PLANTING WITH VINES IN CALIFORNIA

Sometimes you may have cinder block walls that don't look all that attractive but serve for good function. Other times you may have a trellis structure that might look nice to have some fruit baring vine growing on top of it. Your creativity options are endless when designing with vines and this becomes a great way to add softscape to a boring vertical element.

There are three types of vines..

• Aerial Rootlets - These types of vines cling to surfaces. For this type of vine you would let the vine grow right on the structure.
  
• Twining Vines - These are vines that climb around a vertical support structure.
  
• Vines With Tendrils - These types wrap around vertical support elements. For this type as well as the above you have several design options like planting the vine in pots and allowing them to climb up a vertical post or you can let the vine grow up some sort of lattice or reed fence support. There is also the typical option of planting in the ground.

Below are some vines to consider in your California garden.

California native vines...

• Carpenteria californica
• Chilopsis linearis
• Clematis lasiantha
• Fremontia spp.
• Rubus ursinus (edible blackberries pictured above)
  
• Tecoma stans
• Vitis spp. (edible grapes)

California friendly vines...

• Distictis buccinatoria
• Ficus pumila
• Jasminum spp. (right picture)
  
• Parthenocissus spp.
• Wisteria sinensis