MF seeking vine for long term relationship

Get you a Mandevilla(Bright red or red and white stripe). They grow violently and give these huge red flowers that drive hummningbirds totally out of their skulls with passion.
Im in zone 6B and we can only grow them as annuals and they grow high in one season. SO if you can keep em overwinter , damn!! they are beautiful flower vines.

They sound good - but mandevillas are kind of tropical, aren't they?

I don't know what the zones are, but I seem to recall that Boomer lives some way north of the tropics.

I have some growing - but not very well - but then I never remember to water them, either! (and I don't live in the tropics, either - definitely sub-tropical!)

Oh! Those are pretty!

Most of the photos I saw had them growing in pots... will they climb and spread? Would I need to plant several? (I could do that.)

I planted Jasmine on both sides of my arbor, grows like crazy and the little flowers have a wonderful scent.

We can grow sub-tropical here, margo, since our winter's are typically mild.

I've lost a few over the years but if they're very well established they'll survive.

You live in Florida though, right?

Your climate is opposite of ours. I did have some luck with jasmine at our old house.... but one bad winter and boom --- dead.

Yep Florida, everything does well here. Wasn't sure about Jasmine and cold weather though.

I have you in Sunset Western Garden Zone 6 - which takes both heat and cold into consideration re its zones (I used to be in zone 24, by the beach in Venice).
The Sunset Western Garden book is one of my old bibles.

This zoning isn't as popular as the usual hardiness zoning since Sunset has only mapped it in the western US.

Anyway, one of my favorites, Clytostoma callistegiodes looks like it won't make it there.

Some evergreen vines that will, that I won't look up right now re attributes, are
Bignonia capreolata (crossvine) -
Clematis armandii (evergreen clematis)
Maybe Distictus.. (zones vary)
Gelsemium sempervirens (carolina jessamine) - I seem to remember is poisonous, not sure how serious
Several jasmines
Hardenbergia (lilac vine)
several Lonicera (honeysuckle)
some Mandevilla (zones vary)
Millettia reticulata (evergreen wisteria)
some Passiflora (passion vine)
some Thunbergia (zones vary)
Some Trachelospermum (zones vary)

I live in a zone 3, but with raised beds and all the sunshine - you can sometimes stretch out the zones and go all the way to a 6. Those Mandevillas are pretty.

Dutchman's Pipevine (Aristolochia macrophylla) -not so great in winter, otherwise what you want.





The flower:

Thanks, osso! I have the Sunset Western Garden book so I'll look those up.

Do you happen to know if any of those are NON flowering? I would really kind of prefer something that doesn't flower but I'm willing to have flowering if I find something I love.

Oh!

I really do like that....

I love the scale. Are the leaves really that huge?

So much of my backyard is shady and it seems like all the shade lovers are kind of feathery. Something with a huge, smooth leaf would look awesome.

I might try to get out and take some photos tomorrow since I just now got permission from my neighbor to paint the side of their garage that sits in my yard.

I'm torn between painting it the color of my house or painting it some lovely vibrant yellow-orange that would complement the green of the vine.

I'm baaack.
My book may be older than yours, got it in the early 2000's. I'm guessing there's a newer one with more info. I was looking fast before going out- they also mentioned hedera, aka ivy, which can be something to watch out for if you pick the wrong one.

I see I missed Chilean Bellflower, Lapageria rosea
I didn't type Solanum...

Oh.... what fun!!
Hmm, the color and the vine.. interesting.

Have you considered espaliered shrubs?