Growing Annual Vines in Pots

Over the past three years I’ve been growing various annual vines in containers, trying about 6-8 different varieties of the most commonly found annual vines, each year. As you may have discovered yourself, annual vines like morning glories while beautiful and easy to germinate, can, and do, grow too quickly and with such vigor that they can, and will, get out-of-hand often before they bloom. Yet other annual vines are more tidy and manageable. I wanted to see what vines were the most manageable, and which ones were the most beautiful as a container plant, and which ones are best left to the trellis or telephone pole.

All of my vine trials were conducted in the same containers, 12″ deep long-tom clay pots. Dee enough to hold the 5′ bamboo canes (tied into a teepee) and heavy enough to keep the mature plants from tipping over in strong summer storms.

I remember reading in an old gardening book once that one should always approach vines with caution. They are biologically coded to be opportunistic, but that makes sense once you observe vines growing. They are simply designed to race up objects quickly to reach the canopy so that they can get sunlight and attract pollinators. I was reminded of this while botanizing in western China in 2018 when I saw clematis growing on a hillside in the Himalaya, often nearly completely covering the horizontal limbs of evergreens – looking more like a snowstorm had dusted each fir tree with a coating of snow. Clearly, clematis are designed to ramble through shrubs and trees more than they are designed to climb lamp posts.

These Asarina seedlings looked weak and unpromising until I transplanted them into the larger pots. They quickly grew into a fine looking specimen plant, never really outgrowing the 5 foot tall tower, and bloomed well past frost hit in October. Asarina comes in purple, pink, white and magenta depending on the species and selection. All are fine, delicate and perfect for pot culture.

I grew all of my annual vines in 14″ deep 12″ diameter clay pots (from a discount store at $9.99 each). These were perfect as I could set in 8 or so 3/8″ bamboo stakes that were 5′ long along the diameter (starting by spacing them like the hours on a clock, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00. etc, or like cutting a pizza in to 8 pieces). I then would tie them at the top with twine to create a thin, teepee-type structure.

These annual peas – Lathers species, related to sweet peas, needed additional support to have been able to climb the bamboo canes. I should have added bird netting or chicken wire wrapped around the towers so that tendrils could grab and grow tall. Other lathyrus species need twiggy branches to grow through, e specially if they are a species that doesn’t from tendrils.

Knowing how your vine ‘climbs’ is helpful, as sometimes you may need to add bird netting or chicken wire – even wrap the entire teepee with twin if the vine climbs by using tendrils (like grapes or sweet peas), while other vines naturally twine around the support, such as with morning glories. Then, there are vines with do neither, like nasturtiums – especially the yellow-flowers canary vine, which sometimes use their leaf-stems to twine (the petioles) or they prefer to just tumble and creep over branches in the wild. These will require more help such as hand tieing new growth with soft yarn or garden twine to get things going.

I tried to focus on the most common annual vines that any of us can find on a seed rack or in a seed catalog, but I also tried a few more focused trials – particularly with sweet peas, and other annual lathyrus, just to see what they would look like if grown in pots. Out common cut flower sweet peas – Lathyrus odoratus, the Spencer varieties and the old fashioned cut flower sweet peas, which not ideal for growing in pots, did do well if the pot was larger than the 12″ pots I first tried for the more rare, or unusual species. I will say that the species surprised me with how small many of them were once mature, and how unique the foliage and even the seed pods were – often even more interesting than their flowers were. The only downside was that they bloomed early, and only for a week or two, then set seed and died. Not a long-live potted plant.

Cut flower sweet peas may not be ideal if grown on a pointed trellis, as they grow much taller than one may expect, and the don’t bloom until they reach the top. These were hand tied at first, to get them going, and then pinched to form more branches, which do tend to bloom lower on the plant. This container is much larger than my 12″ pots, it’s a whiskey barrel, with more space for their deep roots.

The cut flower types of sweet peas fared better in some 24″ clay pots and particularly the ones that I grew in an old 1940’s metal cooler (with holes drilled in it). These grew taller, on an 8 foot tall tomato cage, and did so well, that I may always grow some sweet peas this way.

Black Eyed Susan Vines – Thunbergera sp – make excellent potted specimens. They can still grow out of hand over time, but they start blooming when young, and generally look tidy only requiring some training and pruning once they reach the top of the canes. Young plants will need their runners tied up, at first, to get them twining, but after that, stand back. Just trim off shoots that get out of hand.

An excellent choice for 12″ pots would be any of the Black Eyed Susan Vines, particularly the newer selections (like those found with registered, licensed names from brands like Proven Winners). All are fine, even the varieties you can start from seed indoors, under lights, but the better colors do seem to come from the newer selections. These not only grow quickly, but so aggressively that you will only need one per 12-14″ pot. One plant will send out dozens of shoots and quickly cover a 5-6 foot tall teepee. These tend to always look neat, though once they reach the top, you will need to retrain them down or prune them often. They can quickly take over any nearby teepees or shrubs if they touch them.

