AboutDarlene K. Kittle Expertise I have been a Master Gardener for 20 years and I raise around 300 houseplants a year including tropicals, succulents, and cacti.
Experience She is also studying the Japanese art of bonsai with tropical plants and is President of the Fort Wayne, IN Bonsai Club.
Education/Credentials I am not a hortculturist. I am a Purdue University Master Gardener for over 20 years. I have studied plants on a personal level by growing hundreds of plants annually for the last 35 years. I have also studied under several nationally known American Bonsai experts.
Question Do you have any suggestions for vines that can grow indoors? I know it sounds a little weird, but I like my hyacinth bean and brought it in, but of course, it's not sunny enough so it's dying. I even planted some of the seeds and it sprouted, but the leaves are terrible, all dotted and drying up, and I suppose it just needs more light, and frankly, I doubt I can provide it, I got a 430 HID lamp ther already, I'm going to get a sunblaster one too, but...well, I still doubt it will help. There's some light coming in but it's not sunny enough. It's a west window. But I liked having it climb up this cedar trellace beside my window, it would be neat to have one that flowers, and covers the window, in my opinion, because, It think it's neat. Ok, maybe it's not a very popular thing to do, and I wouldn't know why either, but, I would love to have a cool looking vine to replace the hyacinth bean. I was looking at Mandevilla in a magazine, I like the double ones, and they have them still at the nursery. But what do you suggest for low lighted areas near a sort of, drafty window in the winter, maybe there is one that would work really well! And I'd put outside next summer of course. I might be gettting a humidifer with warm air, but, I still am not sure if I can keep the area very warm. It will be a slight bit chilly most of the time. Not like below zero, but it's just a cool room in the winter.
please don't laugh, I'm an amateur, I'm just trying out ideas. :-)
Oh another weird question. Do you think it's silly to bring ladybugs in the house to eat my aphids? I want to know, because I did it, and ladybugs don't bother me, I like them, they seem to stay around my plants too.
-Deborah
Answer Deborah,
I'm not laughing! Where do you live? It soulds like you have been bitten by the plant bug. A 430 Hid lamp? Wow! I would love one of those for my bonsai plants but I do hear they are very noisy. How many hours a day have you had it on for the hyacinth bean and how close to the plant was it?
It could be that if it was too close it was heating the plant up too much. Or it could have been how many hours a day you had it on. They need 10 hours a day of darkness. They also need the temperatures to drop about 10 degrees at night. Otherwise that should provide plenty of light for your hyacinth bean vine.
Blooming Vines worth trying are Mandevilla, Dipladenia, Bougainvillea, Jasmine Passiflora, Pandora, and Clerodendrum. There are some truly incredible blooming vines that can add their unique beauty to your homes and patios. Some of them are formal and well-behaved and others are adventurous and uninhibited. Blooming vines can fill a very specialized niche in indoor gardening, combining their trailing, rambling and climbing forms with wonderful flowers.
Each of the following blooming vines has its own needs, but they all share some basic requirements. To bloom, they will need lots of bright light including several hours of direct sun each day. They all like to be kept consistently moist while they are actively growing and blooming but prefer to dry out slightly between watering in late fall and winter. Fertilize them every other week during the growing season with a water-soluble or liquid fertilizer and cut back to once a month during the winter. They are all tropical in nature and need to be indoors as soon as the weather gets down into the low 50šs.
Mandevilla,single or double is one of the most striking blooming vines ever grown, mandevilla is a bushy vine with large, deep-throated trumpet-shaped flowers. The variety most frequently grown has vibrant pink flowers with darker pink throats. Enhancing their beauty, the color intensity changes the longer the bloom is open, creating an impression of blooms in various shades of pink. Mandevillas are also occasionally available with yellow or white blooms. The leaves on this plant are large (4-6 inches by 3-4 inches), glossy and puckered like seersucker. The oldest stems become woody and support flexible branches that can grow as long as 10 feet. It is most frequently used outdoors in the summer on a patio, trellis or fence. If you have a brightly lighted location indoors, it can be cut back and brought in for the winter. Don't be surprised if mandevilla drops all of its leaves and goes dormant in mid- to late winter. Let it rest for a month or two and it should start growing again just as spring arrives. Mandevilla does actually twine, so it should be given a trellis for support.
