Clematis is rightly known as the queen of the vines for its regal performance in the garden.
It happily scrambles up and over arbors, pergolas, and trellises, as well as through other plants, creating beautiful walls of rich color.
A carefree perennial, the striking, star-like flowers bloom in shades of blue, pink, purple, red, white, and yellow from late winter into spring, summer, and early autumn.
But not all varieties of this showy climber are cold hardy, and many can benefit from some preventative winter care.
With protection from freezing temperatures and hard frosts, your vines will return with an abundance of flowers year after year.
Here’s what’s to come in our clematis winter care guide:
Clematis Basics
As a perennial, clematis are vigorous vines that return yearly, growing from the same plant stock.
Hardy in USDA Zones 3 to 9, there are some species that are even suitable for growing in chilly Zone 2.
However, there are both hardy and tender varieties available, and not all will survive extended freezing temperatures.
For those living in colder regions, winter hardiness is an important characteristic to take into account when purchasing.
Clematis have three distinct blooming periods that correspond to their pruning groups, known as Groups 1, 2, and 3 (aka Groups A, B, and C).
Knowing what group your plants belong to is important before you start any winter pruning.
Group 1
Group 1 are the early bloomers that flower on old wood in winter and early spring, and they require no pruning.
Photo by Lorna Kring.
Some species in this group can survive Zones 3 to 5, although many won’t flower as profusely in these areas – air and soil temperatures usually don’t warm up enough to coincide with their early bloom periods.
This group also includes evergreen varieties, which are the most susceptible to frost damage.
Group 3 plants flower in late spring, summer, and into autumn, with flowers blooming entirely on new wood.
This group gets cut back hard in winter, so frost damage to stems is negligible – a bonus in cold zones.
Group 3 types also have the most suitable bloom period for colder regions, with flowers blooming in the warmth of early summer right up until first frost.
Here are a few tips if you have existing clematis plants and aren’t sure what group they belong to:
Group 1s often develop thick, woody base stems measuring two to six inches across. They don’t get pruned, which allows them to grow larger than those in the other two groups.
If you’re lucky enough to have a garden in a big city, you learn to accept the fact that while you’re out there, you’re in full view of everyone whose windows overlook your yard. Hanging an awning over your entire backyard or planting a tree big enough to screen everything isn’t a good option, since usually, getting the light you need to grow things is already a challenge.
So what are the best ways to make a small urban garden feel more private—or at least to create the illusion of privacy? For advice, we asked landscape designer Susan Welti, a partner in the Brooklyn-based Foras Studio. Susan has designed countless urban spaces; two of her gardens appear in our Gardenista book.
Here are some of her ideas to create privacy in a small city backyard.
Photography by Matthew Williams for Gardenista, except where noted.
Above: An eastern white pine tree draws the eye away from the neighbors’ houses in a Brooklyn garden designed by Foras Studio.
Is it really possible to have privacy in an outdoor city garden?
Let’s admit that it’s almost impossible to create as much privacy as you might want. “There are so many buildings surrounding you, and they’re so much bigger than you,” Susan says. “But while you can’t block out the buildings, what you can do is to create something beautiful and compelling that will hold the eye within the confines of the site, and make you feel enclosed and secure.”
Above: The neighbors’ Japanese maple trees (at right) create a bower and privacy barrier.
How can you use trees to create privacy?
“You can’t just throw in a big tree to block the view, because that also blocks the light,” says Susan. “In most city gardens there are trees in your sightline, but they’re often really big—such as oaks or maples or ailanthus. It’s nice to put in a tree that’s a more human scale. We use a lot of fruit trees—crab apple, dwarf apple, even pomegranate and fig. These all flower, which is always nice.”
Susan also recommends small understory trees like Chionanthus virginicus, known as “old man’s beard”; Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’ (serviceberry); and Magnolia virginiana—native magnolia or sweetbay. And if you’re not going for bloom, consider a Japanese maple—“They fit beautifully into a pared-back grassy landscape.”
Above: A row of small hornbeam trees (Carpinus caroliniana) are pruned tightly to create a flat screen against a fence.
What are the best trees for fence-line privacy?
