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| We have been trying to decide what to do with our backyard patio. One idea we have been tossing around is to build a pergola and grow some vines over it for extra shade and beauty.
I have always loved Wisteria Vines, but I thought they were a cooler climate vine. While looking through our Mich. Bulb catalog, I noticed that they are zone 5 to 9, which puts us in the grow zone. I am wondering, has anyone tried growing Wisteria in the south Houston area? If Wisteria doesn't do well here, does anyone know of a similar vine that does? Or have other suggestions for vines we can grow over a pergola? We want something that has flowers that will attract butterflies and humming birds, and that will grow up over a pergola that will be approx. 12'x 14' and 8' to 10' high. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by don_licuala 10a (My Page) on Sun, Apr 17, 11 at 17:30
| It will also attract bees. |
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| Wisteria can become a monster. My neighbor has it and I have to fight to keep it out of my yard. Plus is has a short bloom period. If you want something evergreen star jasmine would be nice. Blooms in the spring (smells heavenly). You could plant something like Mexican Flame vine (butterflies love it!) with it to have flowers summer through fall.
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- Posted by ann_in_houston z9 Houston (My Page) on Sun, Apr 17, 11 at 23:55
| I agree with Natal. I am in Pearland and I have a wisteria that grows like a tree and we constantly have to trim back the vines. Besides, it gets very heavy and will break the pergola. Natal, thank you for the Mexican Flame Vine suggestion. That is lovely. I may have to find a place for it. |
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- Posted by ExoticRGVNativesTy 9b TX (My Page) on Mon, Apr 18, 11 at 0:51
| American Wisteria (Wisteria frutescens) is native to the Houston area so I would imagine it would grow quite well there. Its less aggressive than the more commonly cultivated Asian species and flowers from May to June. |
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- Posted by amberroses 9b-Pinellas Co. (My Page) on Wed, Apr 20, 11 at 23:15
| Also in addition to Wisteria frutescens there is another native one called Wisteria macrostachya 'Blue Moon.' I have them both but they are still young. natal-I love your angel.
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- Posted by houstontexas123 z9 (My Page) on Thu, Apr 21, 11 at 3:55
| no experience with wisterias, but i have some honeysuckles on my fence. japonica (hall's) is an invasive species and grows very fast. in one year it has covered about 40' of my fence. my others are mandarin (slow growth) and i think goldflame (slow growth). i also have a carolina jasmine (fairly fast growing). with the drought we're having, water frequently till well established (4-6 months) |
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- Posted by Misscole85 none (My Page) on Thu, Apr 21, 11 at 11:35
| We did toss around the idea of jasmine, our neighbor has a huge one and the smell is wonderful, but it is starting to come over to our yard by way of a mulberry tree, so I think one of those in enough for us. I do like that flame vine! I LOVE daisies and all similar looking flowers, so I will look into that one. Thank you for posting the picture of it! If we do wisteria, it would only be one plant because I know how massive they can get, but pergola's are normally what they are grown on. If you build them correctly, they won't break it, heavy vines are not a problem. Thank you for the native names, I will look into those! |
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| You could also look into coral honeysuckle. It's native as Carolina jessamine. |
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- Posted by plantloverkat 9a north Houston (My Page) on Sat, Apr 30, 11 at 12:28
| I second the coral honeysuckle recommendation. I grow it in quite a bit of shade here, but I have grown it in full sun in the Dallas, TX area in the past. Kathy |
Here is a link that might be useful: info and photos of coral honeysuckle (lonicera sempervirens)
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- Posted by greentiger87 none (My Page) on Fri, May 20, 11 at 20:40
| Passionflower vine (also called "passion vine") is another native, beautiful option... not quite as vigorous as some of the other suggestions though. |
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| I loved your fence vines Natal. What vines should I have for my back yard with flowers all seasons & less problems? Where do they sale them? |
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- Posted by ltcollins1949 9a TX (My Page) on Thu, Jul 14, 11 at 9:56
| Here is a list of some good vines to use in south Texas. http://aspmastergardeners.org/files/2010/05/Vines_groundcovers-1.pdf |
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