Bower Vine Pandorea jasminoides Pink Magic

Pink Magic is a twining evergreen climber that covers ground vertically and quickly. The flowers are the draw: large open trumpets in soft pink with a deep rose throat, carried in clusters against glossy dark pinnate leaves that stay clean through the year rather than going tatty by autumn. It is the standard answer in warmer parts of Australia when a paling fence, a carport wall or a pergola needs to disappear, without the weight, the timber damage and the eventual demolition work that comes with a mature wisteria.

It twines, so give it something to hold

Warmth is what it wants. Pandorea jasminoides comes from the east coast subtropics and performs best from Sydney and Perth northwards, and in sheltered coastal gardens further south; young plants are the frost sensitive part of the story, so in cold districts protect the first winter or two. Give it moderate water, free draining soil with compost worked through, and a position where the roots sit cool and shaded while the top of the plant gets sun, because flowering happens where the light is. Part shade to full sun both work, and growth is fast in warm weather. The failure mode is support. This is a twiner, not a clinger: it has no aerial roots and no adhesive pads, so a plant set against rendered brick, a flat paling fence or a plain wall will simply pile up at the base and never climb. Put wire, mesh, trellis or heavy gauge cable up first, spaced off the surface, and tie the leaders on until they find it themselves. Retrofitting support into an established tangle is a bad afternoon.

Vine or shrub for the same boundary

Nothing else in this batch climbs, so the comparison worth making is against the shrubs people consider for the same job. Callistemon Mauve Mist will screen the same fence line and brings birds with it, but it needs a garden bed with real width and takes several seasons to close the gaps. Pink Magic covers a boundary in a fraction of the ground space, which is the difference that matters in a side passage or a narrow courtyard. Pick the bottlebrush if you want a freestanding screen that stands on its own and never needs a frame; pick the vine if you already have a structure and no room to plant in front of it. More in the climbers range.

Keeping a fast climber inside its frame

Prune after the main flush of flowers, thinning the oldest and woodiest stems out from the base rather than shearing the surface, which only produces a dense outer shell and a hollow, leafless middle. A hard cut back is tolerated in spring once the weather has warmed. Feed in early spring with a complete fertiliser or well rotted manure at the base, then mulch to keep the root zone cool, and repeat lightly after flowering on sandy soils. Check the stems for scale and the sooty mould that follows it, particularly in still, shaded corners and behind growth held tight against a wall.

Choosing a size

This plant is available in 2 sizes, from 140mm up to 200mm, priced from $16.95 to $29.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to fast growing screening plants.