Difference Between Trailing Vs. Climbing Plants

Trailing

• Trailing plants, perennial or annual, develop long stems or vines that trail along the ground. Some plants, like trailing rosemary, sprawl across rocks or hang down the sides of containers. When rosemary branches touch the ground, they often root and extend the trailing plant to cover slopes and cliffs. Trailing lantana, grown in cold climates as an annual and in temperate climates as a perennial, is a mounding plant with long, woody stems that can trail across the ground or hang over garden walls. Drought-tolerant trailing plants like lantana spread over dry, problem landscape areas. Trailing plants, whether annuals or perennials, grow along gravity paths, such as outward across land or downward on slopes.

Climbing

• Climbing plants use supports to extend their reach. Fences, arbors and lattice commonly provide the necessary structure. Some plants, like climbing sweet peas, use tendrils that wrap around wires and support the plant as it grows upward. Others, like honeysuckle, twine their woody vines around lattice and weave between the slats. Clinging climbers, such as trumpet creepers, grow aerial roots that adhere to trees or buildings in their quest to sunlight. These aerial roots exude a strong adhesive that acts as cement to hold the plant's weight.

Combination

• Many trailing plants become climbers when support is given. Trailing roses dawdle along board fences or rock walls but climb readily when planted next to a split-rail or cyclone fence. Invasive vines, such as English ivy, rapidly crawl along the ground and climb trees in their path, smothering ground plants and choking upright plants in the same landscape bed. Morning glories, used in some gardens to camouflage unfinished projects, will trail along the ground or climb a fence. Wherever they are planted, most vines will trail or climb to suit the habitat.

Tips

• Choose perennial vines wisely before planting. Kudzu vine, once cultivated as an ornamental climber and planted by the U.S. government for erosion control, is a scourge in many states, choking out trees and native vegetation. A kudzu vine can grow to 100 feet long from a 400-pound tap root. Perennial vines spread by both vines and roots, making them poor choices for foundation plantings. When used to screen a house and provide shade, use a lattice or other support so that the suckering or twining vines do not physically touch the house. Prune aggressively when trailing plants head toward water pipes or basements. Though they are easy to plant, trailing or climbing vines can be challenging to remove.