Snail Vine - Vigna Caracalla (L.) Verdc.Family: Fabacaea
Recommended Zone - USDA 9-10
Frost Tolerance: In Arizona this plant/Vine will do very well. It will die back with frost but will return in the spring very strong. You can cut it back once the frost hits it.
Sun Exposure: Love full sun and even does well on block walls.
Origin: Central America to tropical South America
Growth Habits: Fast growing perennial vine to 20 feet
Watering Needs: Regular water
Propagation: Seeds, easily by layering in spring
The Snail Vine is a beautiful vine and well worth growing. It generally dies back in winter, doesn't really do well below 50 or 40 degrees. The snail vine is a fast grower and it will catch up the following spring, growing fast when the weather turns warm and twining up everywhere.
The genus is named after Dominico Vigna an Italian botanist of the 17th century. The species is named after the city of Caracas in Venezuela.
Blooming Habits:
Flowers are usually pale purple, possibly with cream or yellow markings. Their shape reminds of a snail.
2 comments:
We had a snail vine, planted early spring 2008, that did gangbusters in 2008. It's against the house on a trellis and so while it got frost dieback at the eave line this past winter, the rest was still healthy and green... but it was also by that point quite thick with dead debris in the interior, so this past spring we cut it way back to clean it up. No problem, we think, it loves this location and will be back in no time. However it *never* recovered - which is to say though it regrew up the trellis the growth was sparse and a sickly green (not deep green as before), and it seemed to be really prone to aphid infestation. Does snail vine just need to be ripped out and replaced every couple of years? Does it hate pruning? Thoughts?
Most likely, the aphids caused it to come back the way it did. I would pull it out and replant in another hole. Maybe next to the original one. They grow so fast that it will be back this spring in no time.
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