Common Name: silver lace vine
Type: Vine
Family: Polygonaceae
Native Range: Western China, Tibet, Tadzhikistan
Zone: 4 to 7
Height: 15.00 to 25.00 feet
Spread: 15.00 to 25.00 feet
Bloom Time: July to frost
Bloom Description: White
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Flower: Showy, Fragrant
Attracts: Birds
Tolerate: Deer, Drought, Heavy Shade
Culture
Best grown in well-drained sandy loams with regular moisture in full sun to part shade. Tolerates some drought. Tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions. Plants are less apt to spread invasively in poor, lean soils. Vines need a support structure upon which to grow unless grown as a sprawling ground cover. This is a somewhat weedy vine that spreads quickly by rhizomes. May be pruned back each year in late winter to early spring. To renovate, prune back in late winter to 1-3’ from the ground. To keep within bounds, trim off excess growth as needed throughout the year.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Fallopia baldschuanica, commonly called silver lace vine, is a vigorous, adaptable, fast-growing, deciduous, twining vine that typically grows 25-35’ (12-15’ in one year). Ovate leaves (to 3.5” long) emerge tinged with red, but mature to a bright green. Masses of small, fragrant, creamy white flowers in profuse, narrow panicles cover the vine over a long bloom period of mid-summer to fall. From a distance, this vine is similar in appearance to autumn sweet clematis (C. paniculata). Synonymous with Polygonum aubertii and Polygonum baldschuanicum.
Genus name honors Gabriele Fallopi (1523-1562), Italian anatomist, professor of anatomy at Pisa and Padua after whom the Fallopian tube was named.
Specific epithet means of Baljuan, Turkistan, Central Asia.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for Japanese beetle and leaf miners.
Uses
Provides quick cover in sun or shade for trellises, fences, arbors, pergolas and walls. May also be sprawled over the ground as a ground cover to camouflage rock piles or old tree stumps or to provide soil stabilization for banks. Best to grow on structures or grounds that are not adjacent to areas where the invasive tendencies of this vine could become a problem.