The MGS Forum
Plants for mediterranean gardens => Climbers => Topic started by: HansA on November 12, 2011, 10:10:06 PM
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Petrea volubilis is for sure a fantastic climber - I am growing it now for three or four years but it did not produce any flower. The plant I got was a young plant - does anybody know with which age flowers can be expected?
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I took this photo in the Soller Botanical Gardens in Mallorca last month. Obviously, I have no idea how old the plant is.
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I was intrigued by this climber as well, I had never before seen it and thought the blue flowers were fantastic. I wish i could grow it in Halkidiki, but I doubt if it is hardy enough, it says that it will survive temperatures in the lower 30's to upper 20's for short periods of time. I spent a lot of time looking at the same plant that John showed in his photo, and I discovered that there were only a few flowers, what you see are mainly the sepals which remain on the plant for weeks, while the flower lasts only a few days, but I found some that I got a shot of.
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Well, the first one I got was a three year old plant, already in what they call here "flowering force" and it actually flowered the same year, and then every year more. . It climbs on a very sunny and warm rock face. As for the others, one is in a half shade position, and it does bloom less, even though the plant is quite big; another is in a big pot, and it blooms on top of the upper branches, where it receives direct sun. So, I woudl say, make sure your plant gets a lot of sun rays, and wait just a little more!
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Beautiful photo Jorun, this is definitely going on my "wants" list, :)
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Thanks a lot Alessandra! The first two years it hardly grow and lost some leaves in winter but this year it made a shoot of 4 meters - it is growing at a southeast facing wall so it should get enough sun and flowering may start next year. I wondered if it behaves like Wisteria where the seedlings need many years before starting to flower.
Thanks John and Jorun - exactly the same plant in the botanical garden of Soller was the reason I wanted to try it when I saw it a few years ago - had my doubts earlier as it always is mentioned as tropical species.
(Unfortunately I could not participate in the MGS meeting this year, apart of seeing this beautiful plant in the bg it would have been very interesting to meet so many forumist.)
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The plant suffered because of the strong winter, but finally it started to flower. :)
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Hans - it is good to know it survived the hard winter, even if it did suffer. For me, that makes all the difference in deciding whether to get one or not. You must be pleased, and looking forward to more of those lovely blue flowers.
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Hans, seems that you manage to grow every thing in your garden ;)
A few years ago i was on a visit to Burle Marx house in Rio D.J..
The southern part of his house was covered by both color forms of Petrea, white and purple, growing together, a stunning combination!
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Mike, it should do very well in Polis. it just prefer a place protected from strong winds.
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Thanks Oron.
Actually, I am just connecting steel cables to my car port to help stabilize it in the future gales :)
We get some very strong winds here (Coptic storms, etc.)
But I do have a relatively sheltered ugly grey block wall partly surrounding an agricultural water tank (retaining a bank), where the Petraea might be happy and do a good job of improving the aesthetics.... I just wonder about the wisdom of planting it close to a water tank: would the roots search out the tank and rupture the (concrete) base?
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But I do have a relatively sheltered ugly grey block wall partly surrounding an agricultural water tank (retaining a bank), where the Petraea might be happy and do a good job of improving the aesthetics.... I just wonder about the wisdom of planting it close to a water tank: would the roots search out the tank and rupture the (concrete) base?
Mike, sounds like a perfect place,
In my experience this species is not agressive at all!
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Thank you again, Oron.
Now I just need to get some...
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Thanks a lot for your comments Mike and Oron!
It grows here very protected from winds at a southeast facing wall - first years it grew very slowly. Now something faster (but much slower than Parthenocissus, Clematis or other climber. It normally looses the leaves in winter here.
Oron, I wish you would be right - unfortunately it is not the case ;)
Hope to be able to visit the House of Burle Max in future (not only because of Petrea) -
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I collected some seeds in the Seychelles in February and now I have some ( about 10) strong seedlings coming through. They do need heat and a nick in the seed to germinate. It is a beautiful plant and I hope they will do well for me......... I have some more seeds if anyone would like some.
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To keep your sights set on the future, Pam, here's another view of the Mallorca plant that John J and Jorun showed. (The most spectacular flowering I've seen on Petrea volubilis was on a big plant covering a high wall in full sun at the Sandy Lane golf course on Barbados.)
In his excellent 1976 book on Flowering Tropical Climbers, Geoffrey Herklots says:
"... deservedly one of the most popular of all tropical climbers.... It does best where there is an alternation of dry and wet seasons. It requires a light well-drained and rich soil in a situation exposed to full sun for most of the day and in a position protected from cold winds.... In the summer rains the twining shoots grow fast, one I measured twined up one metre of iron rod in ten days...."
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Well, at last we are having and going to have some spectacular rain and I have spent the last days planting all my 'babies' and collected plants which have been waiting patiently in my greenhouse over summer to get their feet in the ground. I have planted at least 10 Petrea volubilis which have done so well over the summer since I germinated the seeds in Feb/ March. The root systems are amazing, quite a surprise.....so strong that I decided to plant nearly all the seedlings. This will allow for ones that wont survive!! Its exciting! Can't wait for Spring.... Having just been to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands I collected some seeds of a divine blue/purple Salvia, S. sagitatta...(Well I think it is that...will post a picture soon). Does anyone know or grow it?
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My experience with growing this Petrea here in the San Francisco Bay Area is that it really prefers all day sun with reflected heat. I've had it bloom multiple times throughout the year when it was planted up against a south facing stucco wall, as it loved the extra heat. The blooms or should I say calyxes, last much longer in more tropical humid climates, as well as being much larger and densely blooming. Having also seen this vine growing in deciduous tropical forest along with cactus in southern Mexico, it is amazingly tolerant of a long summer dry season in habitat.
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We also grow Petraea kohautiana, that many consider a synonym of P. volubilis, but is definitely a different plant - at least the one we grow under that name it is different from the one we call volubilis, both in flowers and leaves, and it is more woodsy and almost self-supporting. Inflorescences are longer, flowers bigger. David have you ever grown it?
I also planted a forma alba - but i cannot tell if it is the volubilis or the kohautiana, as until now it has never bloomed.
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I haven't previously heard of this species, nor seen it. It would appear from information I saw on-line that it is considered the same plant by most. There are other species in Venezuela that are trees rather than vines.
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Interesting that you find Petrea kohautiana so different, Alessandra. As you say people (including Kew/Mobot) tend to treat it as a synonym of P. volubilis. But writing about the two in his 1976 book Flowering Tropical Climbers, Geoffrey Herklots detailed so many differences that it's a bit surprising to me that people now lump the two together. There's also a cultivated variety (var. anomala) with pure white calyx and corolla.