Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Yellow Butterfly Vine, Hillyhock, Gallinita

Description:

This interesting native vine is great for a trellis or fence, but will also twine upon itself in a mounded clump; spectacular, orchid-like yellow flowers appear in late spring and summer, followed by tan seed pods that resemble butterflies

Ornamental Features

Yellow Orchid Vine features showy clusters of yellow orchid-like flowers along the branches from late spring to mid summer. Its narrow leaves emerge light green in spring, turning green in colour the rest of the year. It produces tan samaras with brown hints from mid summer to mid fall. The fruit can be messy if allowed to drop on the lawn or walkways, and may require occasional clean-up.

Landscape Attributes

Yellow Orchid Vine is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen perennial vine with a twining and trailing habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best cut back to the ground in late winter before active growth resumes. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Yellow Orchid Vine is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover

Planting & Growing

Yellow Orchid Vine will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. As a climbing vine, it should either be planted near a fence, trellis or other landscape structure where it can be trained to grow upwards on it, or allowed to trail off a retaining wall or slope. Although it is technically a woody plant, this plant can be expected to behave as a perennial in our climate if planted outdoors over the winter, usually regrowing from its base (crown) the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. This plant will benefit from an application of bonemeal and/or mycorrhizal fertilizer at the time of planting. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America..

This plant is not reliably hardy in our region, and certain restrictions may apply; contact the store for more information.