17 Well-Behaved Vines to Climb an Arbor or Trellis

There is no more welcoming sight than an arbor covered in a beautiful vine to invite one into the garden. It is the factor that changes an entry to the backyard into an invitation to enter some enchanted place filled with the magic of nature.

I may be guilty of asking my husband to build “just one more” structure to support a flowering vine, and for a pollinator enthusiast, these are some of the most valuable plants to draw in our winged garden helpers. But really, can you have too many structures to cover with plants? 

If, like me, you love those vertical elements in the garden, you are certainly not alone. Plants that climb can create privacy as well for the smaller space gardener. I’ve gathered 17 wonderful, well-behaved climbing vines here that can transform your garden into a warm and cozy space that beckons butterflies and human visitors alike. 

‘Peaches & Cream’ Honeysuckle

	botanical name Lonicera periclymenun ‘Peaches & Cream’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6’-10’
	hardiness zones 4-9

You can’t go wrong with Peaches & Cream honeysuckle as a low-maintenance vine with a major wow factor. This wonderfully hardy flowering vine has a long life span, returning reliably in the spring for 20 years or more. Climbing up to 10 feet, this one has excellent coverage but won’t get out of control. 

Pollinators adore the gorgeous purple, peach, and white flowers. These delightfully fragrant blooms deepen in color as they age, giving way to red and purple berries. These fruits will draw more wildlife in the way of birds to your garden. Put a water source nearby, and you’ve got a perfect start to a pollinator garden.

Carolina Jessamine

	botanical name Gelsemium sempervirens
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 15’-20’
	hardiness zones 6-9

Sweetly scented, sunshine-yellow flowers will cover cascading foliage wherever you grow this beautiful flowering vine.  Carolina jessamine, also called Carolina jasmine, is a wonderful, large, vining plant that flowers prolifically and isn’t picky about its surroundings. It can grow in full sun or partial shade, with full sun producing the lushest foliage and most profuse flowering. 

Older plants become quite drought-tolerant, sturdy, and even more tolerant once established. Carolina jessamine can tolerate hard pruning, so there are no worries about this plant overgrowing its space. If the plant gets too large or too leggy, simply cut it back to about three feet tall, and it will plump back up.

American Wisteria

	botanical name Wisteria frutescens
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 15’-30’
	hardiness zones 5-9

The Japanese species of wisteria can be invasive, but American wisteria is much more well-behaved, with wonderful fragrant clusters of lavender flowers. I love the smell of these flowers almost as much as bumblebees. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a wisteria vine without bumblebees during the day!

If you want to cover a tall structure with a wonderful vining plant, American wisteria will do the job with aplomb. Growing up to 30 feet tall, this plant can cover some serious space. It can also be contained easily by pruning it, which will keep it looking full and lush. 

‘Alexandra’ Bougainvillea 

	botanical name Bougainvillea Alexandra
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 8’-10’
	hardiness zones 10-11

Bougainvillea is a wonderful South American plant that produces flamboyant, colorful bracts surrounding its small white and yellow flowers. Often mistaken for being flowers themselves, these bracts are actually modified leaves with a papery texture. They are long-lasting and very sturdy. 

The Alexandra species is known for its knock-your-socks-off fuchsia and magenta bracts that form densely at the ends of its branches. This is a wonderful vining plant to grow over a trellis or train to espalier if you live in a tropical climate. It is easy to maintain and drought tolerant. 

‘Blue Angel’ Clematis

	botanical name Clematis ‘Blue Angel’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 10’-15’
	hardiness zones 4-9

‘Blue Angel’ is a large variety of clematis with delicate, soft blue flowers that are quite large. At four to six inches in diameter, these flowers are among the largest of the genus. No wonder this variety was given the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society!

Clematis is not fussy about location and has good salt tolerance. It prefers shade near the bottom of the plant and sun above, which it naturally creates for itself as it gets larger. Pollinators love the showy flowers. While well-behaved, it needs regular pruning to keep the vines from growing tangled.

