Re: Lapageria or...?/Clytostoma/Petrea

--- "Vinciguerra, Alessandra"
<A.Vinciguerra@aarome.org> wrote:
> Glenn,
> 
> >From your description, I would guess your climber
> is a Bignoniacea. Try:
>
http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/ven-guayana/bignoniaceae/bignonia.html
> for a key to the genus that gives very technical
> descriptions and a few
> pencil drawn images.
> 
> I can  propose two hypothesis: one is Clytostoma
> callistegioides (formerly
> Bignonia violacea)? It is  half evergreen and the
> flowers are  lavender and
> violet. There's a photo at:
> http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1079/vines.html

Alessandra and Glenn,
Clytostoma callistegiodes does not have compound
leaves.
> 
> Another possibility could be Pseudocalymma alliacea,
> whose flowers actually
> do look like Thumbergia grandiflora, and it's quite
> easy to tell as the
> leaves definitely smell of garlic. See a photo at:
> www.zoneten.com/vines.htm

I don't think this one has compound leaves either, but
the flower color is close, and this one thrives in the
humid tropics, as well as at fairly high altitudes,
with cool, but not cold temperatures. (ie, it doesn't
need heat to bloom...)
> 
> BTW, both sites show various photos of wonderful
> vines, and particularly
> this last site has a photo of my beloved Petrea
> volubilis, one of the most
> magnificent climber on earth, that alas! can be only
> kept under glass here
> in Rome, but maybe can grow outdoors  with some of
> you guys around the
> world.

Alessandra,

You might try growing Petrea if you can give it a warm
south or west facing wall with overhead protection. 
This vine does very well for me in Berkeley, Ca.
planted against a south facing wall.  It blooms
reliably every summer, although the flowers don't last
nearly as long as they do in the more humid tropics,
and the calyx also falls off rather rapidly, rather
than hanging on as they do in the tropics, where it
extends the season of color after the actual petals
drop.  The only drawback to the plant is that the
flower buds are irristible to aphids, which I guess is
an indication that the vine is not truly happy here.

It is also interesting to note that this vine is
native to winter drought scrub forests of Mexico and
central America, and also tends to be described as
deciduous when grown in wet/dry climates such as
Thailand.  In my garden, it never goes deciduous, but
does go a little off color in winter, (the foliage
yellows).  Tabebuia chrysotricha is another
plant(tree), which comes from similar climatic areas,
and also does well for me, and has amazing cold
tolerance for a tropical area tree.

This Petrea volubis vine survived the 1990(California)
freeze in an open exposed location, while still in a
one gallon container, (temps down to 23/24F?) without
even defoliating, and has never shown any signs of
frost damage in the lesser frosts since then.  It may
be that the plant varies tremendously in cold
hardiness depending on its provenance, but it might be
worth trying in your garden with careful siting...

Regards,
David Feix
> 
> Ciao,
> Alessandra
> 


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