Native Plants
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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Saturday - June 21, 2008
From: Des Plaines, IL
Region: Midwest
Topic: Vines
Title: Vine for a trellis in Illinois
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I live in Nortrhern Illinois and am trying to keep my garden as native as possible. I would like to grow something on a trellis in part sun. It looks like a regional clematis is a possibility, but do you know of any others?ANSWER:
You can find a list of vines for your area by doing a Combination Search in our Native Plant Database and choosing 'Illinois' from the Select State or Province option and 'Vine' under Habit (general appearance). There are also other characteristics you can choose to limit your search results. You will find on the list that there are 5 species of clematis vines native to Illinois:Clematis crispa (swamp leather flower)
Clematis occidentalis (western blue virginsbower)
Clematis virginiana (devil's darning needles)
Any, or all, of these would be beautiful on your trellis. Here are some other favorites that would go well there:
Bignonia capreolata (crossvine)
Centrosema virginianum (spurred butterfly pea)
Lonicera sempervirens (trumpet honeysuckle)
Passiflora incarnata (purple passionflower)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Wisteria frutescens (American wisteria)
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