Passion flower vine gone ape!
 

Awkward situation:

I planted this vine about 2-3 years ago. It didn't do anything
until this year, when it went totally ape. It's crawling along
my clothes lines and falling over other plants.

I had been training it up the garage wall and along the front
of the wall with those clear plastic discs that you stick on the wall
and thread twisties through, but it has become so heavy that it tears
the discs off the wall, falls down, and crushes plants below it.

I can't go to the expense and trouble of having a heavy-
duty trellis built up against the garage wall jus tto salvage
this crazed vine, though I like the flowers; that's why I planted it
in the first place. .

Nor can I make holes in the garage roof for anchors to hold the
vine and eventually let it sprawl (more or less) across the
garage roof.

Should I have a worker hoist something heavy onto the garage
roof to serve as anchor? If so, what?

Should I cut back the vine to manageable proportions?
(Sounds dubious, looking at it, but...)

Is there a solution out there that's so obvious, I'm missing it?

What to do, what to do?

Persephon

Passion flower vine gone ape!
 

Maybe a wooden ladder if you see one someone is tossing out? Have them screw
a 2X4 into the roof and place the ladder behind it? Might also attach the
ladder to the wood piece.
Betsy


Persephone wrote in message
...

Awkward situation:

I planted this vine about 2-3 years ago. It didn't do anything
until this year, when it went totally ape. It's crawling along
my clothes lines and falling over other plants.

I had been training it up the garage wall and along the front
of the wall with those clear plastic discs that you stick on the wall
and thread twisties through, but it has become so heavy that it tears
the discs off the wall, falls down, and crushes plants below it.

I can't go to the expense and trouble of having a heavy-
duty trellis built up against the garage wall jus tto salvage
this crazed vine, though I like the flowers; that's why I planted it
in the first place. .

Nor can I make holes in the garage roof for anchors to hold the
vine and eventually let it sprawl (more or less) across the
garage roof.

Should I have a worker hoist something heavy onto the garage
roof to serve as anchor? If so, what?

Should I cut back the vine to manageable proportions?
(Sounds dubious, looking at it, but...)

Is there a solution out there that's so obvious, I'm missing it?

What to do, what to do?

Persephon

Passion flower vine gone ape!
 

I had a similar problem a few years back. I was fortunate enough to
have a friend that was in the Home Improvement business. He gave me an
8 foot section of black rot iron railing, that someone was going to
junk. I installed it vertically against a back fence, and it provided
a wonderful solution. The vine was a hybrid Flying Saucer Morning
Glory. . .I think!

Myrl Jeffcoat
http://www.myrljeffcoat.com

Passion flower vine gone ape!
 

On Thu, 05 Oct 2006 13:11:54 -0700, Persephone wrote:


Awkward situation:

I planted this vine about 2-3 years ago. It didn't do anything
until this year, when it went totally ape. It's crawling along
my clothes lines and falling over other plants.

I had been training it up the garage wall and along the front
of the wall with those clear plastic discs that you stick on the wall
and thread twisties through, but it has become so heavy that it tears
the discs off the wall, falls down, and crushes plants below it.

I can't go to the expense and trouble of having a heavy-
duty trellis built up against the garage wall jus tto salvage
this crazed vine, though I like the flowers; that's why I planted it
in the first place. .

Nor can I make holes in the garage roof for anchors to hold the
vine and eventually let it sprawl (more or less) across the
garage roof.

Should I have a worker hoist something heavy onto the garage
roof to serve as anchor? If so, what?

Should I cut back the vine to manageable proportions?
(Sounds dubious, looking at it, but...)

Is there a solution out there that's so obvious, I'm missing it?

What to do, what to do?

Persephone

I posted a picture of the disaster on alt.binaries.pictures.garden
under same subject:

Passion flower vine gone ape

Any more ideas?

Problem is, I'm afraid to make holes in the garage roof.

TIA

Persephone

:

Passion flower vine gone ape!
 

On Thu, 05 Oct 2006 13:11:54 -0700, Persephone wrote:


Awkward situation:

I planted this vine about 2-3 years ago. It didn't do anything
until this year, when it went totally ape. It's crawling along
my clothes lines and falling over other plants.

[...]

Trimmed the rest of the original post, because everybody
advised me to trim it back rather than try to
anchor on garage roof, etc. Thanks, y'all!

I did trim it sternly, but it looks messy. What if I cut
it back to the trunk? Will it come back? If it does,
I promise I'll keep it trimmed!

