Full Sun Flowering Vines

USDA Zone 3

• Virginia creeper is a full sun deciduous vine, capable of surviving the winter in the warmer portions of U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 3. Featuring compound leaves, green-white flowers and bluish berries, Virginia creeper rewards the landscaper with bright autumn foliage, although the leaves do fall from the vine early in the season. American bittersweet is another North American native for the zone, maturing to between 15 and 20 feet and generating green-white flowers. Only the female vines produce the orange, rounded fruits that make this an ornamental boon to woodland gardens and fences. A variety of Kentucky wisteria known as Blue Moon is a very heavy vine for pergolas and terrace walls in sunny parts of zone 3.

USDA Zone 5

• Bower actinidia grows quickly in full sun, with some able to attain 15 to 20 feet in length in a single year. Adapted to the climate of USDA zone 5, this vine needs a support on which to cling and it flowers in June, producing aromatic white, purple and green blooms. Porcelain berry's flowers are no match visually for the resulting berries; the flowers are not showy, but yield a blue berry with a metallic sheen. Porcelain berry is native to Japan and China and displays invasive tendencies requiring close watching so the vine won't escape cultivation. Another full sun species for zone 5 is a cultivar of silky wisteria known as Shiro-kapitan, growing to 25 feet and blooming in May.

USDA Zone 7

• USDA zone 7 is the coldest zone in which to grow the Carolina yellow jasmine vine. The evergreen vine grows on trellises and arbors, but also as a ground cover in bushy form if left on the ground without support. Carolina yellow jasmine generates fragrant, yellow blooms as early as February and continues flowering in full sun through April. Trumpet honeysuckle cultivars Alabama Crimson and Blanche Sandman work in zone 7, with their flowers attractive to hummingbirds. Chinese wisteria, featuring violet-blue flowers, is another vine option for zone 7.

USDA Zone 9

• In zone 9, where summer sun translates into plenty of heat, the coral vine is an evergreen species, as opposed to being an annual in zone 8. Coral vine flowers are pink and white, blooming in late summer and autumn. The Japanese wisteria cultivars Rosea and Multijuga tolerate zone 9 conditions, as do American wisteria. These vines all flower more profusely when in full sunshine. Glory flower is a Chilean native. Growing to 10 feet and turning out orange-red flowers with tube shapes.