Ipomoea cairicaRailway Creeper

Ipomoea cairica, the Railway Creeper, is a fast twining climber with palmately lobed bright green leaves and funnel-shaped mauve flowers carrying a darker throat. It will cover a fence or an embankment in a single season, climbing 3 to 6 metres.

Its speed is both the reason it is planted and the reason it needs managing; on the right site it stabilises raw batters and screens temporary works faster than anything else available.

Specifications

• Height3 to 6 metres (as a climber), with stems running to 10 metres
• Width2 to 4 metres
• Native toTropical Africa and Asia, and now naturalised throughout the tropics
• FoliagePalmately five to seven lobed bright green leaves; evergreen in warm climates
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilAdapts to most soils, including sandy and poor ground
• LightFull sun
• WaterLow to moderate; drought-tolerant once established
• ClimateThrives in tropical, subtropical and coastal regions, and in hot arid climates with irrigation

Additional Features

• FlowersFunnel-shaped mauve to pink flowers with a darker throat, through the warm months
• UsesIdeal for rapid cover of fences and embankments, batter stabilisation and temporary screening
• SpacingPlant 1 to 2 metres apart along a support
• Low MaintenanceCut back hard whenever it exceeds its allotted area
• Pest ResistanceGenerally pest-free and resilient
• Drought ToleranceHolds cover through dry periods once established
• Erosion ControlRooting stems knit loose soil on raw batters and slopes

The Railway Creeper is the fastest cover crop among ornamental climbers, best used where its vigour is an asset and can be contained.