10 Best Climbing Perennials

climbing perennial flowers
If you are searching for a way to improve your vertical space in your garden, then climbing perennials may be a great option to consider. Recently, I decided that I needed more climbing plants in my garden that grow all year long, so I came up with a list of several different options that could improve my color scheme and make my garden smell amazing.

Many of the perennials that we are going to look at are extremely simple to care for, while others take a bit more work to maintain.

Let’s take a look at 10 of the best climbing perennials that I’ve discovered can make any garden look fantastic.

Hydrangea Vine

Hydrangea Vine

If you are trying to find a plant that will give you a lot of vertical foliage, the climbing hydrangea vine can grow to be 50 feet in height. It will grow in partial shade and moist, acidic soil. In the springtime, it produces beautiful blooms that are white, pink, blue, or purple in color. This plant originates in Asia, but this plant will grow in zones four through seven in the United States.

Dutchman’s Pipe

Dutchman's Pipe

Seen growing in zones four through eight, this plant will easily grow to be 20 to 30 feet tall. It will bloom from May through June in most situations, and the blooms will be green, yellow, or purple in color. They grow best in full sun or partial shade conditions, and with a bit of moist soil around their roots. This is a nice looking plant to train up a trellis or a fence.

Passion Flower

Passion Flower

The passion flower can grow between 10 and 15 feet tall. It will be seen growing in zones six through 10, and it will create pink, purple, red, blue, and white blooms from midsummer until the first frost of the year. This plant will grow best in full to partial sun, and it likes moist soil, which can either be neutral, slightly acidic, or slightly alkaline.

Clematis

Clematis

Clematis is a beautiful blooming plant that can bring colorful blooms and a lovely smell to your garden. It will thrive in zones five through nine, and it can grow in partial sun and full sun. It can grow from eight to 20 feet tall with ease. It can also climb up to 20 feet wide, which will help give you the growth that you need to train it along your fence. See this guide here for the different types of Clematis

Honeysuckle Vine

Honeysuckle Vine

Have you ever smelled the sweet blooms of honeysuckle on the wind? Well, if you like the smell of this delightful plant, then it may be a great option to put in your garden. These vines prefer to grow in full sun conditions, and they will do best in well-drained soil. Though they grow best along a fence or a trellis, they can also grow in containers in zones four through nine.

Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea Climbing

If you are searching for a large climbing plant, then the sweet pea is a great option. It produces blooms that are pink, red, lavender, blue, and white in color, and it will bloom in the earliest part of the summertime. A mature plant can grow to be more than eight feet tall with the right growing conditions. It is a plant that will do best in growing zones eight through 10, and it will grow best in full sun and well-drained soil.

Wisteria

Wisteria

Wisteria is a large vine that will bring some purple or blue blooms to your garden. These plant vines often reach 25 to 30 feet in length, and it will look great when trained on a trellis. They grow best in well-drained soil and full sun, though they will easily grow in partial shade without an issue. These are drought tolerant plants, so they require very little water. They typically will grow best within zones five to nine.

Trumpet Creeper

Trumpet Creeper

Also known as a trumpet vine, it is a plant that’s easy to care for, especially in zones four through nine. In one growing season, the plant can grow as much as 30 to 40 feet, and since this is a sweet smelling plant, you can expect it to attract hummingbirds and other pollinators to your garden. It grows best in well-drained soil and full sun or partial shade.

Climbing Rose

Climbing Rose

If you like roses in your garden, then there are several varieties of climbing roses that you should consider for your vertical space. They tend to thrive in well-drained soil and soil that is mostly wet. They like to grow in partial sun, but they will need a bit of protection from the heat of the afternoon. These climbing roses have a tendency to grow in zones five through 10.

Silver Bells

Silver Bells

This is a beautiful plant that produces white, bell-shaped blooms in clusters. It can easily grow more than 40 feet high, especially when you are providing the right growing conditions. It prefers to grow in six hours in direct sunlight and in partial shade for the remainder of the day. It grows best in acidic, well-drained soil within zones four to nine.