Question of the Day: What Vine Should I Grow on this Tuteur?
When I installed the new tuteur in the Driveway Border I was very excited. However, it turned out to be a disappointment. Instead of standing out as a flowery vertical element, the tuteur was obscured by all the giant plants surrounding it – Tithonia, Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum), etc.
What’s more, I had envisioned the tuteur covered with big blue Morning Glory (Ipomoea tricolor) blooms. This never happened. I got the Morning Glories to grow, but they bloomed sparsely, if at all. One problem was the shade from all those tall plants, but I also suspect that the soil is just too fertile to motivate the Morning Glories to flower abundantly.
So I moved the tuteur as part of this year’s spring clean-up. Its new home is a nice, sunny spot in the herb/cutting/vegetable bed.
What’s keeping me up at night now is: what do I plant on the newly relocated tuteur? I need something of modest size (the tuteur is about 7′ tall) with large flowers that can be appreciated from a distance. Blue or bluish flowers are a plus.
I could try Morning Glories again, which Judy would prefer. However, the soil may still be too fertile for good results with this plant.
Or perhaps some variety of Clematis. I have a very happy Clematis jackmanii against a nearby wall. Something that would complement the jackanii‘s big purple flowers would be awfully nice. A variety called ‘Ice Blue’ made itself at home in the back garden last year, but it’s too early to tell if it will be a success.
Another option would be training a rose up the tuteur, again not anything too rampant.
Any suggestions?
gardeninacity 
Asarina scandens would be a nice, quick growing annual vine. Some have bluish flowers.
Just looked this one up and I’m intrigued. Thanks for the suggestion!
I’m always a fan of clematis. Reliable and just so full of blooms.
I feel the same way.
How about a hyacinth bean vine?
That’s a thought. Would it overwhelm a tuteur of this size?
I have a perennial sweet pea that does well and I’d easy. It starts purple and ages to blue.
I didn’t know there was such a thing as perennial sweet pea.
There are a couple honeysuckles that are nearly in bloom the entire summer. The hummingbirds loves mine. Major Wheeler is a peachy orange.
A nice Lonicera sempervirens would be OK.
I would recommend a rose called Ballerina. It’s very well behaved so far and it reblooms over the summer, at least here in Everett, WA.
I like any of the Clematis vitiicella varieties. They are resistant to Clematis wilt and they don’t need as much pruning..
Heavenly Blue Morning Glory is one of my favorites. Another one I like is Rhodochiton. I always start it from seed. Nurseries are just starting to carry it.
Ramona Hensrude
‘Heavenly Blue’ is my favorite Morning Glory also. Just looked up ‘Ballerina’ and it does sound like a good choice.
Clematis would be nice, but when you said it’s in the herb bed my immediate thought was runner beans! There’s a lovely pale blue Clematis called ‘Elsa Späth’ which is fairly often planted in Germany….
‘Elsa Spath’ is a beauty, she definitely goes on the ‘A’ list of possibilities.
Soil being too rich and too fertile is a good problem to have! There are so many good suggestions, but how about rose and a clematis – that way you can have successive blooms through the warmer months
That’s an appealing idea.
My first thought was hyacinth bean (and they usually self-seed).
I’m tempted though I’m worried it might be too big and rampant for this tuteur.
If you’re going for a clematis, consider Betty Corning w/ nodding bells with a light, sweet fragrance; abundant blooms into autumn.
Just looked up ‘Betty’ online – great suggestion!
You sure got some great suggestions. I grew morning glories last year and didn’t get any blooms until the end of the season. They were beautiful when they arrived though. And, I love Clematis although none of mine look at gorgeous as yours. 🙂
The only time I’ve grown MG successfully was when I grew it in crappy soil.
It’s tricky — I have exactly the same tuteur and a Jackmanii clematis on it that is fabulously flowery but the size overwhelms the structure. You need a vine that is colorful and less than a 10 foot climber, if any bigger it just mounds over itself and looks congested. I love the suggestion of a rose and a clematis, but try to find smaller ones! Another idea is trailing nasturtiums trained up the tuteur– they don’t get too big.
I love the idea of Nasturtiums. I also agree that a Jackmanii would be too large for the tuteur.
Try passion fruit! It gets very cool looking flowers and then fruit as well!