When space is at a premium, Susan often uses trees that are pleached—trained and clipped to grow on a flat plane, like an espalier.
“Pleached trees are a powerful visual element, and you can control where they canopy out,” she says. Susan’s choice is hornbeam(Carpinus caroliniana), a native tree that takes well to pruning; she buys them already started off from Brooklyn’s Urban Arborists. “Pleached trees don’t bloom; it’s more about the shape and the beauty of the foliage.”
Can vines and climbers be used to create privacy?
“Vines are great for adding a green layer to a fence or pergola,” says Susan. “For an airy look, you want plants that have some visual porosity. We use Wisteria frutescens ‘Amethyst Falls,’ a native plant that’s less vigorous than Chinese or Japanese wisteria, and has a nice bloom.” For other flowering vines, she recommends clematis, honeysuckle, and crossvine, such as Bignonia capreolata ‘Tangerine Beauty.’ To create a wall of green, Susan suggests the vigorous, shade-tolerant Akebia ‘Shirobana’—but be aware that it’s considered invasive in some areas, so check with local authorities before planting, and be prepared to monitor its growth carefully.
Vines can hide an ugly fence or add beauty to trellis or doorways. When grown over an arbor or pergola, they can create shade. But when gardeners think of vines, the first thing that comes to mind may be imported ones like Japanese and Chinese wisteria, English Ivy, or the dreaded oriental bittersweet, which can all be difficult to get rid of (and have notoriously escaped our gardens and aggressively displaced native plants in the wild). There are many native vines, though, that can play a useful part in your garden scheme.
Christina Koether, a backyard flower farmer, florist, and garden designer behind Nomadica in Weston, Connecticut, notes that tastes and awareness are gradually shifting: In October, for example, it will be illegal to sell both Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) and Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) in Connecticut. As a result, she says, “I think we will see native vines like Aristolochia macrophylla and Lonicera sempervirens become more popular again.”
Here are 11 native vines that garden professionals are using in their designs:
Looking for a native vine to cover an ugly deer fence on the woodland edge of her property, Koether decided to try planting a pipevine (Aristolochia macrophylla), whose heart-shaped leaves were a favorite in Victorian gardens until favor shifted toward the imported Chinese and Japanese wisterias for their showier flowers. “Pipevine—it’s one of my favorite native vines,” says Koether, who admits that technically, it’s native to areas slightly further south than Connecticut, where she gardens. “But I rolled the dice when I bought them, knowing the butterfly that relies on it would likely start coming further north as temperatures increase each year.” Sure enough, this year, Koether watched pipevine swallowtail butterflies lay eggs on the vine, which hatched into caterpillars. In addition to being the host plant for the pipevine swallowtails, who rely on this plant to survive, Koether appreciates the playful pipe-shaped flowers in the springtime.
Out on the west coast, Andrea Hurd, the founder of Mariposa Gardening & Design Cooperative in Oakland, California, points to the California native pipevine (Aristolochia californica), which has larger, distinctive purple-striped, pipe-shaped flowers. “We have a garden where it has gotten well-established,” she says. According to the California Native Plant Society, this plant is common in moist woods and along streams in northern and central California. Like its cousin Aristolochia macrophylla, it is the host plant for the pipevine swallowtail, and there are other regional Aristolochia to explore, depending on where you garden.
Not to be confused with Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), which is considered invasive in most states, coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) is native to the southeast and grows as far north as Maine and inland to the midwest—and is a favorite of several garden pros. Gena Wirth, a landscape architect and partner at SCAPE’s New York office, recently moved into a home in Brooklyn with a large fence that backs onto a subway corridor, on which she is experimenting with a number of native vines, including coral honeysuckle. “Lonicera sempervirens is such an easy-to-grow, adaptable plant that thrives in full and part sun environments,” says Wirth. “I love planting it in arches and garden windows, as its flowers reach for the light.” Koether notes that she also likes to use cuttings of both the greens and the flowers in her floristry work.
If you want to attract hummingbirds, look to trumpet vine (Campis radicans) and its orange, trumpet-shade flowers. It’s native to eastern North America, as far north as Ohio and South Dakota. Fast- and high-growing, trumpet vine has a reputation for being aggressive (great if you want it to screen a fence), but the experts from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, in their guide Great Natives for Tough Places, say that it can be controlled with pruning if you want to contain its vigor.
