Re: Vines for First Zone of Beach Exposure
- Subject: Re: Vines for First Zone of Beach Exposure
- From: John MacGregor j*@earthlink.net
- Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2003 23:40:03 -0800
David, Joe, all,
Another shiny-leafed vine that will take first-zone exposure is Macfadyena
unguis-cati. It's a nasty weed that that runs underground and is virtually
indestructible if you ever decide you want to get rid of it, but it's a
handsome, tough, and durable one that will attach and climb by itself on
virtually any surface.
on 12/12/03 9:10 PM, david feix at davidfeix@yahoo.com wrote:
> 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.
John MacGregor
South Pasadena, CA 91030
USDA zone 9 Sunset zones 21/23
