Muehlenbeckia complexa Golden Girl - Maidenhair Vine

Muehlenbeckia complexa 'Golden Girl' is a particularly bright variety with confetti-like yellow and acid green foliage. It can both climb and creep, and is often used in planters and hanging baskets where it cascades in light curtains. Its slender stems climb on any support provided or root themselves in contact with the ground. Their dark colour contrasts pleasantly with the colour of the leaves, which persist more or less in winter. Easy to grow in milder regions, resistant to drought and wind, and extremely versatile, this unusual bush is perfect for decorating the base of trees or shrubs, festooning a sunny rockery or a vegetated wall, stabilising an unattractive slope, and dressing up a fence.

Muehlenbeckia complexa 'Golden Girl' is a plant from the Polygonaceae family, a cousin of sorrel and knotweed. Its ancestor, the green form, is native to New Zealand. In this dioecious shrub, there are individuals that bear female flowers and others that bear male flowers. Its foliage persists until -6°C (21.2°F) in winter, its stems can be destroyed by frost, but the stump regrows in spring until -10°C (14°F) in very well-drained soil.

It thrives in well-drained to dry soil, even sandy or limestone soil, and tolerates wind and spray. This shrub develops long stems that can measure at least 3.5m (11ft) long in open ground. They are reddish-brown to blackish-brown in colour, and covered with hairs that can root in contact with the ground. Its growth is rapid. Its foliage consists of very small coriaceous leaves measuring 6 to 7mm (1in) long, almost round in shape, arranged alternately along the branches. They are initially yellow, then become green over time, creating an interesting bicolour effect on the plant. The inconspicuous flowering occurs in August-September, depending on the climate. The flowers are tiny, gathered in clusters of 2 to 4 units, measuring less than 1cm (1in) in diameter. Their colour is pale-yellow to cream-white. They are nectariferous and visited by bees and butterflies.

The main assets of Muehlenbeckia complexa 'Golden Girl' are its robustness, beautiful golden colour, rapid growth, and versatility. It can be planted in open ground in mild regions, and in pots or hanging baskets to decorate a patio or balcony. It is a carefree plant that finds its place and thrives among other plants, as ground cover in a rockery, at the base of shrubs and trees whose root competition it tolerates, in a hedge, and on a wire fence as a privacy or wind screen. Plant with small spring bulbs (crocuses, narcissi and botanical tulips, hyacinths) to bring colour to the garden or flowering pots. It can also be placed above low walls, for example with creeping rosemary, aubrieta, and wall bellflowers. It is also useful for stabilising sloping ground, with periwinkles, Algerian ivy, and creeping junipers, for example. It can be used in topiary art to vegetate a framework, by performing frequent and precise pruning.