Morning glories, and their relatives may seem like a natural first choice, but proceed with caution as most will out grow a pot before mid summer, especially the species. I will say that the Japanese varieties (called Asagao in Japan) do make excellent potted plants (you know, the striped ones, and even many dwarf and mutations available on eBay). There is an entire culture around growing these in Japan, where, like bonsai, they are grown in smaller pots and pruned heavily, often keeping teepees to only 14″ tall. I’ve grown many morning glories this way, and while the method even works with Heavenly Blue and other common varieties, it’s labor intensive as you know how fast morning glories can grow. It’s best done with the variegated-leaf Japanese varieties, however, but that merits another post.

The Blue Sweet Pea, Lathyrus sativus (azureus, sometimes), is truly that special morning glory sky blue. But I must tell you that it is rather a disappointment – short lived, blooming for just a couple of weeks, plan on enjoying it for a brief moment. It’s probably best grown as a container plant though, as it has short vines. I’ve seen it grown as a cut flower, but blooms will only last a day, so plan it’s use accordingly.

There are some species of Morning glory however, which I did try. This year, I grew the wild species Ipomoea hederifolia var. lutea , a species that was completely new to me which was incredible, blooming all summer long, delighting the hummingbirds and forming a cloud of tiny, tubular yellow blooms that were about 1″ in diameter. The only problem was that the vine quickly outgrew my 14″ deep clay pot by mid-June, so I had to plant it out. Sliding the entire root ball and bamboo caned, which by July 4th were already completely covered with foliage and twining stems into my shrub border where it completely covered a Black Prince, eventually killing it by smothering it, but totally covering it with a cloud of yellow blooms that made the effect something that I want to repeat every year. There is a red species now that I want to try next year, which seems similar, I. coccinea.

The rare, yellow morning glory, Ipomoea hederifolia var. lutea was a new discovery for me this year. It’s flowers are indeed yellow and tubular, which I loved, but it outgrew its container so quickly that I had to plant it out into the garden.

The Spanish flag vine, has always been a favorite of mine. I mean, cmon, ombre! It almost doesn’t seem real, but it’s a good candidate for pots as long as you know that it won’t bloom until late summer, and it too can get a bit out of hand, though not as aggressive as let’s say a regular blue morning glory might be, even though it’s related. Once taxonomists listed it as Mina lobata, but it sits firmly in Convolvulaceae, the Morning glory family, and is properly known as Ipomoea lobata.

The Spanish Flag or Firecracker vine is a showstopper when it is in bloom. Easy to grow from seed, too. Look for the pink and white form as well, but it is harder to find. It’s ombre blooms will always get comments, and even the foliage is attractive as each leaf has a nice shape.

Some of my favorite annual vines remain the most common. Sky blue morning glories, like ‘Heavenly Blue’ is pure nostalgia for me, as it reminds me of my dearest aunt (Aunt Ann) who lived in New Jersey, and grew it on her chainlink fence behind her home. It was a tiny, long garden in Trenton, but full of plants., such as was my grandfather’s garden was nearby also in Trenton. That was where I first saw a passionflower vine growing, behind my grandfathers chicken coop. He was nearly 100 years old in the early 1980’s, and didn’t speak much English, but he wanted to show me the passifloras when they were in bloom. I should mention that they too are good for large containers, but I didn’t include them here as they aren’t true annuals (even though we grow them that way up north).

Rhodochiton atrosanguineus is a mouthful to say, but the Purple Bell Vine is undeniably the the showiest and perhaps the best behaved of all vines for containers.

I have to admit that the finest display came from the Purple Bell Vine, Rhodochiton atrosanguineus. IT used to be hard to find, but I find seedlings occasionally at some local Boston area nurseries. Like most vines, it’s not going to be in bloom when you find it available as a seedling, and young plants can look rather weak and unpromising. All I can say it get it, if you find it, for few plants put on such a show. My towers were so attractive this past year that I set them around the garden as objects, even loaning a few to a clients garden photoshoot for a story in Architectural Digest. They are that attractive. You can grow them from seed, but it takes some patience.

Rhodochiton also blooms continuously, as well as produced flowers from top to bottom of the tower. The colorful bracts remain on the plant, as well, which adds to the effect.

Sow seed in February, under lights and keep them warm. Transplant carefully into larger pots in spring, and eventually set the young plants into a big pot such as my 12 to 14″ long toms with 5′ bamboo canes. It’s a twiner, which helps, but every bit of this plant looks lovely, from the burgundy backed foliage to the amazing flowers that almost defy description. It starts blooming when young, so it just about always looks good. Best to start with new plants every year, though, as it is hard to winter over successfully in the north.

