Re: Vines for First Zone of Beach Exposure

Joe mentioned some good choices, I would also suggest
consulting the lists from Roland Hoyt's book,
Ornamental Plants for Subtropical Regions, which is my
personal bible for difficult conditions and extensive
lists of plants.  The key characteristic most all
these plants have is their relatively waxy stiff
foliage.

Hoyt lists the following:

Asparagus falcatus
Cissus incisa
Ficus pumila
Ipomoea pes-capri
Lonicera hildebrandtiana
Jasminum gracile
Muehlenbeckia complexa
Phaedranthus buccinatorius
Solandra guttata
Rosa banksia

All of these would benefit from a good washing down to
remove salt after each wind storm, as even salt
tolerant plants will burn new foliage when in contact
with heavy salt concentrations.  I noticed this in a
local context when new plantings along the San
Francisco Bay here on the Berkeley shoreline's newly
landscaped bikepath were whipped by salt spray, and
even things like Hakea suaveolens were burned on the
windward side, when a good washing down would have
eliminated the damage.

Other plants that I would suggest, but not listed by
Hoyt would include Hardenbergia violaceae, Grewia
occidentalis, Tecomanthe speciosa(rare but beautiful,
I have one in my own garden which just bloomed for the
first time after 5 years, and has strangely colored
greenish yellow clusters of trumpet flowers which
spring forth directly from older woody branches). 
Tecomanthe is not particularly frost hardy, but hails
from the shoreline of Three Kings Island in New
Zealand, and is constantly exposed to salt spray, and
the glossy tropical foliage is beautiful in its own
right.

Hope this helps...



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