While pergolas, fences, and trellises all make wonderful additions to a landscape, they look even better when adorned with climbing plants and flowering vines. However, choosing the right variety is crucial, as not every vertical-growing plant suits every structure—some may be too vigorous and could damage your fence, while others might be too heavy for a standalone trellis.
Gardening experts share their favorite climbing and flowering vines, along with tips for growing and caring for them.
Black-Eyed Susan Vine
The fast-growing annual Thunbergia alata is perennial in Zones 10 to 11 but works well as an annual in cooler climates. “You can purchase these annual vines at a reasonable price, and within a month, they’ll be blooming,” says Lyon. “And because they are tropical, they grow very quickly.” He prefers them in hanging pots, where they cascade down to the ground, creating beautiful gazebo curtains. They come in a variety of colors, including white, yellow, orange, and pink.
- Zones: 10 to 11 (grown as an annual elsewhere)
- Size: 3 to 8 feet tall x 3 to 6 feet wide
- Growing conditions: full sun to part shade; rich, well-draining soil
- Growing location: hanging pots, arbors, trellises
Boston Ivy ‘Fenway Park’
Named after the famous baseball stadium where it was discovered, Boston Ivy ‘Fenway Park’ (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) grows on outfield walls in its namesake ballpark, as well as at Chicago’s Wrigley Field and on brick buildings throughout the Ivy League colleges. With its adhesive grips, ‘Fenway Park’ adheres to brick without penetrating the mortar. While it requires trimming to stay in bounds, it’s much easier to manage than English ivy, according to Lyon. In fall, it turns stunning shades of red, orange, and gold, especially with regular sun exposure.
- Zones: 4 to 9 (plant on east or north walls in Zones 8 and 9)
- Size: 30 to 50 feet tall x 5 to 10 feet wide
- Growing conditions: full sun to partial shade, but tolerates full shade; prefers moist, loamy soil but can grow in a variety of soils
- Growing location: Train this woody vine up a brick wall, across a fence, over a pergola, or on a sturdy trellis
Bougainvillea
This hardy plant produces vibrant bracts (flower-like foliar structures) in red, pink, purple, and yellow. “This evergreen vine bursts into bloom with colorful, paper-like bracts in hot, eye-catching colors,” says Justin Hancock, a horticulturist with Costa Farms. “It’s also remarkably heat- and drought-tolerant.”
- Zones: 9 to 11
- Size: 15 to 40 feet tall x 15 to 40 feet wide
- Growing conditions: full sun; acidic, well-draining soils
- Growing location: A pergola in a sunny spot provides the all-day light it thrives on
Carrion Flower
A non-woody native vine, Smilax herbacea is not for everyone due to its very odorous flowers. However, if you have a wooded area away from your home and want to support pollinators and birds, it’s worth considering. “Songbirds love the fruit,” says Lyon, and its attractive blue-black berries are a good food source for grouse and turkeys (plant both male and female vines to facilitate fruit production). Its flowers also attract bees, butterflies, and carrion flies, which are beneficial insects.
- Zones: 4 to 8
- Size: 3 to 10 feet tall; leaves are 2 to 3 inches wide
- Growing conditions: full sun to shade; almost any moist soil
- Growing location: Plant along a fence or allow it to climb tree trunks in a wooded area
Clematis
Chances are, there’s a clematis variety that will thrive in your area. “As long as it has sunny tops and you keep the roots moist, it will grow almost anywhere in the country,” says Lyon. Additionally, by combining different varieties of this flowering vine (classified into three divisions based on blooming times and characteristics), you can enjoy blooms throughout the season.
- Zones: 3 to 9
- Size: 3 to 20 feet tall, depending on the variety
- Growing conditions: full sun; loamy, well-draining soil
- Growing location: Suitable for any structure, including arbors, trellises, fences, and pergolas
Common Grape
A favorite in English gardens, the twining Vitis vinifera ‘Purpurea’ features beautiful, deeply lobed leaves that start green in spring and transition to deep burgundy in summer, eventually turning crimson in fall. Its delicious fruit is a deep concord purple-blue, which complements the purple foliage nicely. “People often think grape vines need a lot of maintenance to produce fruit, but this one doesn’t need any pruning at all. You can just let it grow freely,” says Lyon. Consider planting it along a porch to create an edible curtain.
