Use vines to add vertical elements to your garden, disguise irregularities, and to screen out objectionable views.
Vines, while of great landscape value, are often ignored in landscape plans because many gardeners fail to realize their potential. Vines lend themselves admirably to vertical structures found in contemporary and old-fashioned gardens. Vines can partially cover and blend the structure with other plantings.
Vines are ideal for fences and porches
Certain vines with coarse foliage or dense habit of growth are ideal for fences or arbors. These vines can be used for screening objectionable views, either permanently or temporarily, until other plantings are large enough to achieve the desired effect. They will give shade and privacy to a porch or break the monotony of a long fence or stone wall. A common vine seen screening porches in New England is the Dutchman’s Pipe.
Use vines where grass doesn’t grow
On steep banks or under shade trees where grass can be grown only with difficulty, certain vines such as our native trumpet honeysuckle make fine ground covers. In areas where space is very limited and high shrubs would require too much room, they can be used instead of shrubbery to achieve the effect of a narrow space divider or barrier.
Before making any selection, carefully consider how the vine will be used. To cover an entire fence with a solid mass of foliage you want a vine with dense foliage, such as the hardy kiwi. To add pattern and interest to a stone wall without entirely covering it, a slower growing type with interesting leaves would be more desirable, such as a clematis.
3 Types of Vines
Vines can be grouped into three types according to their method of climbing:
- tendrils
- twining
- clinging
The kind of support you have will largely determine the type of vine selected. If you already have or desire a particular vine, this will determine its support structure.
Vines that climb by tendrils
The grape is probably the best known of the vines that climb by means of tendrils. Tendrils are slim, flexible shoots or, in some cases, leaf-like parts that act as tendrils. They quickly wrap themselves around anything they come in contact with to support the vine for further growth.
If choosing grapes for the north, make sure and choose hardy cultivars (cultivated varieties) such as ‘Worden’ concord-type grape, or one of the Minnesota hybrids. While grapes and Virginia Creeper climb with stem tendrils (shoots arising opposite a leaf on the stem), peas have leaf tendrils (modified leaves arising opposite a leaf on a stem).
Suitable supports for vines with tendrils include netting, wooden grids (such as you find already made at lumber stores) or arbors, wire mesh, or twine. While twine only lasts a season, it can be cut down and vines easily removed for cleanup in fall. Clematis
have long-leaved tendrils that readily climb on most any stem, trellis, or even other vines including its own. Make sure supports are of a durable materials and strong enough to support the weight of vines.
Vines that climb by twining
The twining vines climb by winding their stems around any available support. Look at the vine as it grows to see which direction it wants to grow so you don’t train it in the wrong direction. No harm will be done if so, except the vine may not stay put, and will have to correct itself. Most twiners grow counter clockwise around their support, looking down on them, but some such as hops grow clockwise.
Twining vines to consider are:
- Wisteria
(generally hardy only to USDA zone 6, although ‘Aunt Dee’ grows in zone 5 and ‘Clara Mack’ in zone 4), - Fiveleaf Akebia
- Hardy and showy Kiwi
(generally hardy only to USDA zone 6, although ‘Aunt Dee’ grows in zone 5 and ‘Clara Mack’ in zone 4),
Larger supports, twine, or wire are best for twiners so they have something to wrap around. Hops are unique, and technically not a vine but rather a “bine”, in that they cling by stiff hairs on the stem. It’s these same hairs that easily cause temporary skin rashes when brushed against. For these hairs to have something to grasp, you’ll need to use a coarse twine for training (such as baling twine).
Vines that climb by clinging
The clinging vines are better adapted to climbing on even, vertical surfaces. These fall into two types. One, such as the Boston Ivy climbs by means of tendrils with disk-like adhesive tips that attach themselves firmly to any surface. The other type climbs by means of small aerial roots at intervals along the stems. These dig into the crevices of any rough-textured surface, such as brick or bark, and cling tightly. When allowed to trail on the ground or climb in the joints of a dry-laid stone wall, they may root and form new plants.
Examples of root-clinging vines include:
- English Ivy
- Wintercreeper
- Trumpet Creeper
- Climbing Hydrangea
If you’d like to grow vines to cover a wall, you’ll need to hang or suspend supports, or erect a trellis a few inches out from the wall. Leave this space between the vines and structure for air circulation. This will help prevent disease on the plant and mold on the wall. If a trellis, it should be movable in case the wall needs repainting or repair.
Climbing roses are not actual vines
Climbing roses may fit the function of a vine, but they don’t really climb. Instead the long stems “arch”, usually with thorns that help them cling to objects like fences, so they may be called “ramblers”. Climbing roses need strong supports, and in cold climates these supports need to be lowered to the ground in winter for covering with straw.
This article originally appeared on Perrys Perennials.