Purple Wreath Vine (Petrea Volubilis) Flowering

It has been two months now since I posted an article on the first ever flowering of our Sandpaper Vine also known as the Queen's Wreath Vine (Petrea volubilis).

In that article, I noted paired hairy-like new growths at the axils of the old branches. Although a bit skeptical, I was suspecting that these new growths may be the new racemes.

And I was right. They were all racemes and many of them almost a foot long now. The very first one grew to only about seven inches.

Here are the new racemes.

Petrea Volubilis Raceme Development

I suppose that is one difference between a young flowering vine and a more mature robust one. Mature vines would have longer, thicker branches and the flowers would more likely have healthier and more vigorous development also.

Because of the length, you could actually see the phases of the the flower development in just one raceme.

1. At the farthest point, you will see the appearance of a young calyx.
   
2. Towards the middle, the calyx opened up and the enclosed corolla appears.
   
3. Further towards the raceme base, the corolla blossoms. Some of the corollas have the distinct white splash in the center.
   
4. At the base of the raceme, you'll see the corolla has detached and just the calyx remains. The calices will remain attached for about 5 days more.
   

And in the photo below, you'll see the beauty of the Purple Wreath vine flowers. The flowers (corolla and calyx) creates the illusion of changing colors.

Some say it's a two-toned flower (lavender and deep purple) or even three-toned (lavender, deep purple and white). Notice the while splash at the center of the corolla.

Queen's Wreath Watering Needs

The more I watered it, the thicker the trunk became. Just like the Rangoon Creeper, it grows fast if planted directly to the ground and receives plenty of water (especially more so during the hot summer).

Unlike my Rangoon Creeper, the Sandpaper Vine receives sunlight only at the latter part of the day, from 3 pm onwards. It receives more during the short summer.

The Sandpaper Vine is watered twice a day. I just dump dishwater at its base every time I do the dishes.

Purple Wreath Fertilization and Pests

There's nothing special with its fertilization. I apply Osmocote (14-14-14) once every month or every two months. Now that it's big, I put in a tablespoon and spread it around.

Maybe it's the coarse leaves (hence the name sandpaper vine), but I haven't noticed insects or caterpillars that infested the vine. There were a few ants once. A single insecticidal spray was enough to kill most of them and the rest never returned.

Pruning the Queen's Wreath Vine

Here's where the Purple or Queen's Wreath Vine gets more attention. There is limited space and so I need to monitor its aggressiveness. Compared to a Rangoon Creeper, the Sandpaper Vine is more tamed.

The photo below shows a pergola on the left. Although the Queen's Wreath vine is planted against the wall, I let the branches grow into the pergola where hopefully it will flourish and yield more flowers.

Right smack in the middle is a homemade vine guard that prevents vines from climbing and coiling on the guy wire. I try to keep this area neat by pruning the branches. Otherwise, the branches could get longer and bypass the vine guard altogether.

Also, continuous pruning allows more branching - and with more branches, more flowers.

Notice the near vertical and single trunk of the vine. Although the Purple Wreath vine (or Sandpaper vine) has normally unwieldy growth, it can be trained and formed with a single trunk into a tree-like appearance.