Pandorea jasminoïdes Rosea - Bower Vine

The Pandorea jasminoides 'Rosea' with its delightful pink flowers is a delightful form of the wonderful False Jasmine Bower Vine, a magnificent climbing plant that is frost-tender and best suited for the warmest areas of our country when grown in the ground. It is a vigorous cousin of our trumpet vines, and its long summer flowering is enhanced by lush foliage of a very bright green. It blooms generously, displaying beautiful clusters of funnel-shaped flowers. While its cold tolerance is very limited, this vine thrives in any fertile and well-drained soil, as long as it is provided with the necessary sunlight to bloom well. It is also a superb plant for adorning the terrace, as it can be easily grown in a container and stored during winter.

The Pandorea jasmin is a species of the Bignonia family. It is native to Southeast Australia, specifically the sclerophyll forests, which are rather dry, found in this region governed by a humid tropical climate. It is a liana with a woody base and strong twining branches that lack a support system, naturally wrapping around a support. It grows rapidly and can reach 6 to 8 m (20 to 26ft) in all directions in favorable conditions, when planted in the ground. In a container, its growth will be more modest. The vegetation is destroyed at -0°C (32°F), but a well-established base protected by a thick mulch can survive short freezes of around -5°C (23°F): it is a plant suitable for planting in the ground in zones 9b, 10, and beyond.

The flowering occurs from May-June to September. The flowers bloom at the ends of the year's shoots and in the axils of the leaves, grouped in ramified clusters. They have widely flared trumpet-shaped flowers, 6-8 cm (2-3in) long and wide. Each flower consists of a tube widening into 5 rounded and undulate lobes. Their colour is a lovely fresh pink, enhanced by a slightly darker pink throat. This lightly scented flowering is nectar-rich and attractive to bees and bumblebees. The foliage persists in winter in suitable climates. It is composed of leaves divided into 5-7 large ovate to lanceolate leaflets, light green and glossy, with smooth edges. In case of frost, all above-ground parts of the plant are destroyed. However, it will regrow from the base in late spring.

The Pandorea jasminoides 'Rosea' deserves a prominent place on the most sheltered facade of the house or even better, in a large pot on the terrace during the summer. It can be used in many ways in a garden with a very mild climate, such as to cover a pergola, a tree that is a bit bare in autumn or winter, or to hide an unsightly building or a south-facing facade. This exotic plant absolutely needs to be fully protected from frost during its first few years of growth. That is this plant's only requirement, as it grows enthusiastically in any deep and properly prepared soil, without excess limestone. Occasional watering is necessary to support flowering.