Impulse Buy: A fragrant sausage....vine.....yup yup

Needing some slug bait and twine, I went to a local nursery and ran into horticulturist, Joe Abken, who informed me of a new shipment of vines from Monrovia.

It was part of the Dan Hinkley collection of new introductions and it happened to be an unusual evergreen vine called Holboellia coriacea 'Cathedral Gem'. Collected in China, this seldom grown plant is dubbed the "Sausage Vine" because of it's bizarre fruit, but the FLOWERS ARE SO FREAKIN' FRAGRANT, I cursed at Joe for corrupting me once again on a absolutely stunning plant that I had to try.



The scent is very reminiscent of orange blossoms and when Tina came by, it reminded her of Sampaguita (Jasminum sambac) as well.

Supposed to be hardy down to Zone 6 and it gets its name because this plant was found growing at Winchester Cathedral in the UK. It blooms in late winter to early spring they say and requires part shade and consistent moisture in rich, but well draining soil. The straight species can grow up to 20 to 20 feet when mature, we'll see how I do with this one!

We need more interesting and reliable evergreen vines to replace crap like ivy and Clematis armandii, which can be nice, but a maintenance nightmare! If this sausage vine can get dense, flower reliably when its suppose to and the foliage holds up well all year, then we'll be happy campers.

Don't worry, Dan, this photo wasn't taken from your garden!


R