Plant Guide

Other Names:  Cardinal Climber, Star Glory, Quamoclit pennata

Description:

A twining climber with feathery fine, ferny leaves, bearing dainty trumpet flowers in summer and fall; interesting as ground cover, or climbing arbors and fences; self seeds in zones 6 to 10 and returns year to year

Ornamental Features

Cypress Vine features dainty scarlet trumpet-shaped flowers along the stems from early summer to mid fall. Its attractive glossy threadlike pinnately compound leaves remain green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Cypress Vine is an herbaceous annual with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and can be pruned at anytime. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Self-Seeding

Cypress Vine is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Cypress Vine will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. As a climbing vine, it should either be planted near a fence, trellis or other landscape structure where it can be trained to grow upwards on it, or allowed to trail off a retaining wall or slope. This fast-growing annual will normally live for one full growing season, needing replacement the following year. However, this species tends to self-seed and may thereby endure for years in the garden if allowed.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is not originally from North America, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets..

Cypress Vine is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.