Garlic Vine Plant
Mansoa Alliacea
Garlic Vine can either be described as a shrub or a vine since it produces numerous woody vines from the root that grow only 2m to 3m tall and form a shrub-like appearance. It produces bright green leaves up to 15 cm long. Its compact habitat and pretty continuous flowers make it a popular ornamental plant in gardens in the tropics.
Mansoa Alliacea will grow in virtually any kind of soil in full sun to half shade conditions. Use well-drained soils with moderate watering. Flowering twice a year you will find it quite often covered with flowers. Flowers start off purple with white throat and change to a lighter shade of lavender with age. Eventually fading to almost white. You will see 3 different color of flowers at the same time on the plant. Now the plant tends to shed leaves and go into dormancy during winter. So pruning the old and dead branches will add that energy back into the plant. It can be grown in containers and should be trimmed after the flowers are gone.
It is native to Northern South America, and has spread to Central America and Brazil. Among the mestizos of the Amazon rainforest it is known as Ajo Sacha, a Spanish-Quechua name that means “Forest Garlic” or “Wild Garlic”.
