Tangerine beauty cross vine flowers, Bignonia capreolata, bloom at the Campbell Avenue Extension Gardens. Photo by Greg Bryan/Arizona Daily StarΒ 

Q: I have a wrought iron view fence that gets full sun. I’d like to cover the iron slats with a flowering vine, but I don’t want a lot of litter from whatever I plant there. What would you suggest?

A:Β Tangerine beauty crossvine is one beautiful possibility that is reportedly low in litter. One vine we definitely would not plant is cat’s claw. We get many, many calls from homeowners who want to get rid of it and are very frustrated. Once you plant cat’s claw, you may have it forever. We had cat’s claw at our house, in fact, and I wanted to remove it because it kept us from checking for termites on our wall. It took years and years before we were rid of it. We kept tearing it out and tearing it out until it finally croaked.

For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert for 25 years, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program, heard locally from 8-11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) in Tucson and KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley. Call 888-767-4348.


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