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Photo and information supplied by: Gardening.com | Petrea voluilis - Sandpaper Vine
Botanical name: Petrea volubilis
Family name: Verbenaceae.
Common name: Sandpaper Vine or Queen's Wreath
Comments:
Petrea was named in honour of Robert James Petre (1713-1743), a patron of botany. It is a genus of about 30 species of twining plants and shrubs, and some small trees, from tropical America. Among the best flowering vines for tropical and subtropical gardens, they also flourish in greenhouses. They scramble up trellises and over arbors, tumble down from a hanging basket, sprawl across an open bed. Spidery blue to violet flowers with long narrow petals form long lacy sprays. Rough-textured dark green leaves earned the name Sandpaper Vine.
P Volubilis is only half-hardy, likes maximum sun and warmth and shelter from winds. It tolerates poor conditions but responds to deep, free-draining soil that has been enriched with organic material - lime-free and low pH. Water and spray generously in growth and warm sunny weather.
Prune hard after blooming in spring to control size and shape, keep branches untangled and free of fallen leaves.
Where cool-temperate, give direct sun or bright filtered light, medium to high humidity.
Ideal for a hanging basket, its long tendrils bear a bounty of lilac-blue flowers. After petals drop, the blue sepals remain. Needs only moderate water.
Propagation
Layer or root cuttings.
Generally pest-resistant, but watch for mold, scale and mealybugs. To control these, hose down well-established vines regularly.
Sources
- Kings Plantbarns - Auckland
- Denes Garden Way Havelock North ph/Fax: 06 877 7162
- Lake Ngatu Plantations - Awanui
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