Vining Plants

Whether you want an ugly fence covered or adding a focal point using vining plants.

My favorite vine for quickly covering a large fence is hops. It is a green vine without noticeable flowers, however, having cute papery hops. A perennial vine that dies back in the winter. There is a golden hops vine which has golden-green color.

Honeysuckle vine is a hardy plant coming in pink, red, and yellow flower colors. A favorite of hummingbirds. A perennial vine that does not require much water or good soils.

Clematis vines are the most popular vine. A perennial vine with varieties having almost any flower color you can imagine plus bi-colors. The rule of thumb is to keep the roots cool (shaded) and the tops in full sun although they do grow in the morning sun. You all have seen the old purple-flowered Jackman’s clematis.

Trumpet vine is a robust perennial plant with large orange or red trumpet-shaped flowers. The hardy vine grows up to 25 feet.

Bittersweet vine a woody perennial with orange-yellow fruit splitting revealing red berries. Growing up to 20 feet tall twining around its support.

Boston ivy is the vine that grows on brick walls. The leaves turn red in the fall. There is the English ivy which can damage walls. Prefers some shade.

The quick-growing perennial vine, the kiwi which should not be confused with the kiwi fruit you see in grocery stores. This vine produces grape-sized fruit with a male and female vine. It is for the tricolored foliage (green, red, and white) that you grow this vine. You can train this plant into a small tree.

Now for climbing roses and I am no expert. I got rid of most of my roses (actually the winters did it for me). In older books, they say to dig a trench and tip the plant in the trench and bury it, no way am I going to go to that back-breaking work. I remember my grandmother had roses growing up on the side of her home on Polk Street, so you can grow them. Just make sure you get hardy varieties and do not prune them in the fall as they bloom on old wood.

Lastly with the perennial vines is the Virginia Creeper or woodbine creeper. A very fast-growing vine for out of the way area growing up to 20 feet. It is invasive, so be ready to hack it back. Grows in sun or shade. The best part of the plant is the red to purple fall foliage.

Do not forget about the annual vines like morning glories, moon vine, sweet peas, Passion vine.