Climbing vines do one thing really well. They climb.
They take your fence, your pergola, or that sad-looking trellis corner and turn it into something alive. Vertical height. Privacy screens. Beauty, sure, but mostly height.
Some vines twist around wires like lovers in a bad play. Others stick with sticky pads, rootlets, or thorns. The difference matters. Pick the wrong one for the wrong wall, and you’ll be pulling it down for years. Or worse. It becomes a forest you can’t see through.
Here are 19 perennial vines that come back every year. Some are easy. Some are monsters. Know what you’re buying before it knows your fence.
Clematis (Clematis spp.)
There are about 300 species. Most climb. Gardeners usually chase the dramatic hybrids like ‘Jackmanii’ or the delicate ‘Nelly Moser’. Then there’s sweet autumn clematis, which is tough and everywhere.
Twining stems. Wire the plant to the trellis when it starts. Then let go. It figures it out. Most lose their leaves in winter. Only a few, like C. armandii, stay evergreen. Think about bare winter stems before you plant.
- Zones: 4–11
- Colors: White, pink, purple, red
- Size: 3–15 ft tall, up to 20 ft wide
- Needs: Sun to shade. Well-drained soil.
Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris )
It climbs because it wants to. Aerial rootlets stick to brick, wood, bark. Not plastic. Unlike some clingy invaders, it’s slow. You can control it. Actually, that’s good news.
It likes shade. If you give it full sun, the soil better be soaking wet or it will sulk. Flowers look like shrub hydrangeas. Dried blooms hang in winter. The bark peels nicely too. Winter interest. Rare for vines.
- Zones: 5–9
- Colors: White
- Size: 30–50 ft tall, 6 ft wide
- Needs: Shade. Rich, wet soil.
Chocolate Vine (Akebia quinata )
Blooms in April. Brown-purple flowers dangle like ornaments. They smell spicy. Strong. After flowers drop, the leaves stay pretty. Five leaflets grouped together. Semi-evergreen.
Check your local laws. It’s fast. Too fast in some places, which earned it an “invasive” label in certain regions. Don’t be that neighbor.
- Zones: 5–9
- Colors: Brown/purple, white flowers
- Size: 15–30 ft long
- Needs: Sun or shade. Sandy or loamy soil.
Hardy Kiwi (Actinidia arguta/kolomikta )
Not the supermarket fruit type, but a relative. Grown for the leaves mostly. Flowers are small but smell like lily of the valley.
A. kolomikta has white and pink on its leaves. A. arguta is less pushy but produces more fruit. Both twist around supports.
Supports must be sturdy. These aren’t weak plants. They get big.
- Zones: 3–9
- Colors: Green (with pink/white on kolomikta )
- Size: 25–30 ft tall
- Needs: Sun to shade. Medium moisture.
Purple Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata )
Also called Maypop. Semi-woody. Clings with tendrils, not roots. The flowers look weird. Alien, even. Complex rings and filaments. Exotic.
Cold climates? Keep it in a pot. Move it inside when winter hits.
- Zones: 5–9
- Colors: White, pink, red
- Size: 10–30 ft tall
- Needs: Rich soil. Sun or part shade.
Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans )
Native to the Southeast U.S. It climbs with aerial roots. Flowers are orange trumpets. Hummingbirds love them. So does your neighbor, who might hate it because it’s invasive everywhere.
Aggressive. Woody. Heavy. Your fence needs to be steel or stone, preferably. Prune it or it’ll take the roof off. Literally, in bad cases.
- Zones: 4–9
- Colors: Orange, red
- Size: 30–40 ft tall
- Needs: Full sun. Well-drained.
Climbing Roses (Rosa spp.)
These aren’t true vines. They’re large rose shrubs with long stems. ‘New Dawn’. ‘Don Juan’. You tie them up. Use soft cloth. Bend canes horizontally if you can; it tricks the plant into flowering more.
Don’t prune hard early on. Let it cover the wall. Only cut the broken stuff.
- Zones: 5–10
- Colors: Every color except blue
- Size: 6–12 ft tall
- Needs: Full sun. Rich soil.
Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoids )
Twining vine. Blooms late spring. Smells incredible. Like night-blooming jasmine but more reliable in spring. Leaves are glossy oval dark green. Good ground cover too, if you ignore the trellis.
Cool climates treat this as an annual or a houseplant. Bring it inside. Or start new seeds next year.
- Zones: 8–10
- Colors: White
- Size: 18–20 ft tall
- Needs: Sun to part shade. Loamy soil.
