PlantFiles: Snail Vine
Phaseolus caracalla

I bought one of these at Monticello since I loved the scent and color. They told me they keep them in pots so that they can overwinter and bring them back out in the spring.

I have done this sucessfully with mine but I still have one problem. My vine grows like crazy but I have NEVER had one single bloom. Can anyone tell me why??
Thanks!
Erika

I planted this two years ago here in Phoenix, AZ in full sun and was very happy with its growth, as it covered a big expanse of wrought iron railing. Then came the big freeze this past winter and it killed it. I'd buy it again, but as I have heard such complementary things about the corkscrew vine (vigna caracalla), I'd like to try that one.

I agree that this plant is very agressive, at least in areas with long growing seasons, like here in South Georgia. I purchased it for a trellis 2 years ago, and within a few short weeks, it had covered the trellis, and wasted no time in covering a 15' x 40' planting bed. It froze to the ground that winter, so I thought I had escaped, but it came back in the spring - with a vengeance! My son & I dug it out this winter, after it died back - I hope we got it all - many of the stems had rooted where they touched the ground, so no telling!

I originally bought this plant from Spring Hill Nursery, believing that I was purchasing climbing shell vine (Vigna caracalla). What I they sent me, however, was snail vine, which proceeded, in less than a year, to take over not only my backyard, but also the backyards of three neighboors. It spreads as rapidly as kudzu and it's just as hard to kill--perhaps harder. I've not found any herbicides that work well on it. It might be affected by a freeze, but we haven't had one of those in New Orleans for several years now. Bottom line: I can't say enough bad things about this plant...

This plant does quite well in my area. My father's plant has provided us with 4 seed pods this summer.

I purchased this plant with the name of "Shell Plant."
It does not winter over where I am located so I am excited that I can propagate this easily plus with the seed pods...finger's crossed.

We planted a Snail Vine at the base of an unattractive dying tree at our last home. The dying tree was readily clothed in fresh green leaves and purple flowers from the vine. At our new home, several of these vines were planted a few months ago along our fence which is against the unsightly backside of the neighbor's 20-foot high hedge. The vines are now weaving into the hedge sprinkling purple flowers throughout. Beautiful effect.

I grow this plant in an 18 gal rubbermaid container with hole drilled in the bottom and a trellis. The roots have gone through the drainage holes and get trimmed off every so often. It has overgrown the container and taken off running across the lawn so it gets a haircut from time to time. My seems to flower almost year round. If we get a frost threat, I simply cover with blankets. This year it seems to go through a molt of sorts. Leaves turned yellow and fell off leaving the vine very thinned out but it quickly regrew and is thicker than ever. Love the vine but probably best contained unless you have lots of room.

Picked some seeds off the ground while hiking in Las Vegas several years ago. Forgot about them before finding them in a cupboard last winter. Soaked them overnight and then planted them in a pot hanging in our utility room. (This is Michigan so had to be inside.) They germinated and grew quickly. Blossoms were lovely and a much needed brightener to a long winter. I had no idea what the plant was until my son took a photo of it to Star Nursery in Vegas. Hope it will weather out on our deck this summer and then back in the house.

I am glad I did a search on this one. A very nice lady from Ca. sent seeds that were dated 5 years old. I did not expect much, but most must have germinated. I now have many. And because I can read info here, I know not to plant them in the ground and take great care that they do not join my invasives. I will look forward to seeing the blooms. I am hoping for fragrance too.

Saw a picture in a catalog and had to have it. Couldn't find any seed, so I had to order the plant this spring. It arrived with 5 yellow leaves and was bone dry. It lived & does quite well in a container (zone 5). It has the lavender flowers, what I saw was the pink & cream, but I'm still happy. It's so unusual! Hopefully it will over-winter well & need a much bigger pot next spring! There were a few ants, but no seeds.

This plant does so well in the Las vegas sun. Never had an aphid problem. Have a praying mantis living in it.

I love this plant I havent noticed any aphids but feww ants, in warm weather it loves lots of wattering I leaf watter sometimes twice a day, every time I clip it back it will grow at least an inch and will bloom again all year round i have only had it yellow once and that was after a wrather lengthy storm, this is the first season i have gotten some long pod like seeds, i have vertilized with vitamine B1, and miricle grow, i also recently added a watter mister to it and it seems to love it.

I love this plant, so unusual and the leaves are stunning. It requires ants to pollinate the flowers for seed, so I allow ants to run freely on it, yet I have never found seed one. I keep it in a pot and bring it in to the winter greenhouse so it stays green all year. Lots of cuttings are easily made from the one plant. I have read that if you trim it back Nov to Dec you will get blooms in Jan to Mar but I have not tried it yet.

