Brand:  Monrovia

Description:

Multiple clusters of pendulous cream to dusky mauve blooms emerge from white buds in spring; large, pink, sausage shaped, edible fruit form in summer; perfect for trellises, garden walls, or patio containers where the fragrance can be appreciated

Ornamental Features

Cathedral Gem Sausage Vine is draped in stunning fragrant nodding creamy white star-shaped flowers with salmon overtones along the branches from late winter to early spring, which emerge from distinctive white flower buds. It has attractive dark green evergreen foliage. The glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter. It features an abundance of magnificent pink berries from mid summer to early fall.

This plant is primarily grown as an ornamental, but it's also valued for its edible qualities. The oblong sweet fruit is most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating

Landscape Attributes

Cathedral Gem Sausage Vine is a multi-stemmed evergreen woody vine with a twining and trailing habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This woody vine will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Cathedral Gem Sausage Vine is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Cathedral Gem Sausage Vine will grow to be about 25 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. As a climbing vine, it should be planted next to a fence, trellis or other rigid structure where it can be trained to grow upwards on it. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years. This is a self-pollinating variety, so it doesn't require a second plant nearby to set fruit.

This woody vine does best in partial shade to shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selection of a native North American species.

Cathedral Gem Sausage Vine makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.