Mandevilla (Mandevilla spp.)
Tropical. Rocktrumpet. Huge pink or red flowers. Five petals. Glossy leaves. Fast grower. Needs water. Lots of it. If the soil dries, the plant crisps.
Does great in hanging baskets if you’re cold-climate lazy. Or ambitious.
- Zones: 10–11
- Colors: Pink, red, white
- Size: 3–10 ft tall
- Needs: Full sun. Constant moisture.
Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spp.)
Thorns. Watch your fingers.
Woody vine. Bright clusters. Actually those bright things are bracts. The real flower is tiny and white inside. Train it like a shrub or a vine.
Cold weather kills it. Bring it indoors or don’t grow it. Simple.
- Zones: 9–11
- Colors: Pink, purple, orange, white
- Size: 15–40 ft
- Needs: Full sun. Well-drained soil.
Moonflower (Ipomoea alba )
Night bloomer. White petals open after sunset. Close by morning. Smells sweet. Grows fast. Very fast. Can cover the ground or a trellis quickly.
Overwintering indoors is a headache. Many people just pull it in the fall and start new seeds. Easy. Cheap.
- Zones: 10–12
- Colors: White, purple
- Size: 10–15 ft
- Needs: Full sun. Wet soil.
Cape Honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis )
Vine or shrub? You choose. Vine is more vigorous. Tubular flowers. Orange. Sweet nectar. Hummingbirds will camp out here.
Pruning is simple. Cut dead stuff. Cut messy stuff. Done.
- Zones: 9–11
- Colors: Orange, red
- Size: 3–30 ft (depending on training)
- Needs: Sun. Average soil.
Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica )
Fragrant. Long blooming period. Vigorous. Invasive.
Check with your local extension office before planting. In many states, you can’t grow it anymore. If it’s legal, prune after flowering. It twines tightly.
- Zones: 4–9
- Colors: White, yellow
- Size: 15–50 ft
- Needs: Moist loamy soil. Sun/shade mix.
Black-Eyed Susan Vine (Thunbergia alata )
Flowers look like black-eyed Susans. Climbing version. Small vine. Great for baskets. If you’re zone 11+, let it roam. Otherwise, bring the pot inside.
Colors are fun. Yellow with black eyes. Some orange varieties too.
- Zones: 10–11
- Colors: Yellow, orange
- Size: 3–8 ft
- Needs: Sun. Rich soil.
Cup and Saucer Vine (Cobaea scandens )
Privacy screen, quick. Leaves are bright green, dense. Flowers look like little bells on a plate. “Cup and saucer”. Scented as they open.
Attach it early. It winds itself after that. Don’t overhelp it.
- Zones: 9–11
- Colors: Purple, white
- Size: 10–20 ft
- Needs: Full sun. Moist soil.
Bleeding Heart Vine (Clerodendrum thomasiae )
Evergreen twiner. Flowers have red bracts under white blooms. Looks like a bleeding heart shape. Showy.
Moist soil. Not soggy, just consistently damp. Feed it regularly. It eats fertilizer like candy.
- Zones: 10–12
- Colors: White/Red
- Size: 15 ft tall
- Needs: Part shade. Wet feet.
Snail Vine (Cochliasanthus spp.)
Also called Corkscrew. Blooms spiral around the stem. They actually look like snail shells. Pink and purple twists. Fast grower in frost-free zones.
Light pruning keeps it tidy. Needs a strong structure.
- Zones: 9–12
- Colors: Pink, purple, white
- Size: 12–30 ft
- Needs: Sun. Moist soil.
Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas)
Ornamental variety. Same family as the tubers you roast for dinner. Long trailing tendrils. Green leaves. Some cultivars have purple foliage, though the standard is medium green.
Spills over containers perfectly. Wind it around posts if you want. Prune lightly to keep it neat.
- Zones: 9–11
- Colors: Green foliage
- Size: 8–10 ft
- Needs: Full sun.
Snapdragon Vine (Maurandya scandens )
Not a true snapdragon. But the flowers are trumpets, purple, and open in summer. Hummingbirds again. They really like tubular shapes.
Thin posts only. Thin vines can’t grab thick beams. Ground cover, hanging baskets, or thin trellises.
- Zones: Not listed (often treated as tender annual in north)
- Colors: Purple, blue, white
- Size: 3–8 ft
- Needs: Well-drained soil.
The best vine isn’t the strongest one. It’s the one you have space for, patience to trim, and soil to match.
Measure your fence first.
Then plant.
