LadyD Books: Five Vine Tips

Crawling Vine

I'm learning photography by practicing with my cousin's D200.
I love nature with all the varieties of plants, seeds, and flowers you find on display. For wonderful professional photos, visit Ewa Kelly who hosts Flowers on Saturday

Also, stop by Weekend Flowers

Photo Credit: Graphics Fairy

I love reading quotes from fellow bloggers. You really learn so much from their choices that they want to share with us. Freda is the host of Quote It Saturday.

Photo Credit: Graphics Fairy

Vine Quotes

"Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table."

-Bible (Old Testament)
Psalms128:3

"Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans and peas."

-- Horace Gray

"George of the Jungle is a cartoon. He's a guy who swings around on a vine all day. Are you not buying that?"

-- Brendan Fraser

“You should realize that the community with which you deal is not the one of 42nd Street and Broadway, or Hollywood and Vine. These are the crusts on the great American sandwich. The meat is in between.”

-- Fulton J. Sheen

"I took my troubles down to Madame Rue
You know that gypsy with the gold-capped tooth
She's got a pad down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine
Sellin' little bottles of Love Potion Number Nine."

-- Performed by The Clovers, Written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

You know, there are oodles of quotes about the vine from the Bible... really, there are a lot!

Tips on Growing Vines

1. Be sure the vine has a strong enough support to climb on. Some vines grow very aggressively, and they can actually damage structures and become quite dangerous as they mature, if they’re not properly supported.

2. Some of the best structures to let vines climb on are solid wood arbors or pergolas. Any solidly built structure will usually work well though, such as a storage shed, carport, or part of your home. Be aware of what type of vine you allow to climb along the walls of your home though, because some can completely destroy the structure over time.

3. Vines are tolerant of a variety of soil types; moist, well-drained soil is the best. The amount of light is important, not enough can reduce flowering. Most flowering vines require at least six full hours of sunlight. Flowering vines will also require watering. The key to proper water management is to water deeply. Avoid watering flowering vines too often as this can stress or even kill the vine. Instead, allow the soil to dry out in between watering intervals. Trimming in late winter or early spring is imperative and should be done in order to help keep flowering vines within their boundaries as well as to encourage ongoing health.

4. Some types of vines you might want to try growing include grape vines, passion fruit vines, and rose vines. There are also Morning Glory vines and wisteria, which are both favorites across the country. Another popular vine is honeysuckle, because it grows quickly and puts out a wonderful sweet scent too.

5. If you love growing roses, you might try planting some climbing rose vines too. Most grow quite quickly and will attach themselves to a structure fairly easily too. Other types of vines which are wonderful to grow include clematis, black-eyed susan, bougainvillea, and jasmine.

Do you have a favorite vine? I have the last two mentioned above on my property. Plus, Joseph's Coat roses and Cecile Bruner climbing roses. We look at the morning glory vine in the front yard and have a beautiful wisteria over the arbor near the view. I have been thinking of getting a trumpet vine in 2012.