The Best Vines for a Trellis

A trellis can be an invaluable tool for decorating in the garden. The proper vines can be trained to climb the trellis and will cover it with full, lush foliage or flowers. While there is a wide variety of vines to choose from, some are easy to grow, easy to maintain and will remain full and lush through the growing season.

The cross vine, also known as the trumpet flower, is a fast-growing, flowering vine that is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture Zones 6 through 9. The vine has long, slender leaves between 3 and 5 inches long, and stunning, trumpet-shaped flowers. Appearing in late winter to early spring, the showy reddish-orange flowers bloom through the summer and attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

Easy to grow and easy to maintain, the cross vine can easily be trained to climb a trellis as it latches on with slender tendrils. It thrives in full sunlight or partial shade, can adapt to a number of different soil conditions and is extremely drought-tolerant. It can withstand cool winter temperatures to Zone 6, and spread via root sproutings. As it is highly pest-resistant, it can be planted on a trellis near porches or patios without attracting unwanted insects.

The cypress vine is a delicate and fast-growing vine that can easily be trained to grow over a trellis and will cover one quickly. Leaves are long, slender and feather-like, and the flowers are bright scarlet, 5-pointed stars with slender tubes attaching each bloom to the vine. Blooms begin in the spring and continue until the first frost.

It can grow up to 20 feet in length, but unlike many vigorously growing vines, the cypress vine is not invasive and will not spread uncontrollably. Because of its thin, feathery foliage, it will not strangle or shade any plants behind or beneath it. Hardy to USDA Zones 6 through 11 and native to Mexico, it has naturalized in many areas well into the northern United States. Thriving in full sun or partial shade, the vine will regrow every year from seeds that weather the long winter months.

The pandorea is an evergreen vine that thrives when planted in the ground or in a container; combining a container and a trellis can create a thick screen that can be moved anywhere for privacy where and when desired. Leaves are between 5 and 9 inches long, and flowers have round blooms with tubular centers. Most are pink or red.

Flowering best in full sun, the pandorea can also tolerate partial or filtered shade. Because it is a sprawling plant, it needs to be supported from a young age, making it perfect for training to a trellis. Hardy to USDA Zones 8 and 9, the pandorea is fast-growing and can cover a trellis quickly.

Honeysuckle is a trailing, sprawling plant that requires some sort of support to keep from becoming leggy and shrubby, making it ideal for training up a trellis. The twining vine can easily wrap itself around the supports of a trellis. The Lonicera flava variety of honeysuckle, native to the southeastern United States, is not an invasive species like other honeysuckles can be.

Growing to between 10 and 20 feet and hardy to USDA Zones 5 through 8, it can thrive in full sun or shade. The vine flowers best in the full sun, developing showy, tubular yellow flowers that give way to small berries in the late summer months. Flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies, while the berries attract wild birds, adding to the value of this vine as a trellis plant.