This plant used to blossom and sprawl in our border garden … until we found it was terribly invasive. After only one year, the vine hardened around our fences and we had to saw the branches off, the tap roots were equally hard to eradicate. We are still trying to root out little bits that keep popping up from the earth. Nowhere have we ever seen any warnings by the nurseries or gardening books that this is an invasive plant. This is an Australian native plant also known as False Sarsaparilla, or Purple Coral Pea. There are three species in Australia, growing in areas from Queensland to Tasmania.
The Hardenbergia genus is a member of the pea flower subfamily of the legume family and was named after Franziska Countess von Hardenberg.
The most popular form grown in gardens is Hardenbergia violacea ‘Happy Wanderer’ but we grow the pale pink form called Hardenbergia ‘Rosea’ .
Hardenbergia likes a sunny or semi shaded position. It flowers better in full sun and it needs well drained soil and preferably likes a frost free site, although it tolerates some frost. Like many evergreen climbers, it has a tendency to run up a wall or fence and ball at the top and be leggy below. But for compact growth and an even fence coverage prune regularly after flowering.
NATURE IN JAPAN 