Any experience out there?

This is So.Calif coastal.

Tx

Persephone

Passion flower vine gone ape!
 

Persephone wrote:
On Thu, 05 Oct 2006 13:11:54 -0700, Persephone wrote:


Awkward situation:

I planted this vine about 2-3 years ago. It didn't do anything
until this year, when it went totally ape. It's crawling along
my clothes lines and falling over other plants.


[...]

Trimmed the rest of the original post, because everybody
advised me to trim it back rather than try to
anchor on garage roof, etc. Thanks, y'all!

I did trim it sternly, but it looks messy. What if I cut
it back to the trunk? Will it come back? If it does,
I promise I'll keep it trimmed!

Any experience out there?

This is So.Calif coastal.

I'm in TN but since babying the Passion Flower one year, it now comes up
everywhere. The roots send out runners.

Kate - but I still hate to mow it

Passion flower vine gone ape!
 

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 08:42:19 -0500, kate wrote:

Any experience out there?

This is So.Calif coastal.

I'm in TN but since babying the Passion Flower one year, it now comes up
everywhere. The roots send out runners.

Kate - but I still hate to mow it

I'm in Georgia and keep two half barrels with passion flower vines for
larvae food for the gulf fritillary butterfly. It is possible to
starve the roots enough they won't have the energy to emerge next
season. I had that happen a couple times before I got the pots. The
larvae would eat the vine and leave a few sprigs as the frost set in
and caused it to go dormant, but wouldn't leave enough for storing
food energy in the root.

They are often called maypop here and I understand it is because the
underground root may pop up anywhere. I have maypop's all over the
yard this year because of the fruit dropping off in places I didn't
find and the seed producing new plants.

I probably have a different variety from the OP, mine is the wild
variety that is found up the East coast from Florida to Maine.

Regards,

Hal

Passion flower vine gone ape!
 

Hal wrote:

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 08:42:19 -0500, kate wrote:


Any experience out there?

This is So.Calif coastal.

I'm in TN but since babying the Passion Flower one year, it now comes up
everywhere. The roots send out runners.

Kate - but I still hate to mow it


I'm in Georgia and keep two half barrels with passion flower vines for
larvae food for the gulf fritillary butterfly. It is possible to
starve the roots enough they won't have the energy to emerge next
season. I had that happen a couple times before I got the pots. The
larvae would eat the vine and leave a few sprigs as the frost set in
and caused it to go dormant, but wouldn't leave enough for storing
food energy in the root.

They are often called maypop here and I understand it is because the
underground root may pop up anywhere. I have maypop's all over the
yard this year because of the fruit dropping off in places I didn't
find and the seed producing new plants.

I probably have a different variety from the OP, mine is the wild
variety that is found up the East coast from Florida to Maine.

I discovered the root system when I was transplanting some for a friend.
I was expecting to dig up the root but a few inches down it went
sideways and seemed to continue on forever, perhaps not unlike Trumpet
Vine, which I tried to get started here for years and now sort of regret it.

Kate

Passion flower vine gone ape!
 

On Sun, 22 Oct 2006 09:20:29 -0500, kate wrote:

I discovered the root system when I was transplanting some for a friend.
I was expecting to dig up the root but a few inches down it went
sideways and seemed to continue on forever, perhaps not unlike Trumpet
Vine, which I tried to get started here for years and now sort of regret it.

I dug some out of one of the half barrels a couple times and that
worked better than trying to dig enough root for one that wasn't
confined. It is much easier to plant the seed in a small pot, than
dig root anyway.

I never tried the trumpet vine. I don't know of a butterfly that
needs them and really, I'm glad. The cypress vine on the fence for
hummingbirds is invasive enough.

Regards,

Hal

Passion flower vine gone ape!
 

Hal wrote:

On Sun, 22 Oct 2006 09:20:29 -0500, kate wrote:


I discovered the root system when I was transplanting some for a friend.
I was expecting to dig up the root but a few inches down it went
sideways and seemed to continue on forever, perhaps not unlike Trumpet
Vine, which I tried to get started here for years and now sort of regret it.


I dug some out of one of the half barrels a couple times and that
worked better than trying to dig enough root for one that wasn't
confined. It is much easier to plant the seed in a small pot, than
dig root anyway.

I never tried the trumpet vine. I don't know of a butterfly that
needs them and really, I'm glad. The cypress vine on the fence for
hummingbirds is invasive enough.

I've never heard of cypress vine - I'm sure that's a good thing. g

Kate