Plants to Grow Trailing Over Rock Walls

USDA Zones 3 and 4

• Clematis virginiana is the scientific name for woodbine, a sprawling shrub that will grow over a rock wall. Also called virgin's bower, this vine grows to 20 feet and comes with the benefit of being a late blooming plant, producing its aromatic white flowers from August through October in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 and 4. American bittersweet, Celastrus scandens, also camouflages a rock wall, growing to 20 feet and spreading out to 6 feet. Its bright red berries add color to the fall and winter months, with homemakers often bringing in strands of this plant as decorations.

USDA Zones 5 and 6

• Trumpet creeper, Campsis radicans, is easy to grow; in fact, it can escape cultivation and become invasive if you allow it, notes the University of Connecticut Plant Database. Use it in USDA zones 5 and 6 to cover stone walls, as it develops along the ground and over the rocks. Its showy, tubular flowers entice hungry hummingbirds, blooming during July and August.

  Prune back the growth of the silver lace vine, Fallopia baldschuanica, to keep it from spreading from your rock walls into other areas. Growing as much as 35 feet in a single year, it features green foliage and cream white flowers from summer's start to first frost.

USDA Zones 7 and 8

• Winter jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum, is a Chinese plant that takes the form of a trailing shrub when grown along the ground. Its stems will cover a rock wall. The plant gets its name from bright yellow flowers that adorn the branches before any leaves develop, often as early as March in USDA zones 7 and 8.

  Sweet autumn clematis, Clematis terniflora, grows 12 inches high but 10 feet wide as a ground cover, engulfing eyesores like rickety rock walls. The fragrant cream white flowers appear in August and September. This species of clematis does well in shady areas.

USDA Zones 9 and 10

• Carolina yellow jasmine, Gelsemium sempervirens, thrives in the warmth associated with USDA zones 9 and 10. It will grow in the form of a bushy plant along the ground, where it can cover structures like a rock wall with its runners. As early as February, this species produces yellow flowers, but warn children that the flowers and the leaves are toxic if eaten.

  Ficus pumila, the climbing fig, covers rock walls with its 1-inch long, heart-shaped foliage. This eastern Asian import grows to 15 feet, with a milky sap exuding from the stems and fruits that look like small pears emerging from its flowers.