Gardening Tips & Guide for Cypress Vine in Zone 9

Description of Cypress Vine

• Cypress vine has ferny, delicate looking foliage. It will twine around whatever is nearby, and must have a sturdy trellis or support to hold its weight. As an annual, cypress vine lives only a year. However, it is a fast grower sprouting in less than a week, flowering in around a month and continuing to produce colorful blooms until frost. It can quickly grow up to 20 feet.

Zone 9 Specifics

• The USDA divides the United States into Hardiness Zones 1 to 10, based upon average low temperatures. The average minimum temperature in Zone 9 is 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Zone 9 gardens rarely freeze in the winter, and generally have hot summers with little rain. Plants that require winter chill will not do well here, but most other plants can thrive. The warm summers and mild winters of Zone 9 are ideal growing conditions for the cypress vine; it does not tolerate significant frost.

Cypress Vine Requirements

• Plant cypress vine in full sun against a trellis, fence, gazebo or other garden structure you wish to cover. It will quickly climb and provide an attractive screen of foliage, punctuated by bright, starry flowers.

  Grow cypress vine in well-draining soil. Keep it moist, since all that blooming requires plenty of moisture. The vine will produce even more flowers if you fertilize it monthly. Deadheading will encourage the vine to produce more buds, and can promote nearly continuous blooming.

Starting From Seed

• Cypress vine is very simple to start from seed. In the early spring, when the danger of frost is over, sow the seeds directly into your garden. If you prefer to start the seeds indoors, sprout them in peat or pulp pots, and place the seed container directly in the ground. Purchase cypress vine seeds in nurseries and garden centers, either individually by color or in a mixed pack of white, pink and red flowers.