This is a charming non-fragrant plant. Interesting blooms and readily availabe in our area at most nurseries. Mine freezes to the ground and rarely comes back.

I planted this plant as seeds in a container this year for the first time. The plant was quite vigorous. When it was planted it was expected to be an unusual bean. It was very unusual.
The seeds put out long tubers that infiltrated the container watering grids. To take them in for the winter (Pennsylvania gets cold) I had to cut the grids to get them out. I expect that in the ground they would be quite invasive and impossible to eradicate. Beautiful flowers but no seeds this year. Maybe next year. I will plant them in their own containers next year.

I found this plant called Snail Vine at Walmart a few years ago. I'm drawn to unusual plants so I got it not knowing what to expect. The first couple years it didnt do much but the third year it took off and grew! I love it! I dont seem to have the aphid problems listed but I see ants on it but since they dont eat the plant I see no harm. Others have commented on how wonderul this plant is and want one too. I'll share mine. Here in the high desert of Southern California this plant starts blooming in July and goes til it gets nearly 30 degrees which is Mid November. It does die back each winter but comes right back in April- May. It takes no maintenance other than cutting it back a bit.

I do like this plant. I use it on my fence for privacy, but in the month of September it turns all yellow and all the leaves fall off. Someone else in my neighbor has these also but they do not yellow and fall away. I irrigate them, so I'm not sure what the problem is.

It is a beautiful, easy growing, fragrant and attractive vine. It attracts lots of spiders which is a real positive for natural bug control. In Australia I have only seen the cream variety with the purple centres which are also very beautiful. It is deciduous in colder climates which is very beneficial for blocking sun in summer and letting the sun filter through in winter. Stunning green foliage.

Have to agree with cmoon... very invasive vine. And a great attractor of aphids. To keep it aphid free would require weekly spraying... seems to attract ants, too, which love to run along it's highways about the yard (at least morning glory, the other nasty invasive vine in the yard, doesnt' attrract the ants). Hard to get rid of this plant, but it is at least somewhat sensitive to Roundup. Be very careful where you put this thing.

There seems to be some confusion among botanists and commercial sources on what to call Phaseolus caracalla and Vigna caracalla ("Snail Vine" or "Corkscrew Vine"? Which is which???) and whether or not they're synonyms.

Comparing the images above and here [HYPERLINK@plantsdatabase.com] should at least estabish that they are NOT the same vine. Whether P. caracalla is Snail Vine or Corkscrew Vine...who can say for sure? ;o)

About 4 months ago, we put in our back yard and needed a plant that would cover our back fence very fast! So we went to a local garden center and asked about this vine with very pretty flowers; we were told it was a snail vine. They told us it would do well so we bought 4 plants and spaced them about 4 ft apart. They have now been in for 4 months and you cannot see our fence at all - this vine is a fast grower. We are very happy with the way it has spread and covered our fence.

Tip" I dug a trench then planted the vine down in it so I could flood them; seems to work well for this vine! Water about 2 times a week (I also used a complete lawn food.)

Plant was here when I moved in. Is very invasive. I've tried removing it without sucess. But it is pretty. It climbs up and tries to pull down anything nearby,

Thompson and Morgan show seeds for sale of Phaseolus caracalla (aka Snail Flower) I have not yet tried this seed.

I have been very successful in transplanting this plant from cutting and planting in soil. Wonderful blooms. Great for fences and trellis. Will freeze, but will come back if ground does not freeze.

This vine is great for a fast cover. It is a very vigorous grower, with dense and profuse foliage, and will get monster size in no time.
The blooms are beautiful purple swirly blooms. There are usually two to four blooms produced on horizontal-(to drooping) stems. It blooms constantly and consistently, from Spring to frost.
It puts a great deal of foliage. It also does not have the strong scent that its cousin the corkscrew does, but still worth growing.
Snail vine is extrememly easy to propagate. I have proagated these in wet sand with as little as one leaf petiole.
The pollinator for this flower is not the ant, though it was once believed to be...it is the large carpenter bee/bumble bee.
Grab the "hood" of the flower and pull it up from the "lobster claw" parts of the flower, and you will see the reproductive flower parts emerge from the "swirl". This is esentially what the bee does each time he presses into the center of the flower, getting pollen on his back.
Great producer of seeds, if visited by these bees.
This returns from the ground each year for me here in zone 8a.