Good idea. The flowers are really pretty and different.
From the pic, it doesn’t seem to be close to a sitting area. Because I always like to use native plants, I’d recommend carrion flower. It is a herbaceous vine, so dies to the ground each year and never gets out of hand. Top height is about six feet so it is just the right size for a modest support. The spring flowers are nothing much, and do smell bad close up, but, hey, there’s lots going on in the spring. The big show is the large globular clusters of blue berries in the fall. Attractive leaves, too.
Just looked this up – wouldn’t I need male and female plants to get the berries?
I don’t thinks so. Might get better fruit set with cross-pollination – plant two or three under the same trellis. They aren’t wide.
Matt B’s suggestion of a rose and a clematis sounded permanent and wonderful until Laurrie pointed out the size. Reine des Violettes is a rose that can be kept in bounds: less a climber, more a pillar. .
Great suggestion – thanks!
Take a look at the perennial sweet pea Lathyrus latifolia. The previously-mentioned Clematis viticella ‘Betty Corning’ or some other small, delicate clematis would be lovely – but my personal favorite idea is nasturtiums: I love them anywhere and while they might overwhelm the tuteur they would give you more consistent blooms. Keep us posted!
Do they sell the Lathyrus at Lurvey’s? Don’t Nasturtiums also need lean soil to bloom well?
Do you like red? The cardinal climber, Ipomoea x multifida,looks like a red morning glory and attracts hummingbirds.
Another good idea!
For the first time I will be trying Mina lobata, a Morning Glory relative which I plan to grow on a new tuteur. That is a possibility. They are not blue though but yellow and red.
Whatever you decide, good luck.
A very tropical-looking vine!
If you are OK with an annual vine, I highly recommend Mandavilla, which now comes in white, pink, red and maroon, or Allamanda which is a bright yellow. For me, these are fail safe annual vines, flowering profusely all summer. At the end of the season, you just remove everything, and the tuteur is neat and clean all winter, as opposed to the chaos that clematis lcreates all winter.
I have never grown Mandavilla or Allamanda. I will put these on my list for more research.
I don’t really have a suggestion, rather am reading with interest to get ideas also. Your Clematis jackmanii is amazing. I have one also (not as full), but it doesn’t bloom through the summer and even starts looking brown if the summer is too hot. Are you able to keep yours blooming all summer?
No, mine blooms for a few weeks starting in early June and ending by mid-July.
Reblogged this on God's Garden.
Thank you!
If the tuteur is visible in the evenings, or at night if there’s nearby street lighting, a moonflower might be interesting. Of course that doesn’t help matters during the day. 🙂 What’s the nearby color scheme? Like Alain, I thought of Mina lobata for a quick dense cover but the colors might clash. Is Tweedia caerulea (aka Oxypetalum caeruleum) hardy for you? That’s my favorite twiner because I adore the color but it’s not hardy here.
Wow, great plant – I love the flowers. It is not hardy here, but I wonder if it can be grown as an annual. Not a plant I have seen before in a garden are retailer.
It can be grown as an annual if you have a decently long growing season, because it doesn’t have the ambition of, say, a morning glory or cardinal climber. I’ve grown it from seed in the past. Chiltern’s does offer it: http://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/search?q=Tweedia+caerulea
Oh how fun is this!!! I am growing some hyacinth bean vines over my arbor this year and I have just found an awesome clematis that is only grows to be about 4 feet high…but the blooms are red….rebecca clematis…..Whatever you grow…I know it is going to be stunning!!!!
A four foot high clematis sounds pretty good.
A rose or clematis would look great. I just planted a potato vine (Solanum jasminoides) this spring. It is already in flower and very pretty. They come in blue-purple or white and flower for most of the year. It wouldn’t be hardy in your zone but it could be treated like an annual. I like black eyed susan vines a lot. The yellow flowers might look nice against the dark colour of the tuteur. Apios americana might be a fun addition since the vine will be placed with herbs. I love all the suggestions I read above but maybe you could try the morning glory one more time …
I’ve thought of trying the morning glory with another vine but I’m afraid the MG foliage would smother whatever other vine was trying to grow.
Climbing Rose – scented of course – Rosa “Teasing Georgia” will look great. Clematis will look too flimsy but the rose will clamber all over this and anchor it into the ground. Might have to check hardiness though. I have this rose and can’t recommend it enough.
