As a container gardener who doesn’t typically partake of the thriller filler spiller mantra, I never the less LOVE THIS COMBO. Muehlenbeckia, Dark Burgundy Petunias and what is that little white flower? (it kinda looks like Erigéron karvinskianus but not quite – I am desperate to know. And these cornucopia baskets hung with plain chain is so cool. So I think I am once again smitten with the odd little muehlenbeckia.
When I lived in London, I had a small garden, which I did nothing with. I was a renter, and it was green, so I left it alone except for one potted plant.
I can’t explain what my attraction was, but in my ivy-green walled grassy garden that was all green, I added just one plant, and it was a pole of green Muehlenbeckia complexa. It, too, was flowerless and just, well, green, but I found it endlessly pleasing.
Supposedly, wire vine gets little white flowers that are hardly bigger than the tiny leaves (so basically, who even notices them?) – but I don’t think I have ever had a plant bloom.
What is it about muehlenbeckia that makes it so charming?
I regularly see little pots of these plants tucked in among pretty displays of antiques at shows like Brimfield. I think it is the cuteness of the tiny leaves that is so enticing. It is textural but also just so diminutive. The leaves are held by long stems – that do look like wire (and give it’s common names wire vine, maidenhair vine, and creeping wire vine).
it is, in fact, a fairly tough plant when planted in areas like San Francisco (where it is invasive), but in my New England garden, it happily lives through the growing season in my potted gardens, and then, if I don’t bring it inside, it dies a quick death when it gets cold.
Muehlenbeckia is native across various climates and continents, from the rocky coasts of New Zealand to the rugged highlands of South America. This geographical diversity has endowed the genus with remarkable adaptability – which, in the right (or wrong) place – can encourage it to grow in thick mats that suffocate everything nearby.
Meuhlenbeckia is easy to toss through and over other plants or to let them lightly dangle over the edge of some vintage tableware.
I can’t explain it; I just loved the little leaves and the reddish-black wirey stems. I had kinda forgotten about this plant until I saw this picture this morning.
This quirky plant will climb or mound or mat and it retains an airy frothiness that is unlike anything else. You can even mow it – which will result in a thickening of the stems.
Are you hooked now, too? You can search for it as muehlenbeckia, but it is commonly also known as creeping wire vine or maidenhair vine, but if you decide to plant it, do be careful; it can become invasive under the right conditions.
