My boyfriend is from Puerto Rico and he had this fruit baring plant on his property as a child. We bought such a vine from a local greenhouse and planted it as an annual.

That was about 7 years ago. It comes back every year in Connecticut. It is really close to the foundation of the house, it has never had a bad year. Its roots spread out from the garden into the lawn and it shoots up sprouts only to be mowed down.

I am very careful about cutting this monster and throwing into the compost heap. I make sure its totally dried out and totally dead before I do.

This is supposed to be a tropical plant so why doesn't it die in the winter? It flowers seldom and we only get a few fruits every year but it produces masses of vines that would swallow the house if we let it go. It is not in full sun all day long. The house shadows it some of the day.

Anyone have similar results in non-tropical places?