Flowering vines

The flowering vine cover arbors, trellises or walls, providing privacy and beauty to your home. A combination of annual and perennial plants will have your vines blooming all through the spring and summer.

Perennial flowering vines

Perennial plants live for more than two years, and can thus be long-term additions to your landscaping. You should typically plant them during the spring in cold regions, or in autumn in warmer climates. They grow and bloom during the spring and summer and then typically die back during the autumn and winter.

Clematis

Among the most exquisite and showiest of all vines, the clematis is at the top of the list. The wide array of colors and flower types will work in almost any garden scheme. Clematis can produce single or semi-double flowers. The flowers of a clematis can grow as large as nine inches across for the most impressive display. Clematis works best when it is used as an accent rather than a screen, with its flowers in sun and its roots in shade. Using a good layer of mulch on a clematis will keep it happy and growing back year after year.

Clematis plants

Bougainvillea

This thorny twiner grows best in the deep south: in cooler areas, with full sun; in hotter climates, with afternoon shade. In the north, bougainvillea grows best as a houseplant which can be taken out in the summer. Bougainvillea has flower clusters with showy bracts (like those a dogwood produces) in red, pink, orange and purple. Do not over-water bougainvillea, as it tolerates drought, but do feed it well with fertilizer.

Fertilizer

Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle is a good climber, which produces trumpet-shaped, fragrant flowers in profusion of a wide array of colors over much of the summer. Red or black berries appear in fall providing year round interest. Honeysuckle is also a great flowering vine to use to create a quick screen. Honeysuckle can be quite vigorous and sometimes rampant in some climates. Honeysuckle tolerates drought and can tolerate a wide range of sun conditions from full sun to dense shade.

Jasmine

Winter jasmine is the hardiest jasmine, growing as far north as Boston. Common white jasmine thrives farther south. All grow as shrubs with some support. Ideally, plant jasmine in an area frequented by people so that you may enjoy not only the dainty flowers but the heady aroma that this vine produces. Jasmine likes sun and moist or wet soil.

Winter jasmine

Climbing roses

Climbing roses offer fragrant flowers in many colors. These types of flowering vines are great for arbors or garden gates. All climbing roses need support, pruning, six hours of sun daily, shelter from north winds, and fertile, well-drained soil.

Garden arbors

Wisteria

Wisteria is an extremely vigorous grower. It has superb flowers in white, rose or lavender which bloom in spring. Wisteria’s twisting trunks provide winter interest, but it takes a long time to establish as a new plant. When purchasing wisteria, make sure you buy a plant that has bloomed, because all wisteria does not bloom, even if it is a variety that does typically bloom. It likes fertile soil and full sun to partial shade. Wisteria needs pruning to keep it from taking over your garden and needs strong support. Never plant it near your house, as it will take down gutters, shingles and roof tiles and has even been known to crack foundations.

Wisteria

Annual flowering vines

Annual plants usually bloom and die within one year, so they need to be re-planted annually. Annual flowering vines typically flower later in the year than perennials, and the growth process is generally much faster if you’re impatient to see some blossoms!

Morning-glory

Morning-glory’s flowers open at dawn, then close when the sun gets too hot. It comes in a growing number of colors, but frequently as a blue flower with a white throat. When planting morning-glory from seed, you must remember to nick the hard casing of the seed shell and soak in warm water over night. In the morning you will see the seed has opened and begun the germination process. This process will improve the likelihood of the vine to take root. Morning-glory needs a good fence or lamppost to grow on and is happy in almost any soil in the sun. Some of the other “newer” colors of Morning-glory, like purple, are much more invasive and, once they flower, cast hundreds of seeds that will return in your lawn and anywhere else the wind carries them.

Morning-glories

Cardinal climber

Cardinal climber is a flowering vine that produces crimson, tubular flowers all summer. It prefers sandy soil and will grow 10 to 20 feet in sun or shade. This climber is also prized for the hummingbirds it will attract, who cannot resist the color and shape of this vine’s flowers.

Park Seed Cardinal Climber

Black-eyed Susan

Black-eyed Susan produces yellow or orange daisy-like flowers with dark throats, and blooms all summer. This vine needs support and can be trained in interesting shapes. This vine needs a long growing season for best results so start it from seed indoors.

Black-eyed Susan vines

The secret to enjoying flowering vines is to understand their individual traits, then match the right vines to your gardening needs. Whether you want to cover a cottage garden with color, frame a garden view, or screen off an area, you will always be able to find the right flowering vine. The Park Seed brand carries almost any seed you would want for your garden.

For other things to add to your garden, take a look at our guide to garden accents.