Star Jasmine

	botanical name Trachelospermum jasminoides
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 2’-20’
	hardiness zones 8-10

This graceful species of jasmine is a reliably sturdy and moderate grower. The vines twine in a noticeable but not frustratingly tight fashion, and the foliage appears in shades of pink and red before deepening to green. The reddish-bronze tint intensifies in cold weather, making this a stunning autumn plant.

It begins to bloom in late spring and continues sporadically throughout the summer and into the fall. The flowers are white and famously fragrant. They release more of their perfume in the evening, so this is a wonderful plant to grow near an outdoor dining space. 

Trailing Nasturtium

	botanical name Tropaeolum majus
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 5’-6’
	hardiness zones 2-11

Trailing nasturtium is a great plant to work into your vegetable garden. For a wonderful vertical element that actually improves the flavor of some companion vegetables, this is the perfect plant. Another bonus is that all parts of the nasturtium plant are edible, including the flowers. 

These plants can grow up to 10 feet in a season and have attractive, parasol-shaped foliage. The brightly colored flowers stand out famously against the cool green background. As an annual, you don’t have to worry about it taking over. Nasturtiums are bold and lush in the garden and do double duty as an edible and ornamental plant.

‘Peggy Martin’ Rose

	botanical name Rosa ‘Peggy Martin’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 15’
	hardiness zones 4-9

If there is one plant on the list that I can’t say enough good things about, the ‘Peggy Martin’ rose takes the prize. Made famous for surviving two weeks under salt water after Hurricane Katrina, Peggy Martin is resilient in a pretty pink and green package. 

Roses can be high maintenance, but ‘Peggy’ is notoriously easy to grow. The long, slender vines seem to grow inches overnight, and clusters of beautiful, double-petal form flowers cover the plant in springtime and into the summer months. This plant likes full sun, but partial shade is fine as well. Fertilize ‘Peggy Martin’ well and watch her take off!

Purple Bell Vine

	botanical name Rhodochiton atrosanguineum
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 10’
	hardiness zones 10-12

Another winner of the Award of Garden Merit, the purple bell vine is a gorgeous flowering tropical vine that is native to Mexico and requires very little maintenance for the amount of interest it brings to the garden. It has bright green, heart-shaped leaves with red margins and veining to match its flowers.

The flowers are pendulous and shades of magenta and burgundy. They have long petal tubes that hang from fuchsia calyces. After pollination, these tubes drop off, and the sepals grow more colorful, holding on for several weeks. This is a great climber and can be grown annually in colder climates, as it is a vigorous grower. 

Black-eyed Susan Vine

	botanical name Thunbergia alata
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 3’-8’
	hardiness zones 10-12

Although unrelated to the black-eyed Susan of the Rudbeckia genus, this vine shares a similar aesthetic with its namesake. Large, single, yellow, and orange flowers have a deep purple throat. Some varieties also have peach, pink, cream, and pale yellow flowers, with some blooming in more than one color on the same plant. 

Black-eyed Susan vine thrives in full sun and will grow lush and dense under the right conditions. The individual vines are thin and twining with deep green, heart-shaped leaves. This is a long bloomer, beginning to produce flowers in the early summer and continuing to bloom into the fall. 

Climbing Hydrangea

	botanical name Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 30’-50’
	hardiness zones 4-8

If you love hydrangeas, you will run right out and grab one of these amazing vines. This vigorous climber has excellent cold tolerance and can reach heights of 30 feet and more under the right conditions. If you have a wall or fence you want to cover, this plant can do it. It also takes well to pruning and can be contained to grow nicely over an arbor. 

Climbing hydrangea is a deciduous vine and has an attractive reddish-brown exfoliating bark. Four seasons of interest are kicked off in the spring with bold green foliage and large, flat flowerheads resembling lacecap flowers. The Royal Horticultural Society thinks this one is special, as it is a recipient of the Award of Garden Merit. 