The Love in a Puff vine may be more of a novelty than anything else, but if you’re a fan of more natural effects, its easy to grow from seed, and adds that authentic Victorian look to a garden.

The Love in a Puff Vine (Cardiospermum halicacabum) is a true old fashioned, if not heirloom plant that is fun to grow for its puffy, inflated seed pods that each contain a few of their distinctive seeds – each with a tiny beige heart them, hence, where it gets its name. Granted, it’s not a vine for everyone, as it can look weedy or too casual for many. I love it, as I’ve seen it grown to great effect in urns set into the center of an herb garden at an estate in the Hudson Valley, and on a trellis in a friends garden. You just have to be prepared for rampant growth, which is graceful, and know that one doesn’t grow this plant for it’s inconspicuous tiny white blooms, but for the seed capsules, and the overall effect – a tangle of stems and foliage, which can look attractive in the right sort of setting.

Love in a Puff vine has perhaps the greatest name of any vine. It’s name comes from the seed, each of which has a tiny whitish heart appearing on the black surface. The seed capsules however appear first, like inflated lanterns, which are perhaps the most attractive part.
vLove in a Puff, or Cardiospermum can be pretty in the right setting. Forget about growing it for its flowers, though, they are tiny and hardly noticeable, it’s the inflated seed capsules that make it showing, as is the casual elegance of the stems.

Side by side, pots of vines displayed in a row can also be attractive. Each year I line a few walks and paths around the garden, or leading to the greenhouse with potted vines being trained onto bamboo teepees. I allows me to grow a number of vines in a small space, and I know that I can cut back any that get too unruly. In pots, the blooms are brought to eye level, but I have to say that more and more, I am attracted to the foliage than I am to the flowers.

The Canary Vine, Tropaeolum perigrinum hints to it’s nasturtium roots with its foliage, but once it blooms, it can surprise even experts.

Nasturtiums are naturally vines in the wilds of South America, but most have been bred to be shorter plants, yet a few remain – true heirlooms and worth playing with, to add something different to the garden. You may already know that I collect many of the tuberous tropaeolums from the Andes, and grow them as winter-blooming vines in my greenhouse, but there are some very easy annual tropaeolums, from the veining nasturtiums (like the one sees every spring at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner museum) or the overlooked Canary Vine, which you can still find in good seed catalogs.

The Canary Vine, Canary Bird Vine, or Canary Creeper is a true old fashioned annual that is a vigorous grower, that blooms late in the season with these pretty, frilled yellow flowers. It’s a nasturtium, if you haven’t noticed.

Easy to grow, the Canary Vine (also sold as Canary Creeper, or the Canary Bird Vine) has large seeds like the nasturtiums you already love, but it is an aggressive grower, and probably not my best choice for a container unless you have a bigger one – let’s say 24 -30″ wide. It dislikes drying out in summer, which can kill a vine in just a day (believe me, I know) and the foliage can yellow practically overnight if you let it dry out. The vine can be very effective if grown in a large pot as long as you have something for it to climb on. I’d say that it’s better if planted into the ground, though. It’s not a twiner, no tendrils either, so it’s best climbing through twigs or over a shrub. I once planted a big parrot cage that we had left out on the deck (when our Parrot Kojo flew away). WE hoped her would return, but a canary vine took off in a large pot, so I set it inside the parrot cage (seemed ironic at the time). It completely covered the cage which was about 4′ x 6′ on rollers, and became quite the spectacle.

I’ve been lining paths in the vegetable parterre with annual vines on towers of bamboo canes, and the display is attractive in early summer, even when being trained, but also its portable, so once vines become stunning, I can bring them elsewhere, setting them into the perennial border, or even planting them out if they become too aggressive.

The Cypress Vine has to earn the award for best foliage, so ferny and pretty, who cares if it ever blooms?

Another morning glory relative which is slightly better behaved, is the Cypress vine, or Cardinal Vine. Closely aligned with Ipomoea x multifida, and related to the red flowers I. coccinea, this annual vine will quickly cover a tower in a few months from a sowing in late May. I sow all of my Ipomoea species and selections near the end of May, as they are rapid growers, and really don’t need a head start. Do know that in the south, and in warmer zones many of these morning glory relatives can be considered to be invasive, as they self-seed and can spread, so check your local restrictions before planting.

Below, the Cypress Vine, Ipomoea quamoclit looks astonishing in a pot, even when young. It will overgrow the 5′ canes by August, but you can trim them back or try to re-wind them down. There are white and pink flowering selections as well.
The white flowered Cypress vine can look very elegant as a potted plant set in the garden. It’s only bad habit is that the flowers don’t drop off, handing like dirty socks instead, so remove them daily.

