A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 plant/flower suggestions HELP!

We have built a lovely arbor over a portion of deck. I would like to plant something to grow up over this. A wisteria has been suggested but I think they are slow growing. Any suggestions? Mid Michigan is the location!

Welcome QB2!

Aren't you lucky to get an arbor! Tell us a bit about the area you want to plant in. How much sunlight does it get? What's the soil like? What zone are you in?

You could possibly grow a fast annual vine like Morning glory or Cardinal vine while you waited for a more perennial type to fill in.

Glad to have you here, I am very glad you found us, and I'd like to Welcome you to The Garden Helpers' Forum, just to let you know we have everything here from Master Gardeners to new beginners and everything in between, we know you'll fit in nicely....
We have a grand group of gardeners here, all helpful, and fun and the love of gardening abounds here...
We have a lot of new sections we've added, like recipes, and crafts, and hobbies, and banter hall for chatting, and games to keep us gardening addicts busy with something to do in the winter months... join in the fun, post away, answer a question or two or three if you know the answer your self, my motto is,
"It only takes one gardener to know the answer and that one gardener may be YOU"
Join the fun, ask all the questions you have or need to.....
Be a bit patient as it takes a bit of time for some of our gardeners to come through, I'm also going to move your post into a section that a few more frequent and hopefully will get a little more through there to be able to answer it better.

Welcome again!!!
Some one will be through to answer your questions.

Weezie

P.S. My own personal thoughts on your question would be, Wisteria's are beautiful, I've heard they do take a bit of time to bloom and a ton of pruning, you HAVE to like to prune with those plants, and they need an absolutely STURDY~STURDY~STURDY arbor or growing structure..
They can be mighty plants and need a solid growing unit...

We are in zone 5, the arbor is sturdy (my husband builds things keeping in mind 4 boys may attempt to swing or hang on it!) The side of the house it is on is E facing and will get sun most of the day. Thank you for your ideas! Morning glories would be lovely until a perenial grows in....

How about a climbing rose, I'm in zone 4 and I have one (Don Juan variety) mine runs along an old fence.

welcome to the garden helper queenbee i have absolutely no gardening experience in your zone as I am living the fartherest (sp?) north I have ever lived unless you coun't my time in the SanFrancisco bay area. but I wanted to welcome you!

How about a native honeysuckle? There is one that is especially appealing that I have. It's Lonicera sempervirens 'Blanche Sandman', blooms on and off all summer, the hummers love it, offers berries to the birds in winter and is not invasive.

http://www.nichegdn.com/catalog/item.php?id=1616&PHPSESSID=e11069461493cd221f1e5b866ca89836

There's also Lonicera heckrottii - gold flame honeysuckle that will also bloom on and off all summer and has all the same qualities but is also fragrant. It can be variable in fragrance so purchase in bloom.

http://www.nichegdn.com/catalog/item.php?id=1619&PHPSESSID=8c24381141ada5600641725f8c41a716

Newt

Thanks! all great suggestions!

I just planted Lonicera heckrottii - gold flame honeysuckle last summer. The blossoms are wonderful. I hope it attracts more hummingbirds to my garden.

Rue ~ I have been growing that honeysuckle for about 5 years now. I absolutely love the colors and the scent! My husband taught my daughter how to suck the nectar from these (he used to do it a lot when he was a kid) - they say it's very sweet.

YOu can do that with clover too!!!

My mom and dad have climbing roses over their arbor....they are so beautiful when they are in full bloom....she has them coming up on each side........very pretty.

What do you think of a clematis?

Clematis are wonderful. I have a couple and have really enjoyed them.

My neighbor has many and on occassion they get some kind of wilt and she has to cut the whole plant to the ground. The plant is not killed and the next year acts like nothing happened the year before.

You have given me so many good ideas. I can't wait to get planting! I'm ready to blow torch the snow away!

I have some Hycinth vine seeds if you'd like them they get 10-15 feet long and spread nicely. They are annuals so if you plant a climbing rose or wisteria, the vine can give you coverage quickly while you wait for the other to fill in. I have wisteria planted in my front garden but it's been 2years and it still hasn't taken off yet. So I plant the vines to give me walls and a partial roof in the late summer, It's nice to sit in a "garden room"

We have Clematis on a trellis that is at the end of our porch. I've never seen it bloom since it's season was overby the time we bought the house. I've started some Sweet Pea to run up the trellis with the Clematis b/c they have different blooming times. The Hycinth vines are gorgeous! I was thinking about getting some of those as well. Also, we have some roses that grow on the side of our garage. I don't know what kind they are, but they are really pretty. They start blooming a very light color and by the time the rose falls off of the vine, they are really really dark in color. The butterflies LOVE them. Hope this helps.

Jennifer and QueenBee, IM me your address and I'll send you some hyacinth vine seeds.