There is remarkable satisfaction in seeing how a garden project plays out down the road. I recently revisited a pair of Clematis ‘Little Bas’ that I planted in large 24-inch square containers in 2020 and what I found was illuminating.
A pair of ‘Little Bas’ Clematis bloom over the entrance of the vegetable garden.
The Clematis have been living their best lives in two container flanking the vegetable garden gate and grow over an arbor at the entrance. I chose to plant them in containers mostly for aesthetics: the wood planters just looked nicer on the gravel base of the garden, provided a little boost in height to make sure they covered the arbor, and gave me the opportunity to plant a few annuals in with them.
Like many plants that have been in containers for some time, they were sinking in their pots and I knew they would appreciate some fresh soil after four years in the containers.
Clematis have distinctive yellow roots.
But when I dug in what I found was a mass of distinctive yellow Clematis roots filling the entire planter. After fighting with it for hours I considered giving up and letting them stay in those to fend for themselves. But when I consulted Dan Long at Brushwood Nursery, where I buy all my Clematis from, I got confirmation of what I knew deep down: the job had to be done.
It’s not uncommon to pull long-term containerized plants out of their pots, root prune them and the repot them, it’s just that sometimes that process is a bit easier.
After a struggle, I was able to get a very large rootball out intact.
This what was left at the bottom of the pot after I cut the rootball out. This is the soil and root mass from the bottom of the pot, flipped over in the wheelbarrow.
Using a serrated knife, hori hori, garden fork, and a bit of help, I cut a very large root ball—about 18″ across and deep—out. And then it got interesting.
Planter revelations
After removing the root ball, the problem became clear. I’d added two things to the pot when I originally planted it, first with roses and then with clematis the following year. I lined all sides and the bottom of the pot (which was wood slats) of the pot with foam insulation board so that the soil wouldn’t make contact with the pot, and to add additional winter protection. I also lined the bottom with landscape fabric, with drainage cut through both the fabric and the bottom foam board.
When I pulled out the landscape fabric that lined the bottom, the roots had grown straight through it as seen on the underside of the fabric.
I can’t believe I used the landscape fabric, which I detest and advise against using in just about every situation, but I did. And the clematis roots grew straight through it, as weed roots do when it is used on the ground. This made it extremely difficult to remove from the pot as it was firmly attached.
Lining this wood planter with insulation board seems to have worked very well. The wood was still in great shape and obviously the clematis thrived.
While the fabric was a terrible idea, the foam board seems to have been an excellent idea. The relatively inexpensive pots were in excellent shape with no sign of wood rot. It’s a trick I’ll use again if the circumstance calls for it.
Repotting
Clematis love rich, well-draining soil that stays consistently moist. The adage “feet in the shade, head in the sun” that is often cited when planting Clematis is really a way to get the point across that they want moist soil at their roots. I used a combination of Organic Mechanics Premium Potting Blend, which I like to use for trees, shrubs and perennials in pots, compost,Biochar Blend, worm castings, and a handful of bone meal for the mix. (Organic Mechanics provided the soil.) It sounds like a lot, but when you consider that these plants will be living in that mix for another three or four years, it makes sense.
I had previously pruned the Clematis, which were a group 3 type, meaning that they bloom on new growth, so I didn’t have to worry about that, but I did add some Espoma Rose-Tone, which is my go-to Clematis fertilizer.
It was interesting to see how the these plants had fared over the years, but I’m glad I won’t have to do that job again soon.
Want to watch the whole saga play out? Check out this video:
Whether they’re deciduous or evergreen, winter or summer bloomers, have single or double flowers, there’s one thing we all want from our clematis plants: blossoms.
We’re not putting in all the work of planting and caring for those vines simply for the good of our health. We want a big, beautiful floral display!
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Sometimes, our vines don’t produce the flowers we eagerly anticipate.
Whether it’s because we pruned at the wrong time or let the roots get a bit too toasty, there are a few issues that can cause your vines to flounder.
