Climbing plants are very popular in the garden and they are grown for a variety of purposes. For example, perennial climbing plants such as ivy, vines or various roses are popular. But annual climbing plants are also very popular, because their short life spans amazing growth performances.
Garden enthusiasts have the option of designing their garden differently, as they can always set new accents with the various annual plants. Where the gourd or the sweet peas can be admired today, tomorrow the place can be taken by the beautiful tendril or the balloon wine.
Choice of plants
The decision has been made and the balloon wine is to be planted with the beautiful tendril. These true growth miracles should protect the seating area from prying eyes and redesign it with its beautiful appearance. But how do these plants have to be raised and cared for?
Sow the beautiful tendrils
the Eccremocarpus scaber, better known as beautiful tendrils, are sown indoors from late February to early March. The temperature should be around 18 ° C for the seedlings to develop well. They should also be pricked out early so that they can be planted outdoors as strong plants at the end of May. If you want to sow the beautiful tendrils directly, you should wait until the daytime temperature is 18 ° C, then the seeds will germinate within two weeks. When planting out as a green wall, a distance of 1 to 1.5 m should be maintained, as the plant develops several individual shoots that need space to grow. A grid-shaped climbing aid is best attached, then the plant can develop well as a privacy screen.
Location of the plant
The location for the beautiful tendril should be warm and sunny. Protected south or south-west locations are preferred. This is where the plant can best develop to its full beauty while it is will not grow properly in draughty, cold locations. The soil should be loose, well drained and rich in nutrients. You should water the plants regularly and loosen the soil. In the flowering period you can also add some fertilizer so that the colorful flowers with the decorative and double-pinnate leaves can develop very nicely. The numerous shoots will quickly turn pergolas or fences into a colorful wall. If the plant feels good, it will thank you with a height of three to four meters.
Blossom and flower pile
The flowering period begins at the end of May to the beginning of June. However, the flower pile lasts until the first frost. The tubular, bulbous flowers grow in loose clusters with a length of 10 to 15 cm, while each individual flower is between two and three centimeters long. There are beautiful tendrils in different colors, for example from a pure yellow to a bright orange to a warm purple.
When winter comes
Cultivation is usually over for the plant at the end of October, because the beautiful tendril is not winter hardy. However, those who have cared for them in a bucket can overwinter the beautiful tendrils in a frost-free and bright room or they have to be re-sown every spring. However, if you live in a climatically preferred area, such as in wine-growing areas, the beautiful tendrils can also overwinter outdoors. However, the plant should be cut back to 0.5 m and covered with leaves to protect the roots and shoots. In its South American homeland, the beautiful tendril is a perennial plant. Therefore, it can be successful and overwintering outdoors succeeds.
For many insects, the beautiful tendril is the Garden of Eden and they are permanent guests all summer long. Bees, bumblebees and a whole variety of different butterflies visit the colorful flowers of the beautiful tendrils and they also delight the garden owners with their presence. The balloon wine also benefits from the insects and they provide a rich flower blessing.Sowing the balloon wine
The sowing takes place here in February and March as well. You put approx. 3 seeds in a pot and keep it warm, because the balloon wine does not need a temperature of 20 - 22 ° C. After about three weeks, the young plants can be pricked out and hardened at 14-16 ° C. The plants should only be planted in place after the Ice Saints. A sunny, warm and sheltered place is suitable as a location. The soil should be humus and loose.
Growth and use
Since the balloon wine should also green fences, terraces or pergolas, you have to know that it needs a planting distance of 50 cm. It does not branch as much as the beautiful tendril, but it will also be approx. 3m high. The balloon wine cannot grow upwards on its own, it needs a climbing aid.
The flowers of the balloon wine
The flowers of the plant are rather inconspicuous and of a pale green color. However, it impresses with its fruits, which are around four to five centimeters in size. They have the shape of a balloon and thus give the plant its name. The small flowers appear from July and new flowers will appear well into autumn. The fruits contain the seeds, small spherical black seeds. There is a white heart-shaped spot on this seed ball. This is how the plant got the German name "Herzsame".
Similarities
Both plants, the beautiful tendril and the balloon wine, need the same care, a humus-rich and well-drained soil and they can tolerate easy maintenance pruning. This means that only withered leaves or branches are cut back. This way, the plants are not burdened and are not damaged. Regular watering should not be forgotten in summer. In addition to loosening the soil, small amounts of fertilizer should also not be forgotten. However, these gifts should be discontinued by August at the latest. There are no known diseases of either plant species. Both types of plants are easy to care for and easy to cultivate.
Worth knowing about balloon wine in brief
- Balloon wine impresses with the striking fruits: they are 4-5 cm tall, light green and shaped like a balloon.
- The plant grows up to three meters high and wants a warm, sunny, sheltered place with humus soil.
- The balloon wine is relatively easy to pull yourself from seeds.
- It can be grown in the house from February or sown directly in the desired place in the garden from April.
- However, its seeds need a temperature of around 20 ° C to germinate.
- When sowing outdoors, you may have to wait a bit until the soil is frost-free again. With balloon wine you put two or three seeds in a pot or into the bed and cover it with an inch of soil.
- If a longer fence or a house wall is to be greened with the plant, a distance of about 50 cm between the seed points is optimal.
- Young plants that have been grown in the house are best planted out in the garden after the ice saints in mid-May at a distance of half a meter.
- The balloon wine is annual and must therefore be sown every spring. Its interesting flowers appear from July to autumn.
Worth knowing about ornamental gourd in brief
- From July to September the ornamental gourd is adorned with powerful funnel-shaped, yellow flowers.
- They have a diameter of 5 to 10 cm. Numerous extremely decorative fruits develop from this.
- The strong-growing ornamental gourds with their 10 to 20 cm large leaves can be used very well as a fast-growing privacy screen.
- The plants reach a height of up to 5 m; however, as they have a large root space, they are less suitable for growing in pots.
Worth knowing about Pretty tendrils in a nutshell
With its colorful flowers and decorative, double-pinnate leaves, it is one of the most beautiful annual climbing plants.
- It quickly forms numerous shoots with leaves that are not too densely packed.
- The leaves end in delicate tendrils that the plant clings to.
- It only becomes 3 to 4 meters high in warm and sunny locations.
- The beautiful tendril comes in varieties with yellow, red and pink flowers.
However, some manufacturers of seeds also offer mixtures of different varieties with which a pergola or a house wall can be made very colorful.
- The flowering season of the beautiful tendrils begins in June and lasts until the first frost.
- However, the plant is not winter hardy, so it can only overwinter as a container plant in a frost-free room.
- Otherwise, it is best to re-sow it every spring.
- The beautiful tendrils can be grown in pots as early as February or sown directly in the garden at the beginning of spring.
- Your seeds need a temperature of around 18 ° C and germinate within two weeks.
Worth knowing about Sweet peas shortly
- The sweet pea is one of the most famous climbing plants and a valued summer cut flower.
- With many varieties, a few flower stalks are enough to fill an entire apartment with fragrance.
- The color palette of the flowers, which appear from June onwards, is large: blue, purple, white, pink and red in many shades, up to multi-colored variants.
- Fruits reminiscent of pea pods develop from the flowers.
- However, if you want to enjoy the flowering and scent of flowers well into autumn, you should continuously cut off everything that has faded before the fruit has formed.
- In sheltered and sunny places, sweet peas can reach heights of up to 1.50 meters.
More climbing plants than Protection on the balcony and terrace are: Gloxinia bindweed, morning glory and bell vine.