Dipladenia A variation on mandevilla, dipladenia is a little more restrained and delicate, but has almost all the same virtues. It differs from mandevilla in that it is truly evergreen and doesn't go dormant in the winter. The leaves on dipladenia are much smaller (2 inches long by 1 inch wide) and smooth. They are stiff and a glossy dark green. Dipladenia are prized for their bright pink, deep-throated flowers. The pink is a dark, rosy pink contrasted by a yellow throat. In a bright indoor location, they may continue to bloom most of the winter. While they are evergreen and won't lose their leaves, they do appreciate a month or two of rest in mid- to late winter. Dipladenia vines tend to be more compact (averaging 3-4 feet), but they will make use of a small support or trellis.
Bougainvillea are flowering vines that I love. I own 7 of them and grow them on my south facing back porch during the winter in northern IN. It can get pretty cool out there when it is really cold outside. They get sun from both south and west windows. They are prized for their incredible flowers that resemble crepe paper and last for months, bougainvillea is a bushy vine that rambles, but does not twine. The woody older growth can develop wicked thorns, so watch out! The beautiful blooms can be almost any color, most commonly fuchsia pink, red, yellow or white. They can be kept pruned back to the shape you want and several of mine are growing as bonsai trees.
Stephanotis Waxy, creamy white scented blooms cluster together on this woody vine that needs to be trained around a ring or support. It is sometimes referred to as Madagascar jasmine. Its leaves are a thick, glossy dark green. Individual blooms are tubular and around 2 inches long. They bloom from spring to fall. Stephanotis prefer high humidity. Of all the indoor blooming vines, this one tends to be the touchiest. It is very important not to over water it during the winter.
Passiflora a.k.a. Passion Flower Here is a plant with unbelievably intricate flowers. Most gardeners are familiar with the traditional blue and purple varieties, but have not seen those with the vibrant red flowers. The passifloras best suited to our climate are tropical because the hardy ones are not Minnesota hardy. Passion flowers bloom in summer and fall and have dark green foliage that needs a trellis or other support.
Jasmine There are many types of jasmine, but the best one for indoors is Jasminum polyanthum, white-scented jasmine. It is a vigorous grower and needs a trellis or similar support. In the right conditions, it could potentially grow 15-20 feet. The stems are very supple and easily trained. Jasmine naturally blooms in winter and spring. There are a few other varieties suitable for indoors, some of them bushes and some vines.
Pandorea Sometimes called a bower vine, Pandorea jasminoides (a.k.a. Bignonia j.), this plant is a pretty vine with delicate foliage that looks like jasmine, hence its name. It develops woody stems that twine and can be trained upon some form of support. Pandorea flowers are about 2 inches across and funnel-shaped. They are a pale pink with a deep intense dark-pink throat. Pandorea is never covered with blooms, but will flower all through the growing season. A variety with handsome variegated foliage is frequently available.
Clerodendrum a.k.a. Bleeding Heart Vine is one that I have grown and I love. It also grows on my back porch without extra light. This is another vigorous vine that can grow in a hanging basket and will vine all over the place, up the hanger, across curtain rods etc. You can also grow it in a pot with a trellis for support. It has large, dark green leaves. Clerodendrum is not a lengthy bloomer, but it makes up for it when it does flower. The blooms are made up of pure white calyces that surround smaller, crimson red flowers. It blooms in clusters, often with hundreds of blooms on the plant at a time. The flowers last for weeks and usually appear in summer.
All of these vines can handle temperatures down in the 60 degree range or even a bit lower at night.
I'm not laughing about the ladybugs either. In my area I don't have to bring them in, they come in with my houseplants when I bring them in in the fall and I don't worry about getting rid of them. They do a good job with the bugs and when I find one on the kitchen table I just scrape it off in my hand and put it back on a plant. They like aphids and also help with mealy bugs. They don't do much to scale.
It sounds like you are a real houseplant addict and I think thats a good thing. Don't worry about killing some plants once in awhile, I still do. Some can be touchy. Good luck.
