One of my online friends talked me into ordering vigna caracalla (aka Snail Vine or Corkscrew Flower) seeds and planting them. She's always wanted to see them but can't grow them in her climate, so she wanted me to grow "her" vines and document their progress, lol. I planted six seeds, lost two of the seedlings to grasshoppers, and the remaining four have done fairly well since the grasshoppers went away.
These things are sooooo finicky, though! I have the right temperature for them (they're hardy in zones 9-11) but they really don't like our rainy spells. Even though they're in a large container with excellent drainage, they're sulking right now because we had a week and a half of daily downpours and they got soaked. *sigh*
This made it all worthwhile, though, one cluster of blooms, the first from any of them:
You can see where the "snail vines" came from.
The flowers on this one go yellow as they age (I have no clue what colors the other vines are), which looks sort of neat. As the flowers relax you're able to see the "corkscrew", too.
Please excuse the little ants in some of the pics, I asked them nicely if they'd move out of the shot but they just said, "Pfffftttt" and went about their antly business.
Anyway, that's my thrill for the week, hope the other three bloom this year because I can't wait to see what colors I end up with!
These things are sooooo finicky, though! I have the right temperature for them (they're hardy in zones 9-11) but they really don't like our rainy spells. Even though they're in a large container with excellent drainage, they're sulking right now because we had a week and a half of daily downpours and they got soaked. *sigh*
This made it all worthwhile, though, one cluster of blooms, the first from any of them:
You can see where the "snail vines" came from.
The flowers on this one go yellow as they age (I have no clue what colors the other vines are), which looks sort of neat. As the flowers relax you're able to see the "corkscrew", too.
Please excuse the little ants in some of the pics, I asked them nicely if they'd move out of the shot but they just said, "Pfffftttt" and went about their antly business.
Anyway, that's my thrill for the week, hope the other three bloom this year because I can't wait to see what colors I end up with!
