Vines and roses?

[Rajah]

Anyone ever planted a vine behind a rose?

We planted our 3 new roses (from the Antique Rose Garden in Brenham, TX -- Carefree Beauty / Katy Road Pink, Lafter, and Dame de Coeur) and put wood trellises behind them. It looks nice, but when I started thinking about it, I realized that it's going to take years for the roses to do anything with the trellises other than making pretty backdrops.

So I thought it might be neat to plant some climbing vines with small flowers behind the roses. But I want something that isn't going to choke out the roses.

What I was curious about was maybe a white jasmine and plant it in containers behind the roses and trellises. Would that work, or would the containers not contain the jasmine and is it likely to still take over the roses?

Any other suggestions?

 

[Snowwark]

I've never grown jasmine, Rajah, I'm not very familiar with it. Hopefully we have a jasmine growing Bud who can help you out with their experiende.

I do know that clematis vines and roses look beautiful together!

I'm curious as to why you want to grow the jasmine in a container?

 

[Rajah]

In *THEORY*, they're easier to contain that way. In THEORY.

(Okay, and I don't want to try to dig *behind* the rose and in front of the fence)

I did stop by one garden center and found that I can't use most of the jasmines because their scent is too strong for me. What's the good of flowers if you can't get up close to them without having asthma problems? I'm considering a bouganvilla (I know I'm spelling that wrong....) since those do well in containers, but I'm not sure which color would work best there. I'd like a nice white, but the only white bouganvillas I've seen around here look sick rather than *white*.

 

[marydmjj]

I love bougainvilla. I've tried to grow it here in a container but it didn't grow. Oh well, I admire it whenever I'm in a warm climate.

 

[Mamu]

Patience is a Virtue, when it comes to gardening. Over crowding is a gardeners worst enemy. It will cause double the work.

 

[Rajah]

That's what I'm coming to think, Mamu. I've been re-thinking this vine-and-rose thing. It would look really pretty, but I think it would be more trouble than it's worth.

The vine I really like, star/confederate jasmine, has such a strong scent that I can't get within 10 feet of it without my allergies and asthma acting up. So that's a no-go.

The other jasmine that I found and like only blooms in the spring. I want something longer-blooming. But it doesn't have the overpowering scent. It also doesn't grow that fast I don't think.

The honeysuckle I really like turns out to be very invasive (japanese honeysuckle). I don't want something invasive.

Everything else I can think of to plant back there would either cost $30+ to buy large enough to be effective, or would take as long to grow as the roses do. By that time, there's no more point, the roses will be enough.

Everything that grows fast enough to be able to take over those trellises in a season would take over the trellis, back fence, and roses and would become more trouble than they're worth.

So right now, I'm rethinking the idea. I'm actually considering trying some very small "window-box" type things that I *hang* on the trellis (our trellises have horizontal cross-bars). Being small containers they're easily removable when the roses get larger, and I can use a drip-irrigation system with a timer to keep them watered (I'm thinking of doing that anyway with the roses). I could then grow some small things in there (like verbenia) and get some of my color on the trellis. But I'm not sure how well that will work. I'm still considering it.

In the meantime, I think I'm going to do something else to get my bouganvilla. That planter I used a couple of years ago on the apartment back porch to grow that mandavilla is sitting on the back porch now and looking ugly. I'm thinking of getting a small trellis and one bouganvilla and planting it in the pot in that container (keeping it in its pot or one just slightly larger because bouganvilla like to be root-bound -- they bloom more that way) and train it to grow up the trellis. Then on the shepherd's hook already set up in that pot, hang a *potted* bouganvilla of a different color. Easy care, not too expensive, likes the light there, and lets me have my bouganvilla.

I've considered doing another mandavilla again because I love them, but that thing took over the back porch in a month to the point that it was trying to trail around the door handle on the apartment. I'm afraid it would take over too much. LOL! And I know from past experience that I need to focus on getting these things to minimal care because when the heat of summer comes, the gardening bug goes.

 

[soccerchick]

I have an annual vine that I grow every summer to cover up the ugly black iron rail that leads to our basement. I *think* it's called hyacinth vine...I'm going to go look it up. I bought some years ago at Jefferson's Monticello and each year I take some seeds to plant the following year. In the warm weather you can actually see it grow!! It gets dark green leaves and bright fuschia/pink flowers. The flowers then form shiny maroon colored pods. I am very allergic and these don't bother me.

 

[soccerchick]

I found a link...it's called a hyacinth bean.

http://store.yahoo.com/monticellostore/600091.html

 

[Kirby]

I really don't know a lot about gardening but what about Morning Glorys? I just remember when we lived in Dallas, the lady behind us had blue ones on her fence. They were so pretty and came back each year.