I love the color on ‘Teasing Georgia’ – sounds like a superb rose.
I would plant a Viticella Clematis if you have good fertile soil. Or a Clematis texensis ‘ Princess Kate’. Maybe a few sweet peas as well.
Have you grown ‘Elsa Spath’? I think it is a Viticella hybrid.
I just bought a nice smallish Clematis to try in a similar situation. Annual vines could fill in nicely while you wait for the clematis to take hold. Hope you remember to show us your solution.
You can count on it.
I’d grow an annual purple hyacinth bean (Lablab purpurea) both the flowers and seed pods are beautiful!
You don’t think it’s a little rampant to grow on a tuteur of that size?
Possibly, but the flowers would see me trying it.
I would go for sweet peas, the fragrance would compliment the herbs and all will smell heavenly in the summer.xxx
I have never planted sweet peas, I may give it a try.
I see that no one is being hesitant about giving you suggestions 😉 I tried hyacinth beans on a tuteur last summer & found they were far too tall/wild/crazy/rampant for it (although I love the vine). I would do some sort of annual vine so you can do something different each year. That’s my 10 cents worth. I’ve done morning glories, cardinal climber, black eyed susan vine, etc. Do you have a long enough cool season to do sweet peas early and something else annual to follow? Have fun making a decision!
Not having experience with sweet peas, I can’t answer your question – but I’ll look into it.
I actually just bought 3 native vines recently at Brushwood you might want to consider:
Apios americana
Campsis radicans
Clematis virginiana
I think the Campsis and C. virginiana are too much for my tuteur. I’ll look into the Apios.
Clematis – it will love the rich soil and they appreciate light afternoon shade. I disagree with Sunil about the clematis being flimsy. Several of mine are huge. That’s the only vine I know of that will give you big, blue flowers. Plus, there are some new varieties that are fragrant.
I don’t want the Clematis to be too huge – another Jackmanii would crush this tuteur. But I do think there are some that are the right size.
Good luck with all these suggestions!
I’m going to vote for one of the species type clematis. There are a few which have real cool flowers and it might be a nice contrast to the jackmanii.
I’m thinking along those lines.
I’ve had really good luck with Hyacinth Bean Vine (Dolichos lablab). Of course, the rabbits like it, too, so you have to protect the bottom with some chicken wire or something. It’s an annual, but you can collect the seeds for the next year. Perennial ideas: Passion Vine (Passiflora incarnata) or Kentucky Wisteria (W. macrostachya). All these vines grow well in sun or partial shade.
Rabbits are a real problem around here. Have you ever grown Passion Vine?
I’d vote for a clematis maybe a viticella type.
I’m considering ‘Elsa Spath’ – I think that is a viticella hybrid.
How about jasmine clotted cream? A soft colour with good scent, it likes a sunny spot and will romp away to about 3m.
Jasmine ‘Clotted Cream’ – what a wonderful name! Sadly it is only hardy to USDA zone 7 – I am in 5, arguably 6.
Great name and great smell. Sorry it will be too tender.
I had Clematis ‘Elsa Spath’ and ‘Jackmanii ‘ in my garden eons ago and they did very well. Having a repeat showing of a plant is good design, so seeing ‘Jackmanii’ again would be nice.
I’m leaning to Elsa, I think. Jackmanii is great but too large, I fear.
I’m finding ‘Elsa Spath’ really appealing.
My suggestion would be Clematis The Vagabond – it’s a cracker and I grow it over a similar looking structure. Any of the viticella type as has been suggested would also be a good idea.
‘The Vagabond’ looks like a good companion to Jackmanii, sort of like a little brother. Thanks for the suggestion!
Can you grow mandevilla there? It is an annual, but beautiful, and you wouldn’t have to worry about it over the winter…just get a new one in the spring and enjoy.
I think it Mandevilla can be grown here.
Cardinal Climber (Ipomoea x multifida) interplanted with any of the violet/purple Clematis cultivars is my suggestion. Polish Spirit is a favorite of mine. Look up Raymond Evison cultivars — AWESOME! Two years plants are best if you can find them. What fun! And good luck!
That sounds good, thanks for the suggestions!