Opinions on Best vines, berries and climbers

[onur]

I spoke to Jess. He said they only had Fragrant Alata.

That is actually a species worth growing.

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=1787.0

Thanks Rob! I have that one already. I may get more though... I will ask Jess if they are the ones same as Berto's.

[roblack]

I put a Panama Red passion vine in the ground 6+ months ago and there are probably over 100 fruit on it now. Over 25 ft tall, growing up a pongan tree. The roots are likely limited by the tree roots, but I added a lot of soil when planted. Doesn't get much direct sunlight. Seems very happy

[pineislander]

Maypops do not get large enough to cover 6' high and 300' long chain-link fence, do they...? Unless you plant 100s of them..

300 feet of passionfruit could put you into the juice business.
With that much fence to cover, you might try planting some of the tropically adapted annual climbing vegetables which should actually do very well during summer and into fall.
angled luffa (Luffa acutangula)
bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)
ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis)
winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)
seminole pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata)
west indian gherkin (Cucumis anguria)
true yams (dioscorea alata)
yard-long beans (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis)
hyacinth beans (Lablab purpureus)
malabar spinach (Basella alba)
jicama (Pachyrhizus erosus)
korilla (Cyclanthera pedata)

For a (semi?)perennial try chayote (Sechium edule)

This site offers seed and very good instructional videos on cultivation of many of these, she is in Florida.
https://www.asiangarden2table.com/grow-asian-vegetables/beans-peas/

[onur]

I put a Panama Red passion vine in the ground 6+ months ago and there are probably over 100 fruit on it now. Over 25 ft tall, growing up a pongan tree. The roots are likely limited by the tree roots, but I added a lot of soil when planted. Doesn't get much direct sunlight. Seems very happy

6+ months ago and there are probably over 100 fruit on it now?! Wow! I have the same but still small and no fruit yet... Congrats !! 

[onur]

Maypops do not get large enough to cover 6' high and 300' long chain-link fence, do they...? Unless you plant 100s of them..

300 feet of passionfruit could put you into the juice business.
With that much fence to cover, you might try planting some of the tropically adapted annual climbing vegetables which should actually do very well during summer and into fall.
angled luffa (Luffa acutangula)
bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)
ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis)
winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)
seminole pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata)
west indian gherkin (Cucumis anguria)
true yams (dioscorea alata)
yard-long beans (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis)
hyacinth beans (Lablab purpureus)
malabar spinach (Basella alba)
jicama (Pachyrhizus erosus)
korilla (Cyclanthera pedata)

For a (semi?)perennial try chayote (Sechium edule)

This site offers seed and very good instructional videos on cultivation of many of these, she is in Florida.
https://www.asiangarden2table.com/grow-asian-vegetables/beans-peas/

Ha ha!       This sounds like an interesting suggestion! I will consider it too. Thanks a lot!

[skhan]

I'm currently growing angled luffa and winged beans on my fences. The only problem I have with them is keeping up with harvest.
Haven't had any pest problems with them

[greenman62]

i grew Lufa this year.
the vine absolutely took over everything.
i now am the proud owner of a dozen or so back scratchers...
They are edible when young too.
not bad sauteed with shrooms, onion, peppers...


i have several jicama seeds i plan on growing in spring.
ive heard they are very tasty, and also very healthy.
you can also eat them raw... a big plus for lazy me.

[onur]

I'm currently growing angled luffa and winged beans on my fences. The only problem I have with them is keeping up with harvest.
Haven't had any pest problems with them

I heard  winged beans are tasty stuff! Thanks for the info!

[onur]

i grew Lufa this year.
the vine absolutely took over everything.
i now am the proud owner of a dozen or so back scratchers...
They are edible when young too.
not bad sauteed with shrooms, onion, peppers...


i have several jicama seeds i plan on growing in spring.
ive heard they are very tasty, and also very healthy.
you can also eat them raw... a big plus for lazy me.

