Hanging Vines for Shade

How Vines Hang and Creep

• Vines climb using different methods. Twining vines' stems wind around a support, climbing ever upward and outward. They include plants like trumpet creeper and bittersweet wisteria. Peas and cucumbers, however, have tiny tendrils extending from their stems that wrap around an available support structure. Virginia creeper and Boston Ivy use suction cups to adhere to walls and structures, while still others have aerial roots for climbing rough structures.

Support Structures

• How your vines provide shade or hang depends on what type of support structure you choose. If you choose a twining vine, install a trellis, an arbor or simple wires where you'd like the plant to hang. Wires work especially well to create the illusion of free-hanging vines, while a fully covered trellis creates a living wall of sorts. An arbor trains vines to grow overhead to form a canopy. You also can combine wires with an arbor so several vines appear to hang from the canopy overhead. Vines can sometimes grow downward from large containers as well. Line up several containers to create a shade screen of varying colors and fragrances.

Annuals

• Choose an annual vine for a colorful shade screen that you can change each year. It adds color and variety to your garden or patio and costs relatively little compared with longer-lasting perennial vines. Notable annual vines include the morning glory family. Most varieties provide showy flowers, like the common morning glory, while others are also known for their fragrance, like moonflower. These vines typically start growing when the weather warms up. Your vines may reseed on their own, or you can replace them at the end of the season.

Perennials

• Perennial vines establish and grow much like other woody plants. Most of these vines are medium to vigorous growers and need pruning each season to keep them from becoming invasive. When choosing a perennial vine, consider its mature height and spread to avoid a vine you don't want creeping too high. Dutchman's pipe, for instance, is particularly vigorous and covers large surface areas. A smaller vine like variegated porcelain vine would perhaps work better for a small patio than the former.