On the left, the Spanish Flag vine has bold foliage, but has yet to bloom in early August. The center vine is Ipomoea quamoclit, the Cypress Vine, and on the right, a selection of Thunbergia or Black Eyed Susan vine called ‘Tangerine Slice Appeal’ available from Proven winners, a sterile named highly performing selections, but seed-raised strains are available as well. I’ve noticed that seed raised plants are less showy and often have colors that fade, compared to the more pricey newer selections, but all perform well.

Thunbergia, or Black Eyed Susan vines are always a good choice for large containers. I particularly like them in our windowboxes, as I train them around our windows with wire. Non-stop blooms until frost.
By September, vines in pots will start to consume each other though, so be prepared. Some are better as remaining polite, but others, such as this Spanish Flag vine, will try to take over it’s neighbors. Hey…they’re vines.

Vines in pots will be like trying to raise three teenage brothers. They will fight with each other, and try to dominate each other constantly getting into trouble. Try your best to raise them independently but sternly, training them almost every day (as they’ll forget) and then enjoy the results of your labor once they reach maturity and bloom. It’s may seem like all is lost, but be firm, and don’t be afraid to control them a bit.

This Canary Vine too became too crazy by mid-summer. It ended up taking over a nearby boxwood hedge, long before it started blooming. It think that in the future, it will be best planted below an evergreen shrub, where it can grow over the surface and bloom in late summer through autumn.

About the author

Author, plantsman, and horticulturist living in central Massachusetts.

Comments

  1. This was interesting to me as I also have been trying annual vines in pots.
    Last spring I grew Cardinal climber in a 14”pot
    With a 2 1/2 foot wire tuteur.
    It quickly overwhelmed the wire structure.
    I put a 5 foot cane inside, and it climbed right up.
    I then tied a piece of twine from the cane tip to the gutter on my single story house. The vine made it to the gutter in a flash.
    Needing something else for it to climb, I found an old rusty wine barrel hoop and hung it from the eave.
    I unhooked it from the eave, and took the entire vine on the twine and looped it around the hoop and hung it dead center over my kitchen sink window. The vine continued to grow as I kept looping it around.
    The effect was fabulous, I had a neatly framed, round portal view of my perennial flower bed through the hoop and the red flowers attracted hummingbirds right to my window. And in the fall the leaves become beautifully bronzey purple.
    Will repeat again next year. Maybe in both kitchen windows.

    1. This is so funny (and true!). An excellent example of what can happen when playing with vines. I once had some seeds for a rare Cobaea vine (I think I wrote about it about 6 posts ago), which literally took over our house, shutting out windows and even the porch door. That thing was a beast! My Cardinal Climber does get out of hand even with the 5 or 6 foot canes, but I just try to wrap the growth (once it reaches the top) around the entire teepee, but eventually cut them off. Thankfully, it does bloom on lower emerging growth. Of course, all of these vines are best grown on netting (such as when I plant them along the greenhouse) where they can scramble up 16 feet or higher. I sometimes grow morning glories or moonflowers on our gourd tunnel as well, and they race up to the 12′ mark, flattening out over the roof of the trellis, where they finally start to think about blooming. That’s when you really get a load of flowers. They certainly know what they want. When we try to grow them in containers, they seem to know that its unnatural, and rarely perform as nicely as they do with a free run. Like you, Im enjoying many of them trained around windows, though. It’s especially fun to see the hummingbirds come right up to the glass.

    1. Oh thanks, I appreciate the support. I’m getting more familiar with WordPress now that I switched to blog over from Google. It’s been a huge learning curve.

    1. I can’t say that I have a whole lot of experience with Passiflora, but I do grow a few different ones every year. I would say to first find out what species you have, as some are true warm-weather tropicals, and others able to withstand colder temperatures. Most do well in temperate zone like Zone 5 in the summer, blooming late in the season, but as a cool greenhouse plants, I am not certain what the limitors might be. Is it planted in the ground or in a pot? And, how hot does your greenhouse get in summer? I would check the light requirements as well, as I discovered that my vines never bloomed when I used shade cloth (60%), but they did bloom with 40% shade cloth. There are just a lot of variables. Red flowered forms, I believe like warmer summer temperatures and prefer to grow under glass, blooming in summer. It’s a big genus, so plenty of diverisity. This year I grew the yellow flowered one (from Logees), P. x citrina, which is a hybrid but which bloomed well all summer. Most, of the tropical species however prefer not do drop below 50° F. Cool growing, marginally hardy ones can drop to 40 without loosing vigor. The best advice I can provide you is to first see if you know the name of the hybrid or the species you have, and start from there. Looking for minimum temperature requirements, and height. Also, check to see if your greenhouse has double pane glazing as sometimes that reduces or eliminates UV light. I know, as with Acacia trees, this can inhibit blooming.

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