This article concerns the group of plants that climb or vine, either with support or without, a diverse group of plants that fulfill vertical, horizontal or ground cover requirements. They include varieties that produce large, colorful blooms, often with fragrance, and other varieties that are grown for their edible fruit. The plant world is divided into groups of plants that have precise growth habits. Vines are in the climbing/rambling group, but they are adaptable. Some vines left unsupported will scramble up and over shrubs, both deciduous and evergreen, or up trees, down embankments, even provide erosion control. The possibilities are many, only limited to the imagination of the landscape designer. Don’t worry what Mr. Brown who lives down the street thinks of your garden – it is your own creation, and you can change it at any time. It is winter, time to take a look at your garden and think spring. It’s only a couple months away.
Below is a list of shrubs for you to consider for your garden. It purposefully does not include the well-known standbys, grapevines, or the Rose family (the climbing or rambling varieties of rose do not have to be supported, as they grow and flower scrambling along the ground just as well).
Actinida delliciosa or Kiwi fruit Size – 25 to 30 feet high Foliage – Dark green, 1 1/2 to 3 inches long Grown on fences, pergolas, arbors, etc. – needs support. Flowers – creamy-white, fragrant. Flowers April to May. Fruit – 1 to 2 inches long, hairy, brownish-green, edible. Dioecious plant (requires separate male and female plants to produce fruit). Ampelopsis brevipenduculata or Porcelain vine Size – 10 to 25 feet high Foliage – green in summer, no appreciable fall color Grown on arbors, trellis, fences. Flowers are inconsequential. Fruit (inedible) is a berry, ¼ to 1/3 inches in diameter, which begins yellow to pale lilac and ripens amethyst purple to bright blue in color. Adaptable to many soil types – plant where root development can be restricted to optimize fruiting.
Campsis radicans or Trumpet vine Size – 30 to 40 feet high (size limited to size of structure) Foliage – lustrous green Grown for screening, covering rock piles, used on slopes, on trellises. Flowers – rich orange and scarlet, trumpet-shaped, 2 ½ to 3 inches long. If you can’t grow this one, gardening is not for you! Good pruning is needed to keep it in bounds. It is amazingly tolerant to salt and perfect for infertile soils.
Celastrus scandens or American bittersweet Size – 20 feet high but will continue to grow as long as there is something to grow on. Very little value in the landscape, grown mainly for the handsome fruit which is extensively used in floral arrangements. Flowers – greenish yellow, not showy. Fruit (inedible) – yellow-orange on the inside with crimson seeds in October. Dioecious plant, requiring both male and female plants to produce fruit. Garden centers often carry this vine but do not often label the plants as either male or female. (Midwest Groundcovers in St. Charles, Illinois has both) Place both plants in the same planting hole to guarantee cross-pollination.
Clematis Clematis x jackmanii This is a complicated genus of plant, with too many cultivars to list. We will divide them into groups, with notable varieties in each group. Florida Group – Flowering in late spring, most varieties have double flowers on previous year’s wood and are not pruned until after the flowering is complete. A notable variety is Duchess of Edinburgh, featuring scented double white flowers with green shading. Jackman Group – The most popular group, these flower on new wood in July and August, some flowering until frost. Some notable varieties are: Clematis x jackmanii – Violet purple blooms, flowers June until frost Comtesse de Bouchard – Soft, satiny pink, slight overlap of lavender, yellow
stamens, free-flowering, June through August Nelly Moser – Large pale mauve-pink flowers with deep pink bar. Free-flowering. Lanuginosa Group – Interesting group of lovely hybrids that have C. lanuginose Lindl as one parent. Many of the hybrids will flower in June if a portion of the previous year’s growth is left. If cut back to within two to four feet of the ground each spring, new shoots will grow quickly and more abundant bloom can be expected later. Some within the group produce double flowers on old wood and single flowers on new wood. Notable varieties are: Elsa Spath – Profuse, intense blue flowers, darker toward center. Henryi – Magnificent white four -to five-inch white flowers with dark stamens,
free-flowering on old wood in June and again in late summer on new wood. A must-
have! Patens Group – Flowers typically on previous year’s wood. Some varieties produce sparse, smaller flowers in late summer. Prune dead and broken growth in spring after flowering. A portion of the old shoots should be cut back severely to encourage them to break, thus producing flowering wood for the following spring. A notable variety is The President, featuring deep violet flowers with pointed sepals.
