If you are short of space to raise a full-fledged garden, then try raising climbers. The Mexican creeper, also known as icecream creeper, is a great idea, suggests Rashmi Shrinivas
The hustle and bustle of City life often means a garden lover finds it difficult to raise a private garden. Also, escalating cost of land and scarcity of water are other constraints for garden enthusiasts in metropolitan cities like Bangalore.
In such a situation, creepers are a perfect choice, because they occupy very little ground space and can be grown vertically. Perennial climbers are the best, because they persist for years!
Icecream creeper is one such fast growing, profusely flowering, evergreen creeper that does not need any maintenance. Though it was considered a weed in coastal regions until recently, it is slowly gaining popularity among urban and rural garden enthusiasts alike. It is also known as coral vine, Honolulu creeper and Mexican creeper. Though originally from Mexico, it grows everywhere in India, especially in coastal areas.
This creeper has heart-shaped medium -sized leaves tapering at the tip. Probably the heart shaped leaves and the delicate flowers gave it its Mexican name, which means 'chain of love'. This grows very fast with the help of tendrils and can reach a height of about 40 feet. As the name suggests, the stem is zigzag. If grown along the compound between adjacent houses, it acts as a virtual curtain because of its rich foliage, thus providing privacy.
To grow this creeper, well-drained soil is preferred. Two varieties are commonly seen in India. One bears pleasant pink coloured flowers and other bears white coloured flowers, though numerous shades of pink are also seen, perhaps because of cross-pollination. Though the flowers by themselves are tiny, large sepals, also of the colour of its petals, give them a spectacular look.
Pest & drought-resistant
This climber is relatively pest-resistant disease-free and also drought- resistant. It has numerous sausage-like edible tubers underground, where food is stored. If proper sunlight is provided, it thrives very well and produces numerous beautiful flowers, attracting honey bees. Even without too much attention, it flowers profusely. Incidentally, my plant was confined to a plastic container on my terrace, because my previous residence had limited garden space. Though it was old enough and had thick foliage, it did not flower!
When I moved the plant to my present residence which has comparatively more gardening space, I intended to transplant it to the ground along with other such plants like thunbergia erecta, geranium, gerbara, hibiscus and roses. The creeper was too old to be transplanted. But I drew inspiration from a news report that authorities had successfully transplanted big trees in Bangalore while building the prestigious Metro station and flyovers in the recent past.
Thriving climber
I watered the plant well and when the soil in the container was wet enough, I slowly tried to separate the creeper from the container without hurting the roots.
The whole mass formed by its numerous roots and tubers and the soil together, came out intact along with the creeper! I have two small patches of lawn in my compound, one on either side of the main door. I chose to plant it at the front corner of my right lawn where its two sides bordered with rhoea and syngonium respectively, meet each other. I could not allocate more space to this creeper though I was apprehensive about its survival. Yet, it thrived, occupying the small roof near the gate of my house. It has started flowering from March and even after six months, it continues to flower!
It is an ideal creeper to cover a fence, compound, pillar, small roof, etc. Recently, when I happened to visit my native town in the Western Ghats, I noticed this creeper used as false roof for their parking lot by a lodge!
From my room on the first floor, it looked like a green carpet with intricate baby pink floral designs on it. A real visual treat!
A neighbouring house had this creeper spread on the fence giving the house a beautiful look! It is grown in campuses, resorts, and new apartments as well. It is heartening to note that at last this creeper is getting its long overdue popularity and the status of an ornamental creeper!
Tender leaves have reddish tinge while they change into light green as they grow. Tender stems are green in colour, while the mature stem is dark brown in colour. Though mature stems are sturdy, young stems are delicate and any little pressure applied, would result in wilting and consequently dying off the branch. So, advance planning of its growth is advisable. Seeds are of the size of groundnuts. This creeper can be propagated by cuttings of mature stem or by seeds.
While buying seeds, caution is needed because seeds of wild creepers, especially of ipomoeas, are often sold in the place of these seeds. Though only a few out of a handful of seeds sprout and grow into creepers, once established, they never die. It is probably for this reason that in some parts of Australia, it is tagged as an 'invasive species' and even banned!
However, here in India, it is becoming a popular ornamental creeper.