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Manettia cordifolia 'John Elsley'

 
Manettia cordifolia 'John Elsley'
Just planted
firecracker vine
Returning in early April after 2021 megafreeze, happily using a freeze-killed jasmine as its support
Manettia cordifolia 'John Elsley'

Common name firecracker vine
Family rubiaceae
Life cycle perennial (Z7b-10)
Flowers red
Size vine to 8'
Light sun-part shade
Cultural notes well-drained soil, average moisture

Herbaceous vine that returns from its winter dormancy in spring. It is diminutive in leaf and wiry-stemmed, but can use its tiny tendrils to climb rapidly once it gets going. Popping red tubular flowers start in summer and keep on coming till winter arrives. Native to South America, attracts hummingbirds.
In its first couple of years, its performance in our garden was rather tentative – staying alive, but not displaying much vigor. In the third year, following a hard-freeze winter that killed all the top growth of a nearby jasmine that had scambled up the fence, our little plant finally saw an opportunity to climb, twisting all along a single dead jasmine vine until it could peek over the fence. That was encouraging, but it's still a low-impact plant, displaying no inclination to branch out and cover a greater area. I'll have to content myself with up-close inspection.

firecracker vine
After twisting its way up the jasmine, blooming at the top of the fence
Manettia cordifolia 'John Elsley'
The following year, it finds the yucca in our rock garden to climb on

In our garden, this plant grows in the following area: back fence border

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