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suggestions for creepers

Gardening Reference » Gardening in 2005
by nritya on August 22, 2005 08:21 PM
We have a carshed built in the garden ,which we obviosly had to do following the building rules. I want to cover it up with a climber so that it doesnot look odd in the middle of the lawn. I have planted bougainvillea, but the shed is quite large and I want to add some more creepers. In India the climate is quite hot and I want to know what climbers can be planted which would cover up the area quickly. Thanks in advance.
by MaryReboakly on August 23, 2005 04:20 AM
Hi Nritya! Welcome to the forum - I don't think we've met before [Smile]

Do you know what your hardiness zone is? Also, what kind of soil do you have in the are, and how much sun does the area get?

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by nritya on August 23, 2005 05:07 PM
The soil is sandy at the toplayer and little bit clayey after a feet or so. As this is a new garden there is really not much shade here. In fact the area near the carshed where I want to put up these climbers receives approximately 7 to 8 hours of sunlight. The daytime temperature would be around 37 to 40 degrees. I don't understand what you mean by hardiness zone? I am new to gardening and also to this forum. [Smile] Can you help me?
by tkhooper on August 23, 2005 09:36 PM
Hi Nritya,

I'm pleased to meet you. If you have sand on top and clay underneath my first suggestions would be to dig down into the clay and mix it with your sand and then add biomatter. With the combination of all three there isn't going to be much that won't be happy in your soil.

Climbers for hot sunny climates that grow fast are morning glories. They are annuals but they do self-seed without problems. Put some string up along your shed to give them a boost climbing up and they will get up there without a problem.

And here is a link to a nursery I use when I am looking for certain vines. http://www.heronswood.com

Good luck with your garden.
by MaryReboakly on August 23, 2005 09:54 PM
quote:
I don't understand what you mean by hardiness zone
The US has a department of agriculture that set up a map, which divides the US into different zones based on the coldest yearly temperatures. You can see a sample of that map here to get an idea of how it's set up.

I wasn't able to find USDA hardiness zone equivalents for India, but if you can find or estimate your coldest temperatures of the year, and converet to F here then you might be able to use the usda hardiness zone map to determine what zone you're in. Most plant profiles will tell you what hardiness zone they will survive/thrive in.

I hope that helps! If you have any questions, let us know! [Wink]

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by Carly on August 24, 2005 09:58 PM
Welcome to the forum, Nyrita. I can imagine this is a big adjustment for you - I'd like to suggest that you look around the area in which you now live and get an idea of what does grow well there.

Take shade, soil type into consideration, of course and don't discount the idea of just walking up and asking a homeowner about their gardening.

I have a question for you - do you have a tulsi plant? I realize that's the holy plant - I got some seeds from a Hari Krsna settlement in B. C. when I was there in 2003 visiting my daughter.

I took some seeds home with me, but never got anywhere with them. I realize now that I should have grown it in the house and given it a separate place, in a terranium or something.

Do you have seeds? Would you consider sending some to me? If so, pop me a message on the PM here.

Thanks in advance.

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When sorting seeds, do not whistle.
by mrsmessy on August 26, 2005 10:22 AM
nritya - with those temperatures it sounds like it is pretty hot. Clematis is a lovely full vine that can take high temps and comes in several colors. It will die back in the fall but come back nicely in the spring - you'll need to tie it up on a lattice at first. Where I live we call them Mailbox vines because so many people grow them around their mailboxes.

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Bev
by nritya on August 26, 2005 11:06 PM
Thanks to everybody for your ideas,I surely hope that I would find something suitable for my shed.
by nritya on August 26, 2005 11:16 PM
Hi Carly,
Nice to know that you had visited India.It is true that Thulasi is supposed to be a holy plant here and it is quite common to grow it in the households.But usually people grow it in pots specially designed for it called "thulasi maadams". I had no idea that it could be propagated through seeds. I have only heard of people getting a small plant from the nurseries and putting it in the 'maadams'. In traditional families the women of the house are supposed to offer their prayers to it regularly. If I am able to get the seeds I will definitely send it to you.
by Francine on September 02, 2005 10:22 AM
hello nritya,

welcome to the forum,we didn t meet yet,i m francine from canada.

i don t have any sugestion for creepers but i might have a good infos.about hardiness zones,you just have to visit that sit,found it by searching hardiness zones for india,but maybe i did not look corectly,i could not find any for india ,neverthe les maybe it ll be good info for you anyway.the address is:

wwwbackyardgardener.com/zone/index.html

good luck.

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by tamara on September 17, 2005 03:01 AM
India is tropical. I heard that climate is determined by monsoons. Any truth in that?

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Tamara's Photos
Thinking Spring, Thinking Spring...Nope, doesn't work.lol
by Triss on September 17, 2005 03:35 AM
Hi nritya,

From what I can see you would be in what we call Zone 10 or maybe even 11. Here is a link to a Florida, USA nursery that specializes in plants for those zones. This is their vine section. I am sure you can find some very pretty vines here.

Vines from zoneten

Good luck in your search.

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.
by nritya on September 17, 2005 09:14 PM
Hi tamara,
Yes India is definitely a tropical country but I don't exactly understand what you mean by the monsoon determining the climate.Actually our country is supposed to get two monsoons a year , over which a large number of states in the southern part of India depend on for agriculture.I am living in south India where the summer is very hot, the temperature sometimes shooting up to 42 degrees, but the winter is quite bearable. [Smile]

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