One of the joys of summer is seeing the different blooming vines on people’s mailboxes, fences and arbors.  There are many kind of long blooming vines available in all colors. The trick is training them or helping them climb, and in knowing how to cut them back in the winter to get the best climb for your money.

I have outlined a few tips which I have learned through my years of maintenance in the field.  Hopefully this handy guide  will help those or you those of you who want to try to grab the small window left in training your vines this season before they turn into a jumbled glob of plant material.  I have tried to choose 3 of the area favorites.

Trumpet coral

This is a semi woody vine that comes in orange, blue pink, red or yellow.  The trick with this vine is to intertwine it between its support every week or so and show no mercy in cutting back any outward growth which does not follow the line of the fence.  This will sucker down along the ground if you let it.  Cut back extra tendrils to encourage it to grow width or height wise.  The trick for early spring pruning is to cut it back tightly to the wall or fence with very short nubs.  If you don’t, when it does start growing (vigorously) it will pull off its support. This plant does not have natural grabbing on to the wall. You need to give it something to climb on.

These vines like hot conditions and somewhat dry soil.  The drawback is at times tit gets powdery mildew and aphids.  Treating it with a systemic – one hat you can buy for roses before it gets any bight is recommended.

Clematis

Probably one of the most loved vines in Virginia is the clematis.  This comes in all shades of pink, purple, white and even blue/reds.  The trick with the clematis is to give it something it can climb that has a vertical and horizontal support.  I used to try to tie this on birdhouse pose, mail box posts and picket fences.  It inevitably would slide down these vertical supports and bunch up at the bottom.  Finally I bought some black very lightweight netting and tied it to the post or fence.  I loved it.  Even though you think it may be unsightly as a support in a few short weeks you don’t see it because the vine has taken off.   Maintenance of this vine is to chop it to the ground in the late winter.  If you don’t you are fighting the woody stems which criss cross and tangle.  When threading the clematis through the netting use the leaves of the vine not the bloom to thread.  If the leaves are caught around something that you cannot untie just cut one leaf stem to untangle and then thread another leaf available.

This plant likes its head in the sun- feet in the shade.  IF for some reason your clematis dies where you place it, don’t fight it- just find a different location or switch plants.

Morning glory

Of all the vines this is the one that surprised me the most when I purchased a 4” high morning glory for 99Cents.  I t looked pathetic.  Within in am month it had reached the top of my arbor and by the frost it was 6 feet height by 9 feet wide.  IF I had had a bigger trellis it would have been bigger.  Every morning it seemed to say wake- up and see me! This vine takes hot sun and likes some water. I had mine near a spigot which made it easy to water.  The trick here is to guide the vine trendless daily if you can.  It grows so quickly and will grab hold wherever it wants. Just daily attention for about 30 seconds does wonder. It will freeze when the first frost sets in and is a mess to cut own but well worth the spectacular and multiple blooms your get for less that a dollar.

Christie lives in Manakin Sabot , Virginia where she manages a 3 acre garden. Her blogs are written from her 35 years as a personal and professional gardener.