One fine vine

How it got its name is a mystery, but this climber's good points are crystal clear.

JACKSON VINE

At a Glance

Size: 8 to 15 feet

Growth rate: moderate to fast

Light: sun or light shade

Soil: fertile, well-drained, tolerates drought

Pests: none serious

Range: Middle, Lower, Coastal South

Is it named for Stonewall Jackson? Kate Jackson? Jackson Pollock? Nobody seems to know. But when it comes to why people adorn their homes with Jackson vine (Smilax smallii), there's no mystery, It's pretty, evergreen, and easy to grow.

Look closely as you drive through older neighborhoods in Birmingham, Atlanta, and other Southern cities, and you'll start seeing Jackson vine all over the place. People commonly use it to frame porches, doorways, and bay windows. If you have it at your house, chances are you inherited it from previous owners. It's hard to find at local nurseries because it grows from an enormous tuber that is usually dug from the wild in late winter and potted. But seedlings do sprout around an established vine, so you can also obtain it that way. (For a mail-order source, turn to page 163.)

This native climber can look a little scary when it first emerges from the ground in spring. A stiff, snakelike stem ascends to a height of 3 feet or more before finally unfurling its leaves. Sharp thorns arm the base of the stem, but the remainder of the stem is thornless. Training it over a doorway or along the front of a porch is easy. Just run a sturdy wire where you want the vine to go. It'll use twining tendrils to attach itself. New stems will cling to older ones. Prune off any stray growth, or weave it back into the rest of the greenery.

Its lance-shaped leaves, 4 to 6 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide, are deep green and glossy. Cut branches last a long time indoors and out, making them favorite holiday decorations.

Clusters of blackish-blue or gray berries, which ripen in fall and last through winter, are magnets for birds. Pinkie Chace of Mountain Brook, Alabama, notes that nesting birds seem irresistibly drawn to the thick foliage and tasty berries on the vine growing above her porch. "I've had a mockingbird nest and a robin nest, and the purple finches just love it," she says. "They've made as many as three or four nests in a season." Sometimes when she walks out on the porch, the whole side of the house starts flapping.

While the usefulness of this vine is undeniable, one burning question still remains. Who the heck was Jackson vine named for? Janet Jackson? Bo Jackson? Inquiring minds want to know. STEVE BENDER

where to find it

ONE FINE VINE

Page 66: Jackson vine can be ordered from Woodlanders, Inc., 1128 Colleton Avenue, Aiken, SC 29801, (803) 648-7522.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Dec 2002
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