Ornamental Climbing Plants

Winter Creeper

• Winter creeper is an evergreen vine or shrub that easily can be trained to climb. It can be trained not only to climb latticework and pergolas, but brick and cement walls. Aerial roots will grab onto the surface and allow the plant to thrive well above the ground. Also used as ground cover, adding winter creeper as both can tie elements of the landscape together. Its leaves are green and veined with silver, yellow or white. The winter creeper does flower, but the flowers are not as noticeable as the fruits that follow. Fruits are orange, and when they split open they release the winter creeper seeds, although they can stay on the vine well into the winter months.

  Hardy to USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5 through 9, winter creeper does well in full sun or almost complete shade, a variety of soils, and is easy to root and reproduce. Not drought tolerant, it does require regular watering if in a dry area.

English ivy

• English ivy is native to Europe, where it long has been used as a ground cover and to climb buildings and walls. There are a number of varieties that have been domesticated, and one wild variety. There are two distinct types of leaves: the trailing juvenile leaves and flowering, hanging adult leaves. Leaves are dark green with pale veins, and flowers are small and greenish-yellow.

  A single climbing vine can reach a length of up to 90 feet, making it excellent for tall buildings. It can be found in all southeastern and mid-southern states, but has not migrated north. In some areas, it is considered an invasive plant. Because it is such a dense mat of ivy, it can strangle other vegetation below it.

Trumpet Creeper

• The trumpet creeper is a fast-growing, deciduous vine that can climb as high as 40 feet. Its compound leaves create a thick mat of green foliage, and from the early summer months to autumn the vine produces the distinctive, trumpet-shaped flowers that explain its name. Flowers are 3 to 4 inches long, and varying shades of red to orange.

  Native to the southeastern United States, the trumpet creeper does well in full sun, where it will produce the most flowers. Rated for Zones 6 through 10, it reproduces easily via suckers and has been found in the South since Colonial times. The trumpet creeper attaches itself to a vertical surface with suckers, so it isn't recommended for use on painted surfaces.

  Trumpet creepers attract hummingbirds and butterflies with their brightly colored flowers.