I agree about the porcelain vine. I had one at my last house, and
the variegation was great, and then the bonus of those wonderful coloured
berries each fall. It was a favourite. Took a couple of years to get
established but did perfectly fine. Was mostly shade and didn't seem to mind
at all. Hmmm - now that I have a very tiny garden, maybe it can be a
"vertical Interest"
Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:10:47 -0500
To: perennials@hort.net
From:
aete@northnet.org
Subject: Re: Ideas for an arbor
Don, one of my
favorite vines:
Ampelopsis brevipedunculata var. maximowiczii
'Elegans', which I simply call my porcelain berry.
I grow this
on an arbor at the entrance of my front walk here in northern NY zone 4,
though it is a zone 5--9 plant (I live right next to a river). The
leaves are gorgeous, variegated, deeply cut. The small greenish-white
flowers are attractive. The berries are amazing but not as nice as
they'd be with more sun than they get here. Grows 10--20 feet, but only
about 12' here. Having said all that, I'm sure this vine would be even
happier in your zone 5. It gets started later than the kiwi vine across
from it (which also gets some white and pink in its leaves.)
Replying
to your 5 points:
1. I love the look of your non-'chateau'! Might it
be an old Queen Anne Victorian?
2 & 3. My arbor has the same aspect
as yours, but it does not have a house right behind it. I have the
following quote copied to my porcelain berry culture sheet: "An attractive
variegated form with white and pink splashes on the leaves, tends to not fruit
as well as the type and is less vigorous." So far the kiwi has reached
up and across the top of the arbor while the porcelain berry is just beginning
to reach over. The kiwi takes constant pruning, the porcelain berry only
needs directing.
4 & 5. I've never had Akebia so can't compare it
to Ampelopsis. I have Campsis, Celastrus, various Clematis, Lonicera,
Hydrangea petiolaris, Euonymous -- and the Ampelopsis is one of my
favorites. Hmm, maybe there's a Clematis viticella for your
situation? I have a C. Hagley Hybrid that faces north on the front of a
pavilion and has done great for years, (unlike some of my clematis) however,
it may not grow high enough for your situation -- 8-10'.
6. My "less
vigorous" Ampelopsis etc. 'Elegans' can take far colder temps than what is
listed.
Let us know what you finally choose! Hope we see a
finished-project photo.
Best,
Alyce Elliott
near Oxbow, northern
NY
At 04:24 PM 1/10/2012, you wrote:
I came upon the following
photo from a catalog:
http://www.tinyurl.com/7olll9t
This gave me an
idea to create an arbor over my rear door and small deck (the black lines
are for reference only):
http://www.tinyurl.com/6vw2kre
Issues (construction
and materials aside):
1. Obviously, I don't happen to own a
chateau at the moment.
2. The deck faces a direction which is
approximately East-Northeast and only receives a bit of morning sun,
although plants on the deck seem to do relatively well as it is a bright
shade.
3. The small patch of open ground (indicated on the
second photo) gets no sun at all, and so whatever I plant won't get ANY
direct sunlight until it gets above the level of the deck.
4.
I'm thinking some sort of perennial vine, probably woody, but not so rampant
that it will require constant pruning (so, no Wisteria or
Vitis). I’d consider Akebia quinata , but I already have 2
of those (purple and white), and they do quite well along the north side of
my house.
5. I’d consider other species of Akebia if they would
look a bit different (trifoliata?) or even the variegated A. quinata (does
anyone know of a source of a nice clone of this)?
6. I live in
Milwaukee (Zone 5) and despite our very mild winter so far, we can normally
expect temps down to –10F (-25C) or even lower.
Thanks in advance for
any suggestions.
Don Martinson
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
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