So you need to catch lufas when they are young, right ?!  Otherwise, you should take a bath more often...   

[bsbullie]

I'm currently growing angled luffa and winged beans on my fences. The only problem I have with them is keeping up with harvest.
Haven't had any pest problems with them

I heard  winged beans are tasty stuff! Thanks for the info!

Winged beans are good but a seasonal veggie.  You must pi k them young to avoid have a woody mess.  Long beans/yard long beans are also very good but again a seasonal veggie.

[geosulcata]

We just picked some Passiflora edulis up from Fruitscapes last weekend. We have several varieties growing here too.

[onur]

We just picked some Passiflora edulis up from Fruitscapes last weekend. We have several varieties growing here too.

Thanks Geosulcata! I will check with them again.

[pineislander]

i grew Lufa this year.
the vine absolutely took over everything.
i now am the proud owner of a dozen or so back scratchers...
They are edible when young too.
not bad sauteed with shrooms, onion, peppers...

The Angled Luffa is a far superior vegetable, it will eventually get spongy inside and should be picked young, but grows larger and is tastier.
This lady shows how to grow and prune a luffa vine for less vines but better productivity .
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzd_wod0QmI

[LivingParadise]

Muscadine grapes are a specialty in Florida. Not sure why no one here clarified that there are in fact warm-weather grapes, and specifically muscadine grapes which are a different species that deal well with our conditions.

I second also the recommendations of various vining vegetables. The only downside with a few of those is if you have iguana problems... for instance Malabar spinach grows vigorously here, and is very attractive, but is eaten right to the ground by the damn iguanas. Garlic vine is also a good one, with pretty purple flowers.

Scarlet runner bean is a vigorous grower if you want red flowers.

Bougainvillea is also edible in salads (the colored flower part), so I find that to be a winner because it's easy to grow here, drought-tolerant, covers fence, comes in many colors, and is very attractive. Not everyone likes the thorns, but some people prefer them as property protection.

Mysore raspberry is another option if you want berries specifically but also like thorns - those are some serious thorns!

If you don't mind the look, you can also use the fence to prop up dragonfruit.

A lot of your decision will really depend on your local conditions, and whether the fence section is full sun, full shade, or partial sun.

[onur]

I'm currently growing angled luffa and winged beans on my fences. The only problem I have with them is keeping up with harvest.
Haven't had any pest problems with them

I heard  winged beans are tasty stuff! Thanks for the info!

Winged beans are good but a seasonal veggie.  You must pi k them young to avoid have a woody mess.  Long beans/yard long beans are also very good but again a seasonal veggie.

Thanks Rob! Yes, the downside of the veggies are them not being long lasting.

[onur]

i grew Lufa this year.
the vine absolutely took over everything.
i now am the proud owner of a dozen or so back scratchers...
They are edible when young too.
not bad sauteed with shrooms, onion, peppers...

The Angled Luffa is a far superior vegetable, it will eventually get spongy inside and should be picked young, but grows larger and is tastier.
This lady shows how to grow and prune a luffa vine for less vines but better productivity .
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzd_wod0QmI

I may try them in few spots. Thanks Pineislander!

[onur]

Muscadine grapes are a specialty in Florida. Not sure why no one here clarified that there are in fact warm-weather grapes, and specifically muscadine grapes which are a different species that deal well with our conditions.

I second also the recommendations of various vining vegetables. The only downside with a few of those is if you have iguana problems... for instance Malabar spinach grows vigorously here, and is very attractive, but is eaten right to the ground by the damn iguanas. Garlic vine is also a good one, with pretty purple flowers.

Scarlet runner bean is a vigorous grower if you want red flowers.

Bougainvillea is also edible in salads (the colored flower part), so I find that to be a winner because it's easy to grow here, drought-tolerant, covers fence, comes in many colors, and is very attractive. Not everyone likes the thorns, but some people prefer them as property protection.

