Vines for hot gardens

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Vine provides curtain of greenery, cooling temperature inside house

Entanglement of Mandevilla and Trumpet vines on fence.

Bougainvillea arbor. Temperature under vine is at ten degrees cooler than surrounding Landscape.

It is most refreshing to sit under an arbor on a very hot day under a canopy of leafy vines. If these vines produce gorgeous, fragrant flowers as well as cooling shade, the better.

Growing drought tolerant vines creates a natural arbor of shade that is often 10 degrees cooler than the surrounding hot and sun-drenched landscape.
Landscaping

For gardeners living in hot climates, there are many drought resistant vines for hot gardens. There are many perennial vines that can add a permanent feature to your garden landscape.

When you live in an area that is hot and subject to droughts, choose vines that are tolerant of low-water conditions.

Going hand to hand with lack of water is oppressive heat. So growing drought tolerant vines creates a natural arbor of shade with a microclimate that is at least 10 degrees cooler and is a natural shelter from the heat of the sun.

Vines that can handle drought can also be planted right up against the house giving a protective green curtain while cooling the inside temperature. Vines for hot gardens also provide wind protection, reducing dust, sun glare and reflected heat.

Vines, add an interesting vertical line in the landscape and also act as a divider, barrier or screen for privacy. Many vines have beautiful flowers and colors and scent.

All these without taking up much ground space.

Types of Vines
There are four main types of vines.
Twinning vines have stems that wrap around any available support.
Tendril Climbers are vines that support themselves by tendrils and side shoots up anything they can grab onto. This and twinning types are suited for training up baffles, fences, pipes, trellises, post or wooden towers.

Self-Climbing Vines attach themselves to rough surfaces like brick, concrete, or stone. These vines have aerial rootlets or adhesive “feet.”
Non-climbing shrub vines are the fourth group. They grow long branches with no means of climbing and must be tied and trained by the gardener.

Considerations
Most vines need some sort of support so they can climb and reach their full size. Vine supports include wire mesh, wood lattice and trellises. Flower nectar is food source for humming birds. If you are growing vines to attract hummingbirds, there is need to be cautious if you own pets like cats. Remove the lower flowers of vines to prevent hummingbirds from flying down into a cat’s reach. Do not use pesticides or herbicides on the vine or nearby plants, as humming birds eat insects and may be poisoned by contaminated insects. Some examples of Drought Resistant vines are
Jasmines, bougainvillea, Allamanda are twines and showy bloomers. They use twinning stems to clamber up fences, walls or trellises.

Creeping fig attaches itself via aerial rootlets. Cross vine is self-climbing. Desert Snapdragon vine climbs via tendrils. Cat’s claws vine is an aggressive, rapidly growing vine that attaches itself to most any surface with claw like tendrils.

It has yellow two-inch, trumpet-shaped flowers and is great if you have a large vertical surface needing cover. In the next article we will look at the best vines for Hot Gardens and Tips on Growing Drought Tolerant Vines.