Can you name a biennial vine native to North America? (Great trivia question!)If you read the words above, you know the answer is mountain fringe (Adlumia fungosa), more commonly known as Allegheny vine–but that’s not as poetic. I first discovered mountain fringe growing in moist, shady spots in my former garden. As I mentioned in my previous post on this pretty and unusual plant, I’ve never been able to grow it from seed. I just have to wait for it to show up.
Seeds to this vine came in with the ‘Concord Grape’ spiderwort from the old garden that I transplanted under this lilac.
This vine was meant to climb up shrubs. It looks like it belongs in the lilac pictured above. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that birds eat the seeds and “plant” them under the shrubs they perch in. But that’s just a hypothesis on my part; don’t quote me.
Without a sturdy shrub to climb, this vine went horizontal throughout the entire length of a front bed.
Without a shrub to climb, mountain fringe weaves itself up through the nearest plants and then scrambles over the tops of them, searching for something that will take it up. The vine that showed up in the Front Walk South bed managed to take down the wind chimes hanging on a shepherd’s crook and wrestled a belladonna delphinium to a horizontal position. Yet it looks like such a delicate thing.
Truthfully, these two vines are the most vigorous I’ve ever seen. I should have cut the vine back when I saw it going for the delphinium, but I just didn’t get to it in time. And when you know it’s a biennial, that this is its one season of glory and it will be dead at the end of the year, it’s easy to be indulgent and let it have its way.
Posted for Wildflower Wednesday, created by Gail of Clay and Limestone, to share wildflowers/native plants no matter where you garden in the blogasphere. “It doesn’t matter if we sometimes show the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most. It’s always the fourth Wednesday of the month!”
Tagged as:
adlumia,
Allegheny vine,
mountain fringe
About the Author
Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She would be delighted to speak to your group about colchicums or other gardening topics. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002.
In the end, this may be the most important thing about frost: Frost slows us down. In spring, it tempers our eagerness. In fall, it brings closure and rest. In our gotta-go world–where every nanosecond seems to count–slowness can be a great gift. So rather than see Jack Frost as an adversary, you could choose to greet him as a friend.
~Philip Harnden
in
A Gardener’s Guide to Frost: Outwit the Weather and Extend the Spring and Fall Seasons
I had never heard of this vine either! It looks good though. I will have to look out for it, thank you.
The vine looks good though. Do you know if there are any other Adlumia species with different flower coloration ?
As far as I know, Adlumia is a single species genus. Pale pink is the only color I’ve ever seen.
Oh ok, thanks for the info !
That’s a cool little plant that’s new to me. It looks a bit like a climbing bleeding heart, and I wouldn’t mind if it showed up here…. although I think it would like a bit more moisture than I could supply!
It does look like a climbing bleeding heart. I bet it would grow for you where hostas grow.
Kathy I am looking for a native vine that flowers white so i will definitely look this one up!
Donna, the flowers are a pale pink, not white.
Lots of great information in your blog thank you for sharing.
I did not know about this vine! I am partial to vines. I will have to look for it and grow it through a shrub or up a tree! Thanks.
Coincidentally I planted the little one you gave me at the base of a lilac also. It’s in almost full shade and thriving. It has climbed almost to the top of the 6′ lilac this year, and has been blooming for weeks.
For me it seeds itself SOOOO prolifically it could cover anything. A serious job of culling seedlings