My friend has a large plant in a pot outside. It has loads of small bright mauve blooms that look a bit like monkey flower, but the foliage has many small leaflets on a stem, and the flowers each have a thin stem about two inches long. The whole plant has an airy, dainty look to it. Beautiful.
The leaves you describe, with many leaflets on a stem, are known as "pinnate":
http://cite.nwmissouri.edu/nworc/files/Agriculture/LeafID_Type/LeafID4.html
Most flowers that look similar to monkey flower are in the plant order Lamiales. One of the few plant families in Lamiales with pinnate leaves is Bignoniaceae, so perhaps your friend has one of those plants. Here are some examples:
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/bignoni.htm
https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/bignonia-capreolata/
My vine is 3 years old, and it's the 1st year it's going to bloom BUT the buds form but the flower is not forming. the tube is there but it doesn't open, it just falls off. It doesn't look like I have a bug on it. Any suggestions to help it along.
Training to avoid crowding of stems will aid in the formation of flower shoots. Branches can be cut back in the spring to encourage flowering.
Best flowering is achieved in full sun.
Water regularly to occasionally when actively growing in the warmer months for best results .
Thrips can be the cause of flowers just dropping form a plant. They can be difficult to see in some cases.
You can use Neem Oil if you suspect that pests are the cause.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/pesticides/neem-oil-uses.htm
The bignonia plant is 30 years old. It climbs upon an arc, near to the neighbour's balcony.Every summer it had a lot of very beautiful orange trumpet-shaped flowers. Now something strange happened: many leaves have yellow or black spots, other leaves are totally damaged, some are normally green. What happened? Has someone used herbicide on the plant? Thank you.
This is the most common issue for this time of year. It is a fungal infection that can be cured with dolomitic lime and wettable sulfur. The old growth will not return to normal, but it will stop the spread and the new growth will be unaffected.
Plants are against a cement wall; are on a drip watering system; have done fabulously for 3-4 years now (including through our long hot summers). Toward the end of August, one developed many dead parts and from there it has spread to adjacent crossvine plants. There does not appear to be any bug issue.
It sounds like the soil may have contracted an infection. Fungal/bacterial infections can come out of nowhere, but are usually the result of staying too wet for too long.
From here, you will want to treat with a fungicide. This article will help: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/using-fungicides-in-garden.htm
You may, also, want to use a handful of DOLOMITIC LIME per plant, and a teaspoon of WETTABLE SULFUR per plant. Cast this into the soil, and it will work itself in with a few waterings. This will help to take out any remaining infection, as well as condition the soil.
This article will help you with Crossvine Care: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/crossvine/bignonia-crossvine-care.htm
Plant is on wrought iron fence--in a flower bed with in ground sprinkling system-gets light watering every other day- lots of foliage so no indication of too much or too little water
Are you by any chance pruning in the fall or late winter? If so, you may be cutting off the buds that formed on "old wood." I found some conflicting information on whether it blooms on old or new wood, but generally, spring flowering shrubs bloom on old wood so you might try only pruning in late spring.
Do you have it in a sunny location? Crossvine prefers sun to bloom well. It can tolerate part shade but blooming may diminish.
It also likes acidic, well-draining soil. You can cut back on the frequent watering and go instead to less frequent, but deep watering.
Check all these variables and see if the plant is getting what it needs. Here is more:
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/2009/may09/Crossvine.html
I live in Georgetown, Texas. Also I've heard that this plant blooms "on old wood," what does that mean? As then this article talked about pruning back after blooming which I failed to do. help
Crossvine only needs occasional pruning if it is getting out of bounds. It does bloom on "old wood" which means the flowers develop on the previous season's growth, usually the previous summer. So any pruning done in late summer or fall most likely will cut off the developing blooms. If you look closely at the vine, you will see the buds.
So don't worry about pruning the vines now, you will have another chance next spring after it blooms.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/crossvine/bignonia-crossvine-care.htm
I had a native beauty berry shrub that seemed healthy for several years and a crossvine on a nearby trellis started growing on it and it died
This might happen with aggressive overtaking, but this would have to had covered the plant and surrounded it, preventing it from light and moisture.Typically, with regular pruning, it will not overtake anything.
However, if it was REALLY nearby- it may have choked the roots out with its own.
Here is some more information on the crossvine:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/crossvine/bignonia-crossvine-care.htm