We hope to clear up any confusion by explicitly comparing and contrasting these two beautiful fragrant flowering vines.
A Comparison of Snail Vine vs Corkscrew Vine
The Key Differences Between Snail Vine and Corkscrew Vine
The main differences between Snail Vine and Corkscrew Vine are flower color and fragrance. They also belong to different scientific classifications. These two vining plants are more similar than they are different. They were both brought to Portugal from Brazil in the late 17th century. They are both highly fragrant and attract bees, ants, and butterflies, which help with pollination. They have a prolific and rapid growth pattern, rooting anywhere they touch the ground. If you live in a tropical climate, you can keep them outside all year, and they will naturally spread and remain evergreen. If you live anywhere that experiences winter frost, you can keep the plants overwinter in a greenhouse or solarium. Let us discuss the differences in more detail below.
Snail Vine vs Corkscrew Vine: Scent
The corkscrew vine has a scent you can appreciate up to 15 feet away. You could describe it as having a similar scent to Chinese Wisteria, and sometimes it is compared to the sweetness of jasmine and magnolia. It is highly fragrant and is a favorite of ants, who love the sweet nectar in the summer. The snail vine is also fragrant, but less so than the corkscrew vine. You could describe the scent as similar to hyacinth. Bees and butterflies love the snail vine, which makes it a valuable addition to any pergola or planter pot near your patio. Ants heavily pollinate both plants. Without ants, the plant will never form seeds. The seeds grow in long pods similar in appearance to a green bean.
Snail Vine vs Corkscrew Vine: Flower Color and Shape
Another significant difference between the two vines is the flower color. The corkscrew vine has white flowers with small purple streaks that fade to cream as they age. The flowers form in clusters that reach 12″ long and look like white wisteria blooms when falling through a pergola or archway. The flowers are incredibly wavy, and immature blossoms resemble multicolored spirals or corkscrews. The snail vine has a pale purple flower, and the young buds are green or yellow. The flowers have a crescent shape and closely resemble a snail shell. The flowers grow alone or in small groups but do not form large clusters like the corkscrew vine.
Snail Vine vs Corkscrew Vine: Growing Requirements
The snail vine and corkscrew vine have the same growing requirements. They have been grown side by side and are hard to tell apart. They both enjoy a frost-free environment against a sunny wall. Snail vine and corkscrew vine are both fast growers and can grow up to 20 feet tall in a single summer. Any part of the plant that touches the ground will form roots, making them excellent ground cover plants in tropical climates. People love to train them to teepees, cages, pergolas, and archways. It is wise to plant them somewhere that you can enjoy their fragrant blooms, which last until mid-fall. They can withstand winter temperatures of 35 degrees Fahrenheit. They like a lot of heat and humidity in the summer and do great inside a greenhouse. If you have colder winter temperatures, you can plant them in a large pot and take them inside during the winter. Alternatively, they can be grown as a summer annual and replanted fresh in the spring. Both vines require wet feet and like soil that is constantly as damp as a squeezed-out sponge.
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