Mysore raspberry is another option if you want berries specifically but also like thorns - those are some serious thorns!

If you don't mind the look, you can also use the fence to prop up dragonfruit.

A lot of your decision will really depend on your local conditions, and whether the fence section is full sun, full shade, or partial sun.

Yeah I actually thought about muscadines. I had bought some from super market and tried. Green one was ok. But black one tasted too bitter. Is there any great tasting muscadine? (Again asking a subjective question.. )

[LivingParadise]

Yeah I actually thought about muscadines. I had bought some from super market and tried. Green one was ok. But black one tasted too bitter. Is there any great tasting muscadine? (Again asking a subjective question.. )

I don't know what variety are in the stores, but they may not be the better named varieties, as is often the case for other produce. Keep in mind too that in stores, they are often picked too early to be able to keep well, so may not be at the height of their flavor and so that might not be a fair indicator of the variety's taste.

A good muscadine is similar to a good concord grape - very sweet, but with a tangy taste that comes from the chewy skin that makes the flavor more complex than a typical simple grape from the grocery store. Bronze, black, and red varieties all have the ability to have superior taste. But yes, some of this will be up to personal tastes also.

Some of the popular sweet varieties of self-fertile muscadine (not all are self-fertile) include: Welder, Isons, Fry Seedless, and Dixie. There are quite a few to choose from, so you might do well to pick a few with varying characteristics and see which you prefer when they fruit. If you can't find them locally, a number of online nurseries will ship them.

[Aaron]

Attract human pollinators???

Just use P. edulis sp.  Fruitscapes and/or Echo should have multiple varieties available.  Just plant at least 2, every 7-10 feet apart.  Oh, and they will benefit from hand (human) pollination....

Just kidding !   I meant, since passion fruits look quite attractive like big bright yellow light bulbs, they may attract thieves too...  Thank you very much Rob!  I will follow your suggestion. I already have some  P.edulis, red and yellow varieties. Do you think I can propagate them from cuttings easily? Are they picky about the soil type or they are just ok with local soil ?

Best
Onur

Yes, they propagate from cuttings pretty easily, just do like Rob said and get some of the stiffer parts of the vine as cuttings and make sure you've got a good couple of nodes in the soil. I've always used a rooting hormone and had decent results. The cuttings I've used have always been green still, but about pencil thick and stiff.  I'd keep some going in pots as replacements because they seem to like to die off after 1-3yrs in ground down here in SWFL.

what brand of hormone do you use Dom?  How about propagation by layering?

Yes, you could layer or even graft...but why are you trying to make things more difficult than they are?

Rob, Fruitscapes and/or Echo does not have P. edulis sp. Only few possum purple in Echo.

Our inventory can change very quickly. We have a small nursery so sometimes we can get wiped out over a busy weekend. Right now we have purple possum, sweet sunrise and giant grandilla.

[onur]

Yeah I actually thought about muscadines. I had bought some from super market and tried. Green one was ok. But black one tasted too bitter. Is there any great tasting muscadine? (Again asking a subjective question.. )

I don't know what variety are in the stores, but they may not be the better named varieties, as is often the case for other produce. Keep in mind too that in stores, they are often picked too early to be able to keep well, so may not be at the height of their flavor and so that might not be a fair indicator of the variety's taste.

A good muscadine is similar to a good concord grape - very sweet, but with a tangy taste that comes from the chewy skin that makes the flavor more complex than a typical simple grape from the grocery store. Bronze, black, and red varieties all have the ability to have superior taste. But yes, some of this will be up to personal tastes also.

Some of the popular sweet varieties of self-fertile muscadine (not all are self-fertile) include: Welder, Isons, Fry Seedless, and Dixie. There are quite a few to choose from, so you might do well to pick a few with varying characteristics and see which you prefer when they fruit. If you can't find them locally, a number of online nurseries will ship them.

Thank you so much for the detailed insight LivingParadise!

[onur]

Thanks for letting me know Aaron!