Plant in full sun (coastal) to shade. Regular water. Give support. Hardy to zone 9. This unusual plant is worth having if just as conversation piece in the garden!

Cissus gongylodes was first described in 1881 as Vitis gongylodes by the English botanist John G. Baker and the English explorer, naturalist William John Burchell from a collection Burchell made in Brazil but later redescribed in Monographiae Phanerogamarum as Cissus gongylodes by the French botanist Jules Émile Planchon from a specimen collected between 1826 and 1832 in Peru by the German botanist, zoologist and explorer Edward Poeppig. Its native range is now considered to extend through the wet tropical biome from Brazil to Paraguay and Peru.

We heard about this odd species around 1989 from Bay Area artist and gardener Marcia Donehue who insisted we must grow this plant that she indicated Robert Abe at Chia Nursery in Carpinteria had a few of them. We purchased a plant and planted in the corner of the garden facing our nursery the loading zone. This plant almost perished after the Dombeya it was growing up into was removed but recovered and was supported by a trellis and was quite vigorous until the January freeze of 2007 with three nights down to 25° F killed this garden plant. Luckily, we still had it alive in our greenhouse to grow for a few more years. We grew and sold this plant from 2003 until 2009. 

This information about Cissus gongylodes displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.