How to Grow Coral Vine: Growing Queen’s Wreath

When coral vine is in bloom, it’s hard not to notice. The pink flowers are beautiful, the bees love it, and for a vine that looks this soft and romantic, it handles heat much better than you’d expect.

The first time I saw coral vine growing at the Master Gardener demonstration garden, I didn’t believe something that pretty could grow so well here. It was full, covered in blooms, and thriving in the heat. When they told me you cut it back hard, and it comes back again, I didn’t believe that either. But it does.

The pink flower clusters with curling tendrils of coral vine are also impressive in floral arrangements. Coral vine is definitely a crowd- and bee-pleaser. 

What Is Coral Vine?

Coral vine, also called queen’s wreath, Mexican creeper, and chain of love, is a fast-growing flowering vine with heart-shaped leaves, twining tendrils, and clusters of pink flowers. It has a soft, airy look, but don’t let that fool you. This is a vigorous vine that can handle a lot more heat than it looks like it should.

It looks delicate, but it’s tough. It grows quickly, spreads well, and blooms when many other plants look tired.

Bees especially love coral vine. Coral vine adds color, movement, and life to the garden. If you’re trying to make your garden more pollinator-friendly, this is a vine worth considering. Discover more about creating a pollinator-friendly garden in my post, “Perennials for Pollinators in Your Desert Garden”.

Is Coral Vine Invasive?

This is one of the first questions people should ask before planting coral vine, because the answer depends a lot on where you live. This website has information to help you determine if coral vine is considered invasive in your area. If it is invasive where you live, do not plant it. 

In some climates, especially humid, frost-free areas, coral vine can be invasive. It spreads aggressively and can become a problem. Here in the low desert of Arizona, that has not been my experience. It grows fast, but it has not behaved like an invasive plant in my yard.

If you’re deciding where coral vine fits in your yard, this Arizona vine planting guide will help you compare it with other low desert vines.

Where to Plant Coral Vine

Coral vine does best in full sun, and it also tolerates partial shade. In Arizona, it’s one of the better choices if you want a vine for a hot area of the yard. If you give it a place to climb and enough room to grow, it can be a really beautiful addition.

This is a good vine for a trellis, arbor, fence, or other support. It’s especially nice in a spot where you want quick coverage, summer and fall blooms, and pollinator activity. It can also work near a pergola or along a wall where you want to soften the structure.

I would not plant coral vine in a tiny spot where you want something neat and controlled. That’s not really what this plant does best. It wants to grow. If you give it the right place, that’s part of the charm.

How to Grow Coral Vine

Plant coral vine after the danger of frost has passed. For most home gardeners, starting with a plant from the nursery is easiest.

Coral vine is not especially picky about soil, which is one of the reasons it does so well here. The soil must drain well, but poor soil is fine. Adding mulch will help conserve moisture and improve pool soil over time.

Once established, coral vine is fairly drought-tolerant. It still looks better and blooms better with regular deep watering during hot weather. Give it support from the beginning and start guiding it where you want it to go early on. I’ve grown it over an arbor and on a wall-mounted trellis. The tendrils will find their way to the trellis and climb on their own.

If you like fast-growing vines with beautiful flowers, purple hyacinth bean vine is another one worth considering.

How Fast Coral Vine Grows

Coral vine grows fast. That’s one of the reasons people love it, and one of the reasons people need to think before planting it.

If you want a vine that quickly covers a trellis or fills in a space, coral vine can absolutely do that. If you want something slower and more restrained, this is probably not the vine I would choose.

I had a couple growing, took one out, and missed it enough that I replanted it. Looking for more easy-to-grow vines? Here are 10 beautiful vines that grow from seed.

When Coral Vine Blooms

In Arizona, coral vine usually begins blooming in late summer and continues through fall until frost.

Just when a lot of the garden is looking tired, coral vine starts putting on a show. The bees love it, and so do I.

Does Coral Vine Come Back Every Year?

Yes. Coral vine comes back each year from underground roots.

Cold weather and frost will usually kill back the top growth, but that does not mean the plant is gone. When the weather warms up again, new growth emerges from below the soil.

How to Prune Coral Vine

During the growing season, cut it back as needed to keep it where you want it. If it’s heading into another plant, climbing somewhere you don’t want it, or getting too wild, trim it back.

After frost or in early spring, cut back the browned or damaged top growth to within a foot or so. Then let it start fresh. It comes back quickly once the weather warms. If you’ve never cut it back hard before, it can feel like a lot, but it really does recover well.

Is Coral Vine Right for Your Yard?

Coral vine is a good choice if you want a fast-growing flowering vine for full sun or partial shade, especially if you garden in a hot, dry climate. It’s a good fit for gardeners who want lots of blooms, quick coverage, and pollinator activity.

It may not be the right choice if you need something small in a very tight space. And if you live in a climate where it’s invasive, I would skip it.

Coral vine is still one of those plants that feels a little surprising every time I see it blooming. Full sun, lots of flowers, bees everywhere, and very little fuss once it’s established. That’s hard to beat.