Mansoa alliaceaGarlic Vine

Crush a leaf of Mansoa alliacea and the smell of garlic is unmistakable, which is the quickest way to identify it and the reason for the common name. In flower it is far more elegant than that suggests: clusters of trumpet flowers open deep purple and fade through lavender to near white, so a single flush carries three shades at once.

It climbs by tendril to five metres or more and flowers in two heavy flushes a year, making it a strong pergola and screen subject wherever frost is not a factor.

Specifications

• Height3 to 8 metres as a climber
• Width2 to 4 metres
• Native toNorthern South America and Central America
• FoliageGlossy dark green paired leaflets with a terminal tendril, smelling strongly of garlic when crushed; evergreen
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilPrefers rich, free-draining loamy soils
• LightFull sun to partial shade
• WaterModerate; needs regular water through the growing season
• ClimateThrives in tropical and subtropical regions; frost sensitive

Additional Features

• FlowersClusters of trumpet flowers opening deep purple and fading through lavender to white, in two main flushes a year
• UsesPergola and arbour cover, trellis screening, fence softening and courtyard climbing
• SpacingPlant 2 to 3 metres apart along a support
• Low MaintenancePrune after each flush to control size and encourage the next
• Pest ResistanceGenerally robust; the garlic-scented foliage is little troubled by browsing
• Wildlife AttractionFlowers are worked by butterflies and nectar-feeding birds
• VersatilityTrains on wire, trellis or pergola, or holds as a loose informal shrub with pruning

The Garlic Vine gives shaded structures a heavy twice-yearly flower display in a colour range few climbers match.