Zone 7 Perennial Vine Suggestions

[lovely_star]

Hello fellow gardeners,

I planted trellising Morning Glory and Blue Passion Flowers (as seen in picture) thinking that they were perennials that would return this spring. However, from the looks of things that seems highly unlikely. This is my first time experimenting with trellising perennials and I am not sure where I went wrong exactly. Was I supposed to treat or prepare the plants with something to protect them during overwintering? I guess I have no choice but to cut down the dead vines and start over? I'd appreciate some zone 7b suggestions that are REAL trellising perennials that I could plant this season and would definitely return annually. I prefer something that is pretty and flowers...if it is fragrant, even better! TIA

[Lindsaylew82]

You could plant some Hardy Kiwi on those! It comes back every year, it's pretty, and it makes FOOD! Yaaaaaas!

[applestar]

You might have morning glory seedlings popping up everywhere right now or within the next couple of weeks, unless yours were triploids (I think is the correct term) didn't go to seed? Maypop (P. Incarnata) is the passionflower variety that is hardy ...to Zone 6 I think?... in the north. I wonder if your passionflower might still grow from the roots? I don't know how early they start to grow....

Have you considered native trumpet honeysuckle? Red/orange and better behaved but not fragrant (not the invasive yellow or white fragrant Asian species), but SUPER attractive to hummingbirds and in full bloom right now here. I already saw one yesterday. Long Island should be in the Eastern Seaboard Migration corridor so if you have them, they will visit.

Grapes would be fun, too....

...or this


It's a variety of small Asian melon about the size of a small Nerf football. H-mart had the melons last summer and when I saw the they were selling seeds for the same kind of melons this spring, I couldn't resist buying them even though I also saved seeds from the melon last year (It's almost certainly a hybrid though)... and a friend sent me seeds of similar melons, too. I wish I had your trellises.

[Lindsaylew82]

A friend of my husbands in PA has a big arbor like that covered in grapes. It was beautiful when we saw it. The grapes were immature, but still very attractive! They make wine with their grapes!

[LIcenter]

My bet is, you are gonna have more Morning glories than you'll know what to do with shortly. After the rain we just had, and the warmer weather coming in next week, they should be popping up. Mine are starting to show their second set of leaves already. I do like the idea of grape vines tho. Seems the LI climate is well suited to growing them. If you are patient, climbing hydrangeas would also work. They give a beautiful gnarly effect when they lose their leaves in the fall also, and will not tear up your trellis.

[lovely_star]

Are you guys sure the morning glories are going to return? So I shouldn't cut down the vines? What about the passion flower, will that return too? It's the middle of May and the vines look pretty dead and hollow

[LIcenter]

Cut all that stuff outta there. Nothing will regrow from those dead vines. Look along the ground, you should be seeing tiny MG seedlings. I doubt the passion flower will return tho. But it was a pretty mild winter, so who knows.

[lovely_star]

Wow it makes me sad to have to declare those vines DOA and cut them down


Any suggestions for similar perennials that I could plant in my zone (not interested in fruits) but something that is floral and pretty? I don't want to have to cut vines down every year and replant

[applestar]

I already suggested trumpet honeysuckle. Maybe clematis is another, and climbing roses, too?

...but you know, for the amount of growth and coverage you are describing, you are going to be

(1) pruning down dead annual growth with self-seeded/sowed new plants growing every spring without care like we are expecting the morning glories to do

Or

(2) pruning down winterkilled dead perennial season's growth with new shoots growing up from the roots every spring

Or

(3) pruning back and shaping live perennial season's growth so new shoots growing from living vines in spring will not overwhelm the trellises.

[applestar]

I have annual Cypress Vine which self seeds. I love it because it's well-behaved enough to only need this iron tripod trellis, and I don't have to do a thing except to remove the dead vines and the tripod some time in winter when the vines have thoroughly dried up and dropped the seeds and the ground is not frozen so I can get the tripod out. In spring, no matter how much I dig around the bed, enough volunteers come up to grow the season's vines, and the hummingbirds love the dainty red flowers for the nectar

Subject: Flowers in bloom now

Cypress Vine, another hummingbird favorite


Though related, these are not as aggressive as bindweed or morning glories and I let them self seed and put up this iron tripod trellis for them to cover.