- Zones: 4 to 8
- Size: 15 to 20 feet tall x 6 to 10 feet wide
- Growing conditions: full sun to part shade with good air circulation; any well-draining soil
- Growing location: Plant along a split-rail fence or any sturdy arbor, pergola, or trellis
English (David Austin) Rose ‘Carding Mill’
The English shrub rose ‘Carding Mill’ features strong, spicy, myrrh-scented flowers. Though it won’t climb an arbor, it spreads beautifully along a fence, according to Shannon McEnerney from Midwest Groundcovers. The double, peachy orange blooms mature to a soft apricot-pink and begin in late May or early June, reblooming in late summer and continuing through fall, even in colder zones.
- Zones: 5 to 11
- Size: 4 feet tall x 3.5 feet wide
- Growing conditions: full sun; all soil types
- Growing location: Plant along a fence or as a visual anchor along the back of a garden
Honeysuckle ‘Kintzley’s Ghost’
Native to North America, Lonicera reticulata has striking silver dollar-sized bracts in a ghostly, silver-blue. Lyon trained one onto a small, now-dead tree in his yard with impressive results. “We often quickly remove things like that, but they can still be repurposed,” he says. Unlike some honeysuckles, ‘Kintzley’s Ghost’ doesn’t send out underground shoots, making it easy to manage and prune.
- Zones: 4 to 8
- Size: 8 to 12 feet tall x 3 to 5 feet wide
- Growing conditions: full sun to part shade; rich, well-draining soil
- Growing location: Plant this woody vine near a sturdy arbor, pergola, or trellis
Mandevilla
This flowering vine blooms continuously from late spring to fall, producing large, trumpet-shaped flowers in pink, white, and red. “The flowers attract pollinators like bees and hummingbirds, providing both beauty and habitat,” says Hancock. As a tropical plant, it won’t survive winter frost, making it ideal for planters and spaces where you don’t have room for a large perennial vine.
- Zones: 5 to 11
- Size: 3 to 8 feet tall x up to 20 feet wide
- Growing conditions: sun; rich, sandy, well-draining soil
- Growing location: Works well on a trellis
Passionflower
The exotic Passiflora spp. is easy to care for and grows quickly, making it popular as an annual in northern climates. “There are many varieties, so you can get flowers in almost every color—and many are fragrant,” says Hancock. “Some varieties even produce edible fruit.”
- Zones: 6 to 10
- Size: 10 to 30 feet tall x 3 to 6 feet wide
- Growing conditions: sun (with afternoon shade in very hot regions); rich, well-draining soil
- Growing location: Can be grown on a trellis or fence with protection from strong winds
Variegated Kiwi Vine
A mid-sized vine with beautiful green, pink, and white variegation, Actinidia kolomikta works well on various structures. True to its name, it produces edible fruit if you have both male and female plants. “The fruit is smaller and rounder than tropical kiwis, with a slightly more floral taste, but still quite tasty,” Lyon says. If you prefer the showy appearance without fruit, choose a male plant for more variegation. Both male and female vines also act as pollinators.
- Zones: 4 to 8
- Size: 15 to 20 feet tall x 6 to 10 feet wide
- Growing conditions: full sun to part shade; rich, well-draining soil
- Growing location: Can be grown on any reasonably strong arbor, pergola, or trellis
Virginia Creeper ‘Star Sparkler’
Native to the Eastern United States, the easy-care Parthenocissus quinquefolia adapts to both sun and shade. Its flowers are not particularly showy, but its beautiful variegated foliage is quite striking. “It will definitely catch people’s attention in your yard,” says Lyon, who grows one that “gets all kinds of comments” on an arbor over a gate. Its adhesive grips also allow ‘Star Sparkler’ to adhere to brick without penetrating the mortar.
- Zones: 4 to 8
- Size: 15 to 20 feet tall x 15 to 20 feet wide
- Growing conditions: full sun to partial shade; moist, well-draining soil
- Growing location: Train this woody vine up a wall, along a brick house, or across a sturdy arbor or pergola
Wisteria, Summer Cascade “Betty Matthews”
The cold-hardy Wisteria macrostachya ‘Betty Matthews’ produces an abundance of blooms on long, cascading racemes adorned with dark lavender flowers that gradually lighten to a lovely pale lavender. This flowering vine may take a season or two to establish, but once it does, it grows quickly and vigorously, according to McEnerney.
- Zones: 4 to 8
- Size: 15 to 20 feet tall x 15 to 20 feet wide
- Growing conditions: full sun to partial shade; moist, well-draining soil
- Growing location: Ideal for planting along an arbor, pergola, or other sturdy structure
