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Petrea volubilis (Queen's Wreath) - An evergreen clambering and twining vine that in Central America can grow to great heights with support (25-40 feet) but in cultivation is more often seen as an espalier subject or a smaller vine though plants growing to 20 feet have been noted in Southern California. It has long elliptic shaped leaves to 8 inches long in Hawaii but usually shorter in cultivation in California. They are dark green above and lighter below and rough to the touch like sandpaper. Several times a year (spring through early summer and again fall into winter) appear the 1-foot-long terminal raceme of flowers, somewhat resembling that of wisteria. The tubular blue flowers only last a few days but the larger and showier bluish purple calyces remain, fading first to blue and finally to a pale gray color.
Plant this beautiful vine in full sun or light shade in a well-drained soil and give regular irrigation throughout the warmer months of the year. The dark green foliage, with its gritty texture, acts as a nice foil to the pale calyces, so that the floral display appears as pale stars on a dark background. Does best when planted in near frost-free gardens, although the plant in the nursery garden survived the hard freeze of 1990, with temperatures in the high teens F and did not drop any leaves on the three nights at 25 ° F in 2007. The flowers are attractive to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds and useful in flower arrangements but cut only at the base of the raceme as the flowers wilt if part of the woody vine is left attached.
Petrea volubilis is a tropical vine native to Southern Mexico, Central America, northern South America and the Caribbean. It was named by Linnaeus to honor of the young Lord Robert James Petre (1713 - 1742) of Ingatestone Hall in Essex, a patron of botany. The specific epithet is from the Latin word 'volubil' meaning "turning", "circling" or "spinning" in reference to the twining method this vine uses to climb.
This species was first recorded as introduced to the US in 1920 by the USDA as part of their Bureau of Plant Industry introduction program as BPI. 5,325 but the prior year Petrea arborea was introduced as B.P.I 49031-1919 and these plants are now considered synonymous. Queen's Wreath is the most often used common name for this unusual vine, but it is also called Purple Wreath and Sandpaper Vine. The first names are in reference to the flowers and the later to the rough surface of the leaves.
This plant was first introduced into cultivation in California in 1940 by Evans & Reeves Nursery in West Los Angeles and we have grown this attractive vine continuously since 1995.
Information displayed on this page about Petrea volubilis is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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