This year, they are also creeping along this front bed on top of where I am letting some wild strawberries take over but these filigreed leaves are not substantial enough to smother the strawberries.

It's a pest in the south because it's too vigorous, but just enough toughness vs. suppressed seed hardiness to make it work well here.(I'm not positive, but birds might eat some of the seeds, too....)

[applestar]

I went outside a took some pictures of the trumpet honeysuckle. I've only had the chance to prune what I can reach from the ground. Need to get the ladder out for the top. This will double by summer thunderstorm season and the vines will act as a sail and twist the arbor trellis apart in strong winds.

[applestar]

I know you said flowers not fruits but all these fruits were white blossoms in full bloom earlier -- I found this so I thought I'd show it as another example. Blackberry canes die after fruiting, but I'm experimenting with weaving the living canes into part of the trellis structure to act as support for future canes after they die. Not sure if this will work though....

Subject: Applestar's 2016 Garden

I want to show you my West Garden Gate

-- I realized the Triple Crown blackberry canes grow long enough to be like a "climbing" rose, so I decided to let it climb over the arch trellis.

View from inside the garden and from the driveway:

[Lindsaylew82]

What about wisteria? Is it hardy up north like it down here. It bloom beautiful long lavender blooms and smells wonderful! Here it is considered (sort of) invasive. They vines grow to the top of the highest trees here. So pretty though!

[KeyWee]

What about Carolina jessamine? I am in z7a also (in another part of the country) and it performs well for me. Blooms in early spring and remains evergreen all winter.

[pinksand]

I absolutely LOVE my trumpet honeysuckle as already recommended and pictured by applestar. The hummingbird visitors make this vine all the more attractive for me since I love seeing them zip around these flowers. I have ‘Major Wheeler’ variety and it blooms heaviest in May, but continues to bloom all summer.

My neighbor has the most gorgeous climbing hydrangeas and like mentioned already, they take a while to get established but seem worth it!

I planted hardy kiwis last summer and they’re too young to get any fruit yet, but they vines themselves are very attractive! I have a male and ‘Anna’ female variety. They’re very vigorous growers and have pretty red stems!

I also have the Carolina jessamine recommended by KeyWee, but it hasn’t proven to be evergreen for me yet. It has pretty much died to the ground the last couple of years, but this is the first year it has really started to take off so we’ll see as it gets more established! A neighbor has one that’s more established and really just gorgeous!

I would NOT recommend the cypress vine recommended by applestar for our zone (sorry applestar )! I planted it 2 summers ago where I just wanted it to be an annual. I was pulling seedlings all last summer trying to get them before they bloomed again and spread more seeds! They were in my lawn, sprawling all over my gardens, everywhere!!! There is a morning glory, cypress vine hybrid called cardinal vine that is an annual and has been much better behaved for me and didn’t reseed at all. Thought it could have just been luck! The leaves are a really unique shape and the blooms are very similar to the cypress vine and draw the hummingbirds as well. You mentioned wanting a perennial so maybe not what you want, but they will fill the trellis in a season and the seeds aren’t very expensive.

My passionflower vine didn’t come back either and it is supposed to be hardy to our zone

[lovely_star]

Thanks for sharing your pics Applestar, I like the idea of a self seeding low maintenance perennial that is zone 7 hardy. Lindsaylew82, thanks for suggesting Wisteria OMG it is gorgeous I don't care if it is invasive I want it lol. The ​
Carolina Jessamine, KeyWee mentioned is also very pretty. A friend recommended Sweet Pea and Climbing Clematis, not sure if they are a zone 7 hardy perennials though. I plan on cutting down that dead stuff this weekend and will have hopefully narrowed down what new life I want to plant and replace the old ASAP.