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Friday - May 20, 2016

From: Buda, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Vines
Title: Vine for 60 foot long by 2 foot high cinder block wall
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Looking for a vine to cover a 60 foot long 2 foot high cinder block wall.

ANSWER:

Some native vines have holdfasts that allow them to attach to the surface of a cinder block walls. Examples of native vines for your area that have holdfasts (disks or adhesive tips) are:

Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)

Parthenocissus heptaphylla (Sevenleaf creeper)

Unless they have holdfasts it is difficult to get vines to grow on flat walls such as concrete or cinder blocks unless they have supports (either vertical and/or horizontal) that are small enough for their tendrils to twine around. Here is information from SFGate Homeguides on ways to provide vertical or horizontal wire supports that enable them to climb up the walls. Here are some possibilities for native vines that have tendrils and require support to climb. All are perennial and the first two are evergreen or tardily deciduous:

Lonicera sempervirens (Coral honeysuckle) is evergreen and grows in sun or part shade.

Cocculus carolinus (Carolina snailseed) is tardily deciduous or evergreen and grows in sun or part shade.

The remainder of the vines are deciduous.

Ampelopsis cordata (Heartleaf peppervine) is fast-growing in part shade.

Clematis drummondii (Old man's beard) grows in sun or part shade.

Clematis pitcheri (Purple leatherflower) grows in sun or part shade.

Ibervillea lindheimeri (Balsam gourd) grows in sun.

Vitis mustangensis (Mustang grape) grows in part shade.

Vitis cinerea var. helleri (Winter grape) grows in part shade.