranges are more or less meaningless. Because USDA zones only describe average minimum temperatures, they can't account for the myriad other climatological conditions that must be taken into account (mean low temperatures, mean high temperatures, extremes of heat, humidity etc.), as a result, zone ranges assume that warmer minimum temperatures mean higher maximum temperatures as well. This is true to a certain degree in the eastern U.S, but is manifestly not accurate along the west coast where minimum temperatures are dramatically influenced by proximity to the ocean and where the warmest overnight winter lows are associated with the lowest summertime high temperatures.

Ryan

Aariel ~~ listen to gardengal! 7-inches (you'll lose an inch for watering space) is not deep enuf for vines except perhaps annual morning glories or maybe short clematis (4 ft. types).

I live in West Hollywood. I bought honeysuckle 7 years ago. A couple years later, when I decided to remove that plant (it never got enough sun),I found that it had taken up residence in the outer, stone and concrete,wall of a planter. (I grow cacti in the planter.)
I have hacked at the honeysuckley. It has gone long periods without watering. It thrives.

What Sunset Zone would Port Hueneme be considered? 23 or 24?