‘Royal Navy’ Sweet Pea

	botanical name Lathyrus odoratus ‘Royal Navy’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 8’
	hardiness zones 3-9

If you’re looking for a climbing vine to add to your cut flower garden, sweet pea plants are perfect for the task. ‘Royal Navy’ is a long-stemmed type with dramatic, royal blue flowers with a delightfully sweet fragrance. Growing up to eight feet tall, this plant is easy to contain and produces many flowers.

It is best to cut the flowers before they go to seed, as sweet peas have been known to reseed aggressively. Don’t be surprised if you see a plant spring up across the yard, as they tend to travel. However, they’re easy to pull and only last one season. Pollinators love them for their abundance of nectar.

Coral Vine

	botanical name Antigonon leptopus
	sun requirements Full sun
	height up to 40’
	hardiness zones 8-11

Coral vine is a great climber that attracts an amazing number of pollinators and looks great while doing it. If you want to bring the bees to your yard, this is a great little plant to make some space for. Fortunately, it doesn’t have a large footprint and doesn’t travel far, so while it will grow quite large, it dies back in the winter and doesn’t spread aggressively. 

The vines are thin and twining, with light green foliage and clusters of coral-colored flowers. As a perennial in warmer climates, the vines can reach up to 40 feet long. However, even as an annual in cooler climates, this vine will easily grow to 10 feet long in a season. 

‘Sky Blue’ Snapdragon Vine

	botanical name Asarina scandens ‘Sky Blue’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 10’
	hardiness zones 9-10

This vine borrows its name from another popular flower, although it is not closely related to snapdragons. The flowers, however, strongly resemble their namesake. Its trumpet-shaped flowers are very popular with hummingbirds and long-tongued bees. 

Snapdragon vine is a slow starter from seed, but once it takes off, it can cover a trellis in a few short months. ‘Sky Blue’ has beautiful periwinkle-colored blooms and deep green foliage. These vines work well in containers, as well. 

Firecracker Vine

	botanical name Ipomoea lobata or Mina lobata
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 16’
	hardiness zones 9-11

The firecracker vine is related to morning glory and other strong growers in the Ipomoea genus. It is typically grown as an annual and grows quickly in full sun and warm temperatures. Another winner of the RBS Award of Garden Merit, it has tri-lobed leaves and racemes of gorgeously bright flowers in warm shades. 

This heat-loving plant grows as a perennial in warmer climates. Don’t shy away from planting it in the sunniest spot in the garden. It will thrive here. Keep it well-watered and occasionally thin out the vines to maintain proper airflow. Firecracker vine prefers sandy or loamy soil and won’t perform as well in clay-heavy soil types. 

Scyphanthus elegans

	botanical name Scyphanthus elegans
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 8’
	hardiness zones 8-11

This flowering vine is a fast grower that will quickly cover your trellis or arbor with frilly foliage and fascinating flowers. This long-blooming plant can produce flowers for three to four months in the summer and is an excellent climber, attaching to any structure in its path. 

The flowers are visually complex, with semi-tubular petals that flare and flatten out at the outer edge. Yellow petals surround a white throat, and fun floating red structures decorate the center of the flower. The name is difficult, but the plant is easygoing and vigorous. 

Chilean Glory Flower

	botanical name Eccremocarpus scaber
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 10’-15’
	hardiness zones 8-11

The Chilean glory flower is a warm-weather plant with surprisingly good cold tolerance. While most tropical vines are frost tender, this vine can survive winters in zone 8, where frost is common and even the occasional hard freeze can occur. The plant will look its best when grown in full sun but can tolerate partial shade. 

When grown in cooler climates as an annual, cuttings can be taken in the fall and rooted indoors to be planted again in the spring. The evergreen vine has racemes of tubular red and orange flowers that are very popular with hummingbirds. The vines grow up to 15 feet long, and the foliage is dense and attractive.