Snail Vine or Creeper, Snail Bean or Corkscrew Vine – these common names belong to one plant, a plant with the botanical name of Cochliasanthus caracalla.
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This plant was previously known as Vigna caracalla and before that it was Phaseolus caracalla. If you use old gardening books as your references you may need to look up the old and the new names to find this plant. The use of botanical names is meant to reduce confusion, and overall it certainly does, however botanical name changes for whatever reason can be daunting.
The Snail Creeper is a native of South America, is fragrant and really beautiful but it dislikes cold weather. Ensure that the chosen location for your Snail Creeper is protected from the frost as much as possible. In our region it will die down during the cold months but will re-shoot from the base during spring. Ensure you give it plenty of room, this creeper can spread about five metres.
This plant loves hot conditions and as long as it’s watered regularly it will grow. This plant can be relatively slow growing during its first year, though once established it will grow very quickly.
The Snail Creeper has one of the nicest flowers I have ever seen, and it is also one of the most fragrant. At the moment our specimen at Wodonga TAFE is covered with flowers. This plant would make the perfect gift for someone who enjoys a scented garden.
The flowers are white and lilac, and they really are snail shaped – or ear shaped as some people think. The flowers coil and twist and when you look closely you should spot ants coming and going from the blooms. The ants are the pollinators that help fertilize the flowers. Fertilised flowers produce long green pods and the seeds are ready to sow once the pods have browned off and are brittle. No special treatment is needed for the seeds to grow, just take them from the pods, place them on soil, lightly cover with sand or vermiculite and water well.
This plant is vigorous, fragrant, visually pleasing and grows in most soils.
Diary
The Friends of the Albury Botanic Gardens have plants for sale every Tuesday and Thursday morning 9.30am-12pm at their nursery in the gardens behind the curators cottage.
Rutherglen & District Garden Club is holding its 29th Annual Flower Show on Sunday, April 8 at the Memorial Hall, High Street, Rutherglen from 12-4pm and in conjunction with the Victorian Rose Society will present the Victorian Autumn Country Rose Championship. $6 admission fee includes afternoon refreshment. Children are admitted free. The show will be officially opened and trophies will be presented at 3pm.