In this guide, we’ll examine five common reasons why a clematis vine may fail to bloom and what to do about them. Here’s what’s on the menu:
We’ll start with one of the causes that is fairly easy to diagnose. But before we jump into the topic of age, it helps to clarify a few terms.
There are three types of clematis, defined as Group I, II, and III.
Group I clematis bloom early in the season on the previous year’s growth.
Group II flower later than the first group on the previous year’s growth and new growth.
Group III plants flower last on the current year’s growth.
I will say that I did once purchase and plant a vine that never flowered. It was in the perfect spot, with shaded roots, and pruned appropriately, and it just never got around to producing blossoms. It is possible that a vine could be a dud, but that would be unusual.
If everything else looks good and it has been five years since you planted, it’s possible that you have a plant that will never flower, and you might need to consider replacing the plant.
2. Hot Roots
Clematis need cool roots. They need plenty of moisture and soil temperatures between 50 and 65°F or they won’t flower. The plants might be stunted, as well.
You can stick a thermometer in the soil on a warm day to see what the temperature actually is in the ground beside your vines.
If you don’t have a thermometer or access to one, stick your finger in the soil. If it doesn’t feel chilly, the soil is probably too warm.
A lot of gardeners use a layer of pebbles or rocks to keep the roots cool, but I find this can actually do the opposite in some cases.
Dark rocks absorb heat, as do small rocks. Rocks that are large and light-colored work best for this purpose.
You can also use mulch, but I find that it doesn’t retain cool temperatures as much as rocks or living ground covers do.
I prefer to grow shallow-rooted ground covers at the base of my vines.
I learned this trick from a clematis garden in Portland, Oregon and I’ve experimented in my own yard with good success.
Strawberries work well because they form a nice, dense mat and have shallow roots.
3. Pruning At the Wrong Time
Want to go down a rabbit hole? Have a few hours to waste? Dig into the world of clematis pruning. Along with hydrangeas, they’re some of the more confusing plants to prune.
There are three pruning groups: Group I (Type A), Group II (Type B), and Group III (Type C).
Those in the first category flower on the previous year’s growth. They shouldn’t be pruned much, if at all.
If you do prune, make sure to do it immediately after the first flush of blossoms and only trim a small amount.
Try to just remove dead, diseased, or damaged growth. If you have to prune heavily to provide shape, know that you won’t see blooms for at least another year.
Group II clematis aren’t as sensitive to over-pruning as Type I, but still require cautious trimming.
They flower on both old and new growth, but the best flowering occurs on old wood. Newer growth can produce flowers, but they are usually fewer and smaller than those on older growth.
Wait for spring when new growth is developing. If you see branches without any new growth, remove them. You should also remove any diseased, damaged, or dead branches.
Prune lightly again after flowering. If you prune the plant aggressively to control its size, you will probably have few flowers the following year, but you should see some.
Vines in Group III are the ones you can go to town on. These bloom prolifically on new, current-year growth.
These are the vines you can prune back to just a few inches above the ground each spring and you’ll still be treated to heaps and heaps of flowers.
If you are growing a Group III clematis and it’s not producing flowers, it probably isn’t a pruning problem.
Because clematis plants need cool roots, some gardeners try to provide them with that by planting the vines in some shade.
But they really need full sun or at least partial sun to flower best, with just the roots shaded or otherwise protected.
If your plants aren’t receiving at least six hours of sunlight, it’s unlikely that they’ll bloom prolifically, if at all.
On a day when you can be at home, check every hour to see whether the plant is in the sun or not. You might be surprised to see that shade creeps in during the day.
It happens in every garden. You plant something in full sun, and then the neighbor builds a new fence, a tree grows up, or an asteroid knocks the plant slightly off its axis – well, maybe not the latter! Now your plant is in more shade than you realized.
You can’t do much about asteroids or inconsiderate neighbors, but prune any trees or shrubs that you can to open up the area a bit more and provide your vine with more sun exposure.
It takes a lot of energy to produce abundant flowers.
The blossoms are the plant’s method of reproduction and, as with humans, the act of attempting to reproduce is costly in terms of energy.
There are plenty of plants that don’t require regular feeding, but clematis isn’t one of them.
Before you plant anything in your garden, I firmly believe you should test your soil.
