Deciduous Flowering Shrubs - Part 4, page two continuation
and the size of the flower clusters, which are smaller and floppier than the subspecies petiolaris. Some references indicate it may also not be as hardy, although I did find one reference indicating its range is from USDA zones 6 to9.
RHS Plant Finder also lists the following:
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H. anomala ssp. anomala
H. anomala ssp. glabra
H. anomala ssp. petiolaris 'Yakushima'
All the forms climb by hold fasts, attaching themselves to structures or trees. My H. a. subspecies petiolaris grows up a black locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia) but they are excellent subjects for any mature tree or masonry wall.
Said to reach seventy-five feet (22.8 m) in height, the limit of growth is really the extent of the support. This vine make excellent cover for masonry walls. Any support needs to be quite strong as this vine becomes massive with age. I've even seen photographs of it used as a groundcover and draping over a retaining wall and I've read that it can be trained as a low shrub, but why anyone would want to torture one of these beautiful vines like that is beyond me.
These are slow vines to establish. Mine grew steadily, but refused to bloom for about ten years, until I had a heart to heart talk with it about compost heaps. The next year it presented me with a few flowers and each year it becomes more enchanting.
The flowers are born in corymbs reaching six to ten inches (.15 - 25 cm) in diameter. Flowering time is June in my garden, with the flower heads remaining effective for around two weeks, after which they fade to tan and brown. The sterile flowers are said to be fragrant, but I really haven't noticed a pronounced scent from my plant.
Even after the flowers fade, the seed capsules are still attractive and remain on the plant until winter winds blow them away. The stems are most interesting in their own right. New stems are a warm, cinnamon brown and older ones have exfoliating bark. This is not a vine for tight spaces, since it puts out horizontal stems as far as three feet (0.91 m) from the support.
Personally, I agree with Wyman who dubbed this "one of the best of the woody, clinging vines". If you've got the patience to wait for it to make enough woody mass to bloom, it is a superb addition to the partly shady
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