Plants for Large Arbor?

[jh5127]

Please suggest local plants/vines (No Bougainvillea) to cover my structure.  I want to convert this into an Arbor.  The structure is 8 feet tall x 15 feet wide.  It was originally a carport.

Thanks, Jack

[Yo1]

There are a number of colors of Passion flower vines that aren't too heavy and produce fruit that is delicious.  El Huerto cafe in Riberas has an orange Passionsflower that is quite large if you want to see what it will look like.

[More Liana]

Jasmine works well, and has a fabulous fragrance which would further enhance your arbor's surroundings.

[Ferret]

Is there a particular cultivar of Jasmine you had in mind More Liana? I have a Jasmine bush and it stinks.

[More Liana]

12 minutes ago, Ferret said:

Is there a particular cultivar of Jasmine you had in mind More Liana? I have a Jasmine bush and it stinks.

The one growing up the staircase to the azotea of the house where I used to live--the green above those two darker-leafed trees on the right.  In Ajijic, they call it huele de noche or jazmín de noche.  The night fragrance is incredible.  
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cestrum_nocturnum

[dichosalocura]

I'm not sure how the huele de noche would do in an arbor since they aren't really a vine, but there are plenty of climbing vine jasmine varieties that would do nice.  Maybe, also the mandevilles or possibly intertwined with jasmines.  Wisteria would work.  I really liked the idea of passion fruit, beautiful flower, delicious and fast growing fruit, excellent in aguas frescas and great for margaritas.  You could get two or three varieties and grow them together, each variety would have a different colored flower.

[ajijicbound]

Grapes?

[Sea]

If you want an easy keeper that grows fast, thunbergia grandiflora. (Sky blue vine). You see it a lot around here, covering walls. Long trailing blue flowers. Some of the plants people have suggested don't hold up well to ants.. my experience with jasmine, anyway.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Thunbergia+grandiflora+(Blue+Sky+Vine)&client=firefox-b&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwicnP3W3PLdAhUOG3wKHa2jAtgQ_AUIDigB&biw=1440&bih=681

[Yo1]

However, Thunbergia is a heavy vine and will pull down a cyclone fence if not controlled.

[Sea]

I have it growing over chain link fence, don't know what is cyclone fence. But yes, it's easy care, but needs some trimming to stay neat.

[Yo1]

Cyclone and chain link are the same in my lexicon.

[More Liana]

Another beautiful and less-known one is petrea, aka Mexican lilac.  No fragrance, but beautiful blooms and a great looking, dark green sandpaper-y leaf.  That's the petrea, next to a triple poinsettia.  The dark yellow blossom is obelisco--in this case, a triple hibiscus.

Another really nice one for an arbor would be coral vine--known in Ajijic a rosa de la montaña, maybe mixed with something of another color.  The flowers are small.

[Yo1]

To see a coral vine check out the foliage growing along the western sidewalk outside of LCS.  It's mixed in with another vine.

[Islander]

I would suggest:

Senecio confusus ....Mexican Flame Vine

 

  Pyrostegia venusta ( orange trumpetvine)..... I see lots of this vine around the village.

I am  fascinated by  Thunbergia Mysorensis "Acanthus Family"  but maybe not the best  choice for your purpose. The one in our yard had very solid metal frame. I think it was built specifically for this vine. Quite amazing sight of long pendulums .

[More Liana]

WOW, Islander, that Thunbergia Mysorensis is some vine!  I'd love to see it in person.

The one in my photos (called pelican vine) is around the corner from where I used to live in Col. Condesa.  The flowers are over a foot long and the wall is about 10 feet high.  I thought it might be related to your thunbergia mysorensis, but Its scientific name is Aristolochia grandiflora.  The articles about it say that its "fragrance" is like rotting meat, but I used to walk over to visit it while I lived there and never smelled anything at all.   

The orange trumpet vine in your photo is known in Ajijic as llamarada.  Always a glorious display.

And Yo1, thanks for posting the location of a coral vine!  I used to see one all the time at the corner of Constitución and--I couldn't remember which north-south street, so I'm glad you know where one is.  My favorite for sure, so delicate and lovely.

[Bisbee Gal]

12 hours ago, Yo1 said:

To see a coral vine check out the foliage growing along the western sidewalk outside of LCS.  It's mixed in with another vine.

I have a coral vine on a wall and I love it.....but so do the bees, as in wall-to-wall bees.  A good thing, but the OP should be aware if the arbor is going to be used for sitting, eating, etc.  

[cedros]

I have tried all the ones mentioned above and would recommend the flame vine.

I had problems with Passion fruit (2varieties), several species of Jasmine, red and green grapes, Thumbergi-both the blue which is very problematic and the Indian clock ones, Mexican lilac-Petres and more. I found that flame vine (llamarada) is the easiest one to grow and the most likely to survive and is spectacular.

[El Cartero]

Consider house location.   I know la floresta west to la canacita there is a rat problem.   Both sides of the Carretera to the lake.  They love love love to frequent vines and uncleaned palm trees.   Removing the vines in two locations worked to get rid of them

[bournemouth]

The nursery behind Super Lake has a jade vine growing over an arch.  It is spectacular when in bloom:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strongylodon_macrobotrys

[Ferret]

The problem with any vine growing over a larger structure is that it looks beautiful on the outside and not so great on the inside or underneath it where you will be sitting. A lack of sunlight being the main cause.  A lot of dead foliage and shriveled flowers do not appeal to me. YMMV.

[Earl]

I agree with Ferret.  It's not pretty to sit under, and you will also get bits of foliage and insects dropping on you now and then.  And my experience with jasmine is that the "fragrance" is way too powerful.  Many people are allergic to strong fragrances and got a headache at my place.  It was the dickens to get rid of, too!

[Willie]

I absolutely LOVE the jade vine and have one....just hope I live long enough to see it flower.

I don't know if it would grow here but my mother had a snail vine in Phoenix and it was quite lovely too.....light lavender, curled snail shaped flowers.

 

[mudgirl]

On 10/6/2018 at 3:16 PM, dichosalocura said:

I'm not sure how the huele de noche would do in an arbor since they aren't really a vine, but there are plenty of climbing vine jasmine varieties that would do nice.  Maybe, also the mandevilles or possibly intertwined with jasmines.  Wisteria would work.  I really liked the idea of passion fruit, beautiful flower, delicious and fast growing fruit, excellent in aguas frescas and great for margaritas.  You could get two or three varieties and grow them together, each variety would have a different colored flower.

Wisteria eventually develops a massive heavy trunk and has a large root system. Beautiful, but may cause problems down the road.

[Sea]

I had wisteria in the States. It's lovely, but my impression is that it's slow growing compared to a lot of the vines under discussion here. If you want faster results, another plant might be preferable.

[mudgirl]

11 hours ago, bournemouth said:

The nursery behind Super Lake has a jade vine growing over an arch.  It is spectacular when in bloom:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strongylodon_macrobotrys

Jade vines are amazing. The color of the flowers is other-worldly. I've never seen anything else in nature that color. I do hear they are not easy to grow and I know 2 people who managed to kill theirs, one of whom is an avid and knowlegable gardener. When I asked how his jade vine, that he had been nurturing for 2 years, was doing, he got a pained expression and said "Don't ask, just don't ask."

What I've not seen anyone mention is Copa de Oro (Allamanda cathartica).