Divine Vines

 

August 2026

Pickaway to Garden

Divine Vines

By Paul J. Hang

Woody vines are climbing perennial plants that generally need the support of trees, arbors, fences, telephone poles or buildings. Vines attach themselves to objects by twining around, use hair-like structures that glue themselves to, or have cup-like ends to, grasp their support. Others use tendrils that are slender spiral-like growths that reach out to twine around a support. Cucumbers and grapes are examples of vines using tendrils.

Last month we covered the satanic Terrible Trio of woody vines: Poison Ivy, English Ivy and Winter Creeper. Poison Ivy is the only native of the three, the other two are invasive. Its white berries are consumed by birds. Its poisonous sap, urushiol, can cause misery for those sensitive to it and who come in contact with it. Vines, like most things, are mixed blessings, or curses. It all depends. A few more problematic vines on our devilish list are: Japanese Honeysuckle (invasive and wraps around young trees and strangles them); Oriental Bittersweet (invasive, a thick vine with berries along its stems) and Oriental Wisteria (very aggressive and can get huge and heavy). And, let’s add kudzu, very invasive and has been seen in Ohio.

Some divine vines, not holy but good, are native and worth considering for planting, with some reservations. A vine that behaves, will cover an eight foot trellis with pruning without covering your house, brings in hummingbirds and smells good, is Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). With coral red trumpet flowers, semi evergreen, berries that birds eat, pretty foliage, can grow to 15’ plus, this vine approaches the divine.

Other good vines to consider, with caveats, are all natives. Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quiquefolia) has five leaves, occasionally has some “leaves of three” which cause many to think it is poison ivy. It uses hair like growths, like poison ivy, to attach itself to supports. Unlike poison ivy it has purple berries and striking red foliage in the fall. It can also be used as a ground cover. Passion Flower and Trumpet Creeper are deciduous vines grown for their flowers. Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) has orange flowers three to five inches long attractive to hummingbirds. Passion Flower (Passiflora spp.)has purplish flowers that look like aliens from another planet. It comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. The genus is Passiflora.  Both vines can be quite aggressive and require frequent pruning to keep them in check. Virgin’s Bower or Wild Clematis is a woodland climbing vine with maple-like leaves, small white fragrant flowers that appear in late summer. They are followed by attractive silvery seed heads.

There are two American vines that have undesirable Oriental namesakes. American Wisteria (Wisteria frutescens), unlike its foreign cousin, is controllable and won’t collapse on whatever it grows. American Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens), unlike its foreign cousin, has its fruits at the end of its stems and is not invasive. Another nice American vine is Pipevine or Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia macrophylla).  It can grow in shade or sun and feeds the caterpillars of the striking Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly. It was often grown on grandma’s porch as a screen and/or for shade. I have not covered a number of other vines e.g. Morning Glory (Ipomoea tricolor), that are annuals or grown as annuals. There is a vine for everyone. Check the Latin name to make sure it’s the one for you.

Things to do in the garden:

August is Tree Check month. Water if we don’t get at least an inch of rain each week. Water at the base of the plant and do it in the morning. Water trees and shrubs planted in the past two years or if they look distressed. If you see lichen on your trees, rejoice it’s a sign of clean air.

You can still have a fall garden. Plant healthy looking broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage plants early in the month. Direct-seed beets, spinach, turnips, and snap peas mid-month. Other vegetables that grow well in cool weather but should be planted a little later are lettuce planted through August and September, carrots and radishes in September.  Count the days before the average frost (mid-October), veggies that have that many days to harvest can still be planted. Check the seed packet. Keep the seeds and soil moist for best germination.

Harvest vegetables and herbs in the morning for best results. Dig potatoes if the vines have died. Harvest onions when the tops fall over and dry them in the sun for a few days. Consider donating excesses to a food pantry.

As plants die back or stop producing in the vegetable garden remove them so bad insects and disease don’t have a place to over-winter. Plants with hollow stems, also native ornamental grasses, can be left alone for insects and for seeds for wintering birds or for visual winter interest. Put the debris of healthy plants in the compost bin, diseased plants in the trash.

Now is the time to renovate or start a lawn. Do your research at ohioline.osu.edu. Start cuttings of coleus, begonias, geraniums and impatiens for growing indoors this winter. Move houseplants to a shady spot to prepare them to move indoors. Disbud and fertilize your dahlias for bigger blooms. Fertilize peonies and roses with a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 or 12-12-12. Order garlic and spring flowering bulbs, plant biennials. Divide, transplant or give away perennials that are overgrown. Add new mulch where needed. Pull weeds before they go to seed.

Big tomatoes not ripening? I learned at the Midwest Native Plant Conference, the cause is night time temperatures in the mid 70’s. Once our nights cool off they should start to ripen. By the end of the month try disbudding your tomato plants. Remove the growing tips of each branch and pinch out all the blossoms that bloom. It takes six weeks from blossom to fruit. This results in bigger tomatoes and prevents those marble size tomatoes that never reach the table. Experiment! Try this with melons and winter squash. Consider picking tomatoes before they are completely ripe. They will ripen off the vine if they show a blush of green on an otherwise red, purple or yellow tomato. Totally ripe tomatoes still on the vine can burst with a glut of water from rain or the hose. They can also be sampled by birds and mammals. Big tomatoes not ripening, the cause is night time temperatures in the mid 70’s? Once our nights cool off they should start to ripen.

Monitor for pests. Check under the leaves. Use organic methods first. Remember, 97 percent of insects are either good or neutral. To eliminate bad bugs, the two-step stomp technique can be quite effective.  Or, just flick them into a cup of soapy water. No bug species has developed a resistance to these tactics. Need gardening advice? Call the Gardening Helpline at the OSU Extension Office 474-7534. Other resources are ohioline.osu.edu and Buckeye Yard and Garden Line (bygl.osu.edu).