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Evergreen vines for zone 5a in Iowa.

Posted by floyddog 5a Iowa (My Page) on
Sun, Sep 10, 06 at 16:04

I'm wondering if anyone might know of an evergreen vine that might work in zone 5a in Iowa? We're by the Mississippi and quite protected from winds, so something that works in zone 6 might work here. Thanks.


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: Evergreen vines for zone 5a in Iowa.

  • Posted by bboy z8 WA USA (My Page) on
    Fri, Nov 3, 06 at 22:37

Euonymus fortunei?


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RE: Evergreen vines for zone 5a in Iowa.

It's not an evergreen strictly speaking - though it's one of the first to green up and the last to lose its' leaves is our native honeysuckle. My favorite is lonicera x brownii 'Dropmore Scarlet' altho 'Alabama Crimson' is also quite nice.

These both take full sun to part shade, with interesting blue green leaves and coral orange trumpet shaped flowers. They bloom heaviest in spring and fall when the hummingbirds are migrating, but will bloom intermittently throughout the summer. My neighbor's is in a sheltered southeast corner and bloomed well into November this year. She watches the hummingbirds at it through her kitchen window all summer.

Our local HyVee's garden center sometimes carries them - but be warned wal-mart has packaged bare-root plants labeled as Dropmore Scarlet - but they aren't, the flowers were the wrong color, it bloomed only in summer and didn't make it through the winter.

I know it's not quite what you were asking for, but you might consider it. They like cool moist feet like a clematis, but have a longer season of bloom and I even like the shredding silver bark the old vines get in winter - can you tell this is one of my favorite plants!?! LOL!

Anyhow, since we're practically neighbors I thought you should know about this great plant!


 
 

 

 


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