Intense Flowering of the Sandpaper Vine (Petrea Volubilis)

For a few days now, I've noticed that my Sandpaper Vine (Petrea volubilis) also known as Queen's Wreath has been flowering more than usual. I've had this vine for five years now and have taken interest especially on the vine's first flowering three years ago. It is only now that neighbors even took notice on the masses of flowers bloomed. Some passersby inquired on how it has flowered this way.

Effective Deterrent Against Invasive Climbing Vines

Many months ago, my Thunbergia mysorensis (Mysore Clock Vine) grew so lush that vine shoots started climbing the guy wires that support a utility pole near the property's perimeter. Removing the vine branches from their firm grip on the guy wires was difficult. I thought of joining the two guy wires together with duct tape so the vine won't be twining either one of the two vines. See the photo below.

It worked well initially. But then the duct tape joining the two wires started to deteriorate. The tape cracked and became torn. Much of it peeled away to the point that the garden vine shoots managed to slip through the torn flaps. Aside from being an eyesore, it became so ineffective that I had to severely cut back the now thick foliage of the garden vine. The removed foliage exposed the right side of the trellis as shown below.

Homemade Vine Guard to Prevent Plants from Climbing Wires

I love growing flowering ornamental vines in my garden. Not only are they great for covering a drab blank wall, they're absolute space savers. Provide them with a climbing structure like a trellis and they will shoot up and grow like crazy. Tropical vines, especially, are beautiful yet notorious for being aggressive to the point of being invasive, if not contained.