PlantFiles: Queen's Wreath, Bluebird Vine, Sandpaper Vine
Petrea volubilis

Bought this at a local plant festival. Was told by the vendor that she had the plant in my zone 9a (her town just being east of me). However, this winter we had one of the coldest in a long time with record lows. THe Petrea did not survive :( I did not cover as I was told it would come back up if cold damaged.

To find the seeds: Wait until the flowers begin turning green and then brown. There will be a little knot under the center of the flower. Remove the petals and crack the little knot out of its shell. There is your seed.

I've grown a number of these from seed. The seed needs to be notched to enable the little embryo to escape. I use (very carefully) the tiny pointed end of a fingernail file.

These dried flowers are so neat when they fly like little helicopter rotors whirling to sow their little seeds!

One of my very favorite plants!

It is easily grown by taking semi-hardwood cuttings. The thicker diameter cuttings root faster.

This plant grows well and hardy! I have attempted to root cuttings, old wood and new wood, as well as airlayering. No luck. I was told to plant the seeds. Now if I knew how to find them on my plant, I would try. Any ideas what they look like or where they might be found on the plant? I have tried finding them within the flowers, no luck.

This plant was offered in the end of the season sale last Fall at a local nursery. The nursery staff referred to the plant as a "wisteria," which it obviously wasn't. I had no idea what it was until it bloomed this year. I used the Plant ID Forum on DG to find out its botanical name with the help of other DG members. The nursery was probably referring to the common name, "Tropical Wisteria," and I misunderstood.

The plant somehow managed to survive this winter with no special protection and tolerated temperatures as low as 28 F on a few nights with no apparent damage. I think, though, that I was just lucky in that I had planted it near the fence in a semi-shady location and my hedges probably offered some protection from winds which made the temperature lower than 28 F with the wind chill factor.

Now that I know what it is, I plan to move it to full sun in my garden and provide a temporary visqueen plastic greenhouse enclosure during the winter months (as I do with some other tender tropicals) and hope that I can someday see the fantastic floral displays shown in the photos here.

Update: January 21,2008. I never got around to moving the P. volubilis. It has continued to thrive in the location where I originally planted it. It still survives a few nights each winter with temperatures below freezing. I think the wind-break and insulation of the Japanese Yew (Podocarpus sp.) hedges that it is planted against provides protection from the freezes. I also typically toss some twinkle lights and a blanket over it on the coldest nights. However, I'm beginning to think it may be more cold hardy than the zones provided above. It has now grown so large that I can't cover all the arching limbs. I've never seen and frost or freeze damage to those limbs and leaves that hang stick out beyond the cover I can provide. I think this plant has great possibilities for more extensive use in Zones 8b/9a. It would certainly make a nice container grown plant in areas even further north. I am on a quest to get one of the white-flowering varieties of this wonderful plant.

Easy to grow/maintain.Great for beginner gardeners.
Spectacular show when in bloom.
Bees and Butterflies are attracted to this vine.
Watering Needs: Keep moist until the plant is established, regular water thereafter.
Be sure to prune this vine after blooming to encourage another show!

This plant keeps its atractive violet calix even after the flowering season.

wonderful, well-behaved vine. spectacular in bloom, although the season is short.