Viticella Group – This is essentially a summer flowering group and can be pruned back hard in the spring. If greater height is desired, it is possible to retain a lower woody framework and reduce the previous growth to within six inches of point of origin on the more permanent woody framework, essentially treating the group similar to the Jackman Group. Notable varieties are:
Ernest Markham – Glowing red-violet three- to four-inch flowers, rounded sepals.
Margot Koster – Small, rosy-pink flowers in abundance.
Hydrangea anomala or Climbing hydrangea
Size is almost unlimited, given the plant’s ability to climb trees, walls, etc., but it can be limited with pruning. This is a true clinging vine, climbing with root-like hold-fasts. It is interesting in that it develops in more than one plane and gives depth to the structure it is covering – the branches protrude from the structure on which the vine is growing, creating interesting shadows unobtainable with other climbing vines. The establishment process is slow, but the plant is quite vigorous once the roots are established.
Flowers – White flowers last for about two weeks in late June to early July.
Requires rich, well-drained but moist soil, in full sun or part shade. It is best used on an East or North exposure in adverse climates.
Honeysuckle
Lonicera japonica or Japanese honeysuckle
Size – 15 to 30 feet high, depending on the structure it is climbing. Foliage – Dark green to lustrous green foliage.
Evergreen or semi-evergreen depending on the climate, but otherwise deciduous. This can be a weedy, twining vine.
Flowers – Borne in pairs, fragrant, white (sometimes tinged with pink or purple), turning yellow, blooming in June through November.
This is a good quick ground, bank or support cover. Will attract bees, hummingbirds and butterflies. Severe pruning, thinning and stem length reduction has been used with little or any intolerance, as this plant grows so rapidly it may be necessary to resort to this procedure as soon as three years after planting, especially if it is becoming too dominant, a consideration to keep in mind when selecting climbing plants. Having said that, it is very useful for erosion control on sandy embankments.
Parthenocissus quinquefolia or Virginia creeper
Size – 30- to 50-feet and more, the structure upon which it climbs being the limiting factor. Vine with tendrils which have five to eight branchlets, each ending in adhesive-like tips. It has the ability to literally cement itself to the wall and therefore needs no support. It will also crawl, making it useful on embankments. The pant secretes calcium carbonate, which serves as the adhesive. It tolerates just about any type of soil, full sun or full shade, exposed, windy conditions, polluted conditions, even city conditions. It is actually difficult to kill. It is an excellent tough, low-maintenance cover for walls, trellises, rock piles, etc. It can be an asset if used properly. Ivy-covered walls of universities are usually not ‘ivy’-covered, but ‘creeper’-covered.
Parthenocissus tricuspidate or Boston ivy
This plant is similar to Virginia creeper in all respects except that the foliage is more lustrous, a simple three-lobed leaf. It is possibly not as hardy. It can be used in the same manner as Virginia Creeper. Fall color on this vine is bright red.
Polygonum aubertii or Silver lace vine
Size – 25- to 25-feet high Foliage – Bright green
Flowers – Fragrant, white or greenish white, borne in numerous slender panicles along the upper part of the branches. Flowers July through September.
Wisteria
Wisteria floribunda or Japanese wisteria
Size – 30 feet or more, limited to structure it is attached to. Foliage – Bright green, late to leaf out. No fall color of any consequence.
Flowers – Perfect, violet or violet-blue, each flower ½ - to ¾-inch long on a ½- to 1-inch pedicel, borne in slender eight- to twenty-inch-long racemes. The slightly fragrant flowers bloom in April to May on old wood on short, leafy shoots, opening from the base to the apex of the racemes, opening before or just as the leaves emerge. It will occasionally bloom on new growth of the season.
It is essential to follow the cultural practices for the species to achieve maximum return. These include root pruning, branch pruning during the season and in the dormant season, sparing application of low nitrogen fertilizer, with superphosphate recommended. Vigorous growth should be cut back to three or four buds. Use named cultivars rather than seedling-grown material and plant in full sun.
Wisteria Chinensis or Chinese wisteria
Chinese wisteria is not cultivated as aggressively as Japanese wisteria. If there is no label, or an incomplete label, on a plant you are shopping for, note the direction the stems are twining: Japanese wisteria twists in a clockwise direction, while Chinese wisteria twists in a counterclockwise direction.
Flowers – These are similar to those of Japanese wisteria, but are less fragrant, blue-violet, about one-inch-long, packed in dense six- to twelve-inch racemes, all flowers of the raceme opening at about the same time. This is a handsome vine, but not easily kept flowering. Cultural practices must be precise.
I have not detailed the Vitis genus, though both Muscadine grape and common grape are worthy of planting. They, as well as roses, may wait for another blog.