Climbing Annuals - Part III

Continuing with the annual climbing plants theme, this week’s victim is Canary Vine (Tropaeolum peregrinum) a member of the Nasturtium family.

Canary Vine is supposed to be fairly easy to grow but in our gardens, we have had varying degrees of success with it. As a result, this year, it will not be included in our plantings. It probably will show up again in a year or two. I will not be defeated!

Tender perennial (zones 9 – 10) grown as an annual

Full sun

Height 6’ – 8’

Fast growing

Flowers are yellow, 3” long with long fringes on the edges

Leaves are lobed, gray-green in colour

Grows easily from seed or cuttings

Susceptible to powdery mildew so provide good air circulation

Susceptible to whitefly, flea beetle and aphids

Fertilize with 15-30-15, or top dress with composted manure

Flowers are edible

Annual Climbing Plants

Climbing plants deserve a place in everyone’s gardens. Whether they are on a fence, a wall, a trellis or obelisk, few things can rival a climbing plant for adding visual interest. There are so many climbers available, annual and perennial, but few gardeners look beyond the traditionally grown varieties. Is that because the unusual are not offered at garden centres or is it because we’re afraid of the unknown?

It is time to break free, meet some new plants and invite them to live in your garden this year! Watch this site for info on a few of our favourite annual climbers. It may be that you’ll be inspired to experiment with some different climbing plants this year.

Climbing Annuals - Part II - Cardinal Vine

An annual climber that my garden is not complete without is Ipomoea coccinea, or Cypress vine or cardinal climber. A very pretty plant.

Hummingbirds love this plant!

Cardinal climber is easily grown from seed.

Reaches 6’ – 12’

Bears trumpet shaped red flowers

Leaves are deep green, finely textured

Likes full sun

Grows well in containers or loose soils, not so well in heavy soils

Disease and insect resistant

Fertilize with 15-30-15 water soluble fertilizer or top dress with composted manure

Very easy and low maintenance plant

Does not require deadheading

Self seeds

Best planted in groups of 3 or more for better coverage

Climbing Plants - Part I

If you like climbing plants, here’s one for you to try. It is Mina Lobata (Ipomoea lobata), an annual that grows easily from seed. It is a very low maintenance plant.

A fast grower, it reaches 9’ – 15’ in no time at all.


The flowers are pale yellow near the stems and graduate to orange then red near the tips. It’s stunning when in full bloom, which is usually all season long.

The leaves are dark green and deeply lobed about three inches long.

It is disease and insect resistant – a real plus!

Give Mina full sun and fertilize regularly with 15-30-15 water soluble fertilizer.

A very forgiving plant, Mina will recover nicely if you occasionally forget to water it.

In our garden, with its clay and/or acidic soil, Mina doesn’t perform too well. But, planted in containers, or sandy loam, and given something to climb up, it is one of the show stoppers of the garden. It is a staple of our gardens.