Can Cissus discolor Grow Outdoors in Zone 9b?

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Cissus discolor is a tropical vine that typically grows in zone 10 or 11. It generally does not like to be below 50F. Would it survive outdoors, and how would it grow, in zone 9b? We get low temperatures typically just above freezing in Winter, and most of the time we are experiencing nighttime Winter temperatures above 40F. In zone 9b, is there any chance it will stay evergreen? Would it at least come back in Spring?

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UpperBayGardener (zone 7)

28 days ago

Hhhhmmmm. This seems like a fairly well known tropical plant, and the Bay Area is known for cutting edge horticulture, at least by US standards. I feel like, if these were easy to grow in 9b, they'd be all over the Bay Area adjacent areas like Sonoma County and San Jose.

But if you don't pay too much for it, there's no harm in trying. Unlike human offspring or even animals, it's not illegal to let plants die of mistreatment or neglect! The wiki article says it occurs up to 2000m, but there's a difference between 2000m in SW China or Nepal vs. Malaysia or the Philippines.

light freezes possible, zone 10

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunming

no frosts ever, zone 12!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Highlands

So then I checked the Chinese efloras site

http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242313210

It doesn't provide a lot of extra detail, so I go back to...if it could grow in 9b, people would grow it in 9b.

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Comments (8)

westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
Original Author
28 days ago
last modified: 28 days ago
@UpperBayGardener (zone 7) I suspect it would need some extraordinary care here, such as:

* insulating the sidewalls of a raised bed

* using a raised bed to prevent standing water around the roots, which would quickly lower in temperature to the air temperature

* thick mulch layer to slow the rate at which warmer air in the soil escapes
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
28 days ago
Unless provided a very unique and specific microclimate (none of which you have described), it simply won't survive winter in a zone 9b Bay area garden.
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
UpperBayGardener (zone 7)
24 days ago
last modified: 24 days ago
For kicks I asked this question of 'The Horticulturalists' on Youtube. I wouldn't exactly call Melbourne a milder climate than northern California (though some would...) but it's definitely more favorable for warm climate subtropical plants. The downtown is 10b - though the winters are roughly as cool as the Bay Area, a big difference is they are drier: Melbourne's modest rainfall peaks are in spring and fall. This could make a difference, especially for a plant from winter dry SE Asia. Zone 10 subtropical highland plants that need mild summers like Luculia easily grow in Melbourne, as they do in Berkeley. Having visited both of the RBGVsites, I'd say it looks as "tropical" as anything in the Bay Area, with maybe the exception of not quite having so many weird Mesoamerican cloud forest things like daisy trees.

Well even there, they consider it a houseplant! So based on that, I'd advise there's absolutely no hope of growing it anywhere in Northern California. This got me thinking about Southern California and I remembered San Marcos Grower's website is still up, for now, even though the nursery is sadly closing soon. Even they never grew it in the many decades they grew subtropical plants for the LA climate! Although they did produce a few other tender Cissus. So, sorry, definitely too much of a stretch for you.

https://www.smgrowers.com/search/basesearch.asp?strSearchText=cissus&x=0&y=0
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked UpperBayGardener (zone 7)
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
Original Author
23 days ago
@UpperBayGardener (zone 7) It's probably hopeless, but I will try adding a starter plant into a raised bed and let's see if it can even come back in the Spring.
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
Original Author
20 days ago
last modified: 20 days ago
Okay, I put a starter plant into a small raised bed. It may not come back in Spring, but let's find out.

One thing that confuses me about Cissus discolor: I saw someone replant one prior to its Spring bloom, and it was basically a group of tubers, like miniature potatoes. The roots and stems shoot out from those. Why would a tuber have problems surviving a zone 9b Winter?
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
20 days ago
Are you sure about the tubers? I had not heard of that and I couldn't find any references to or illustrations of tubers.

As to whether tubers would survive the winter, many tropical tubers cannot take cool or wet soil conditions. Just being a tuber doesn't make them invincible.
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
Original Author
20 days ago
@floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK Ah, my bad. The plant video I saw was for Dioscorea discolor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cnE6nG3lig

And I confirm that the tubers of that plant won't survive Winter moisture either.

So, bottom line, my Cissus is likely to die over the Winter, but it was a cheap experiment to learn a bit more about the plant.