I have also been asking this question,but have not had a positive response so far, maybe some kind person will put us on the right path.These vines are so awesome and smell so fantastic I never want to be without them.

The only reliable method I know for it is division. I'm going to try to air layer mine this month, though, to see if that will work. Maybe somebody else will have another idea.

Although I have never done it, I know someone who say she has done it successfully with cuttings. I will check with the lady and see if she can specify the exact way to get this done. By the way, my vine now has 11 bean pods on it that I can see. Now whether they will get to maturity before the first frost is another story!!

nckvilledudes, you may need a bit of luck for ripe seeds, unless you have a lot of heat left this season. My vine has been ripening its pods over the last month or so, after sitting all (southern hemisphere) winter without growing much. The new shoots are starting pretty vigourously now, at the same time as the last pods are ripening. I am in a mild oceanic temperate climate, without any frost. I have hundreds of seeds form this plant, possibly as many as 1000. \

I have heard this vine grows well from cuttings, but I have not had any success the one time I tried it. I spend more effort pruning off excess vegetative growth than bothereing to root any. My seeds are germinating well, so hundreds more of these vines are going in around here.

Banyan, I have had luck with getting the seeds on my Vigna caracalla vine to ripen once in the past. This year I doubt if I will since this season has been so strange. The spring stayed wet and cooler longer than normal through June. Then the heat arrived with a vengance and the rain essentially stopped for the rest of the summer except for very occassional hit or miss thunderstorms (more miss than hit). As late as a few days ago, we were in the low 90s. Time will tell whether any of the seed pods will ripen this year or not.

For those inquiring, I have emailed the friend who has successfully gotten cuttings of this vine to root. I asked her to either email me so I could post her directions here or for her to come to this thread and post her methods. Hopefully, she won't be too tied up to do so.

Okay, here are the instructions on how to propagate contorted corkscrew vine from a friend who has done so previously:

I use a plastic sweater box with holes punched in the bottom and filled with a mixture of sand, perlite and a bit of peat moss. I take a cutting with at least two nodes (one extra just for insurance) If you can get a piece of last years wood with a node butting up to this years wood/vine...it is perfect. I sink the cutting with both of the nodes covered in the rooting box. I trim most of the leaves off and keep the whole mess damp. In a couple of weeks, you have beautiful roots and they start putting out new growth. I use Dip n Grow solution but any rooting hormone would be fine and they would probably root without any. I stuck my last batch in the spring but I have always had good luck with them rooting. I did see a seed pod on one of the vines today. Haven't felt the need to do any from seed since the first time I started them over two years ago since they root so easily. I probably have about 12 or more rooted off of the first vine out at the greenhouse now.

Hope that helps you all who have been wanting to know how to propogate this vine. As an alternative, you can always overwinter it inside in an area that stays above freezing over the course of the winter. If you want instructions on that, let me know!

nckvilledudes,would you mind posting your overwintering method for this vine? Thank you

Thistle, sure I wouldn't mind--it's nothing complicated at all. I normally keep mine outside until it gets close to when we will recieve our first frost. I think doing so helps prepare the vine for dormancy or semi-dormancy. The vines, which have normally grown so long that they are attached to any nearby growing trees and shrubs, are clipped back so they are just at the top of the poles I have in my pot. The pot is then moved into my unheated garage which has southern exposure via the garage windows facing south where it sets until the following spring. The garage is uninsulated and the door is opened several times a day all winter long so the plant does experience near freezing temps at points over the winter. The residual heat from the two cars that are parked in the car daily helps to raise the temps a bit over the winter but there are no heating ducts in the garage.

After first being moved into the garage, the plant will still attempt to grow due to the warmer temps in the garage and the available sunlight. I continue to water the plant at this stage just enough to keep the soil moist, but more on the dryish side so I may water twice a month or so. At some point over the winter when the temps gets low enough, the vines stop growing and the leaves will begin yellowing and falling off--this normally happens over the course of several weeks. Don't be alarmed at this at all-has happened to mine both years I have overwintered it. At this point (when the leaves start yellowing and falling off), I cut way back on watering the pot---maybe once a month or so.

As spring approaches with warmer temps, I start back up the watering when I see evidence of new leaf and vine growth starting--twice a month or so. Once temps have warmed back up to where it is safe to move outside, I cut off most of the growth since if I move it outside all at once, the new leaves and vines formed will be sunburned. I also remove any dead vines that might be present. I have been rather severe in cutting back vines-both old and new- and not had it affect the plants at all.

Once outside, I resume watering and begin fertilizing as needed. I personally don't try and move it back and forth outside on warmer days and inside on colder days in the early spring because I don't want the plant to use its energy reserves producing foliage prematurely that will be cut off prior to moving it back outside permanently in the spring.

Hope this helps. If you need any more information, email me directly since I am leaving this morning for a vacation on the NC coast and won't be back until Sunday Oct 9th. I will try and answer any questions once I am back. Good luck with your Vigna caracalla plants!

I'm new to this plant as well, and I love it! :) My question is, how do you tell when your seeds are ripe? I have one pod, and am attempting both cuttings and overwintering. However, I'm afraid the seeds won't ripen since I left it outdoors a little too long this fall. Any insight would be appreciated!

I would just love either some seeds or some cuttings of the Corkscrew Vine if anyone would trade some for some of my seeds. Thats all I have at the moment but am waiting for some seeds off my Copea Mountain Glory Vine and praying I will get some as the weather is getting cold fast and it is loaded with blooms. I have both the purple and the Lime-White ones growing here in Washington State.
I have made little tents hopeing to save them or I might just dig them up and put them in pots somewhere warm for the winter. Ideas?
If I don't get any seeds off them, I sure will grow it again because its so beautiful.
Thanks Sunny

I purchased my Vigna caracalla as a second year plant off e-Bay this spring. It has grown like crazy and is blooming beautifully. I have not had luck in the past trying to grow this vine from seeds nor have any of my friends who purchased seeds. I live on a 5th floor balcony so I have to keep it cut back so it does not invade the neighbor's balcony. I maintain it at a height of about 8 feet. I placed several cuttings in water and got about 25% of them to produce strong root systems but after potting them into soil, they eventually all died. If I try the cutting method again, I will use rooting hormone and put them directly into soil under grow lights.

If anybody is currenlty looking for seeds or plants, there are some listed on e-Bay at the moment but you will find many more listed come spring. Just start looking early and be prepared to pay a good price if you want them because they seem to sell like hot cakes.

I have six of the vines growing and they just started blooming. They are beautiful! Does anyone know if I can bring them inside to over-winter them?
I had great success with growing these from seed which I got from a very generous trader here at GW! You know who you are, and THANK YOU!
I'm praying I be able to get some seeds from the vine, does anyone know where they are?
Thanks,
Deb

I grew mine from seed last year. I have since moved it from a large pot to the ground. When I did, I saw it was loaded with tubers. Does anyone know if this vine can be propagated by division of the tubers? I've googled the internet and cannot find any information other than for storing the tubers.

If it can be divided, when would be the best time... while it is dormant or in active growth?

Thanks!
Melanie

Your best bet is to buy seeds each year, unless you have a greenhouse this bean will not survive inside, and yes this is a type of garden bean.