You’ll never know what’s going on with your soil until you test it, and the results will help you add amendments accordingly.
If you add a bunch of nitrogen and your soil is not deficient, you aren’t doing your wallet or your plants any favors.
Assuming your soil is average and not low in one specific nutrient, use a balanced fertilizer once a month starting and spring, until the flowers fade.
A fertilizer with an N-P-K of 10-10-10 is about right.
You can’t go wrong with Southern Ag’s all-purpose 10-10-10 fertilizer. It’s a classic option trusted by commercial and home growers alike. Pick up five-pound bags at Amazon.
It’s Flower Time
It’s true what they say: clematis is generally easy to raise and care for. It’s one of the reasons these vines are so popular.
But if your vine fails to bloom, don’t let that make you feel like a failure. Sometimes, things go wrong, even with the most unfussy plants. Chances are it’s one of the causes on this list and now you know how to resolve it!
Is your clematis not blooming? Were you able to figure out the cause? I hope so, but if you’re still having trouble, feel free to leave us a comment and we’ll see what we can do to help.
Clematis are versatile, evergreen or deciduous vines with a huge range of flower sizes and colors, providing multi-season displays of blooms.
If you wanted to, you could have clematis blooming in your yard from the last frost in spring all the way up to the first frost in fall – and maybe even year-round if you live in the right Zone.
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Some clematis varieties will bloom for an extremely long time, while others are just a beautiful flash in the pan.
In this guide, we’re going to talk about some of the species and cultivars that bloom for a long time, how to encourage your plants to bloom for a longer period, and more.
Here’s what you can expect, coming up:
Clematis are fascinating plants. Let’s talk about their flowering habits.
How Long Do Clematis Bloom?
The short answer is that it depends entirely on the species, cultivar, or hybrid you’re growing.
Some bloom for just a brief period, and some can flower for up to six months. Others bloom in spring with a second flush in late summer or early fall.
Young plants will usually start blooming a little bit later than mature plants, and they might end a bit earlier, too.
Once plants are three years old or more, they’ll usually start blooming for longer periods – and more prolifically.
If you’re new to growing these plants, it might help to take a look at our guide to growing clematis to help familiarize yourself with their cultivation requirements.
Since there’s no simple answer to how long the flowers bloom, let’s first look at the categories of bloom periods in clematis.
About Bloom Periods
You can broadly categorize these plants as early (Group 1), midseason (Group 2), and late (Group 3) varieties.
Alpine (C. alpina), cadmia (C. cadmia), downy (C. macropetala), and anemone (C. montana), are all early or spring bloomers.
These should be pruned after they have finished flowering to clean them up and give the plants some shape. These types bloom on old wood, so if you prune too much you’ll compromise next year’s display.
Most large-flowered hybrids (C. x hybrida), which include the most popular types found in nurseries like ‘The President,’ ‘Nelly Moser,’ and ‘Fireworks,’ are early or midseason bloomers.
You can cut large-flowered hybrids back after their first blooms have faded, and they’ll often grow back and give you a second flush. Because these bloom on old wood, you don’t want to cut them back too much or you risk ruining the next year’s floral show.
Group 2, known as midseason or summer bloomers include Asian virgins bower (C. florida), and hybrids like ‘Belle of Woking,’ ‘Jackmanii,’ ‘Multi-Blue,’ and ‘Silver Moon.’
Late season or fall bloomers (Group 3) include swamp leatherflower (C. crispa), golden (C. tangutica), scarlet leather (C. texensis), virgin’s bower (C. virginiana), Italian leather flower (C. viticella), and their hybrids.
Group 3 plants should be pruned in the spring by cutting them back to a few inches above the ground. These types bloom on new growth, so giving them a good chop in the spring encourages abundant flowering in the coming year.
If you want to enjoy colorful clematis from early spring to fall, you’ll need to plant one from each Group in your yard. Or, you can find one of the long-flowering types. Let’s talk about those, next.
Best Long-Flowering Options
If you don’t want to or don’t have the space for multiple plants to extend the flowering season, there are a few hybrids and cultivars that will reliably bloom over a long period.
Arabella
If you’re looking for a non-vining type that will flower for a good, long while, check out the hybrid ‘Arabella.’ This cultivar flowers from June until October, with the most prolific period in July and August.
When blooming, the semi-herbaceous plant will be smothered in purplish-blue flowers with a hint of red down the center of each petal on a five-foot-tall bush that doesn’t require support.
Bred by one of Britain’s most respected clematis breeders, Barry Fretwell, it was introduced in the 1990s by Peveril Clematis Nursery. Its parentage is unknown, but it’s obvious that there’s some C. integrifolia in there, and it’s often mislabeled as such.
‘Arabella’ grows in Zones 4 to 10 and is in pruning Group 3.
Boulevard
Boulevard is a series of Group 3 hybrids that are small and compact, earning them the nickname of patio clematis.
At under five feet tall they are all small enough to thrive in containers, and they all bloom for an extraordinarily long time. They can be found in pretty much any color.
The Boulevard series was developed by British horticulturist Raymond Evison over decades to create colorful, tough, and adaptable plants that stay petite and thrive in Zones 4 to 10.
You can’t go wrong with any of the hybrids in this series, but here are a couple of notable options:
Bernadine™ has icy-blue blossoms with an impressive six-inch diameter.
‘Daniel Deronda’ is an eye-catching jackmanii hybrid. The classic blue-violet blossoms are a massive eight inches in diameter and appear twice during the course of the growing season.
The first flush happens in late spring and includes huge semi-double flowers that last for weeks.
The second flush consists of single flowers that pop up in late summer and linger for weeks. It’s in Group 2 but blooms best on the old wood, so keep that in mind when pruning.
This large-flowered hybrid thrives in Zones 4 to 8 and grows up to eight feet tall with support.
Ernest Markham
From early summer to early fall, the hybrid ‘Ernest Markham’ is draped in six-inch purple-red blossoms on vines that grow up to 12 feet long.
Those in Zones 4 to 11 can pick up this Group 3 plant at Burpee.
Garland Tekla
Garland is a series bred to bloom in less-than-perfect environments with colorful, showy flowers. Tekla™ is the jewel in this collection’s crown.
The six-inch flowers are hot pink with ruffled petals. They first appear in early summer and then repeat in flushes over and over through fall on a bushy five-foot-tall plant.
‘Niobe’ is something special. Bred in the 1970s by breeder Wladyslaw Noll, in Poland, the six-inch wide garnet flowers have a loyal following, as well as earning the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit in 1993.
If you see a large-flowered red clematis, chances are high it’s ‘Niobe.’
Technically a Group 2 bloomer, if you prune it hard in the spring like a Group 3, it will delay blooming by a few weeks but will reward your efforts with abundant blossoms.
Normally, it starts blooming in early spring until early fall in Zones 4 to 11.
Rooguchi
This hybrid doesn’t have the familiar open-faced flowers that you’re probably used to.
Bred by clematis expert Kazushige Ozawa in Japan in 1988, it’s a hybrid of C. integrifolia and C. durandii that features cobalt bell-shaped flowers.
The hummingbirds love this plant and can feed on the flowers most of the summer as it blooms from mid-spring through fall.
Unlike most of the large-flowered hybrids you see in gardens, this one is intensely fragrant.
It grows about six feet tall in Zones 3 to 8 and is an easy-to-maintain Group 3 type.
The best way to extend the flowering period is to plant your clematis in a spot with lots of sun.
Assuming you’ve already done that, support the plant by fertilizing and watering it regularly. A stressed plant won’t bloom for as long as it could.
Long-flowering hybrids differ from other types in that they can be cut back dramatically after flowering, and they will likely provide a second flush of blooms.
After the flowers fade, cut the vine back by about a third.
Don’t bother deadheading the other groups. They won’t send out a second flush and you might interfere with next year’s growth.
Clematis Provide Long-Lasting Beauty
Clematis are some of the longest and most dramatic bloomers in the garden, which is no doubt part of the reason that they’re so incredibly popular.
It’s possible to have one flowering in your garden from the first frost to the last if you plant a specimen from each Group.
So, what’s your plan? Are you going to plant several for a three-season display? Or are one of the long-blooming types calling your name? Let us know in the comments section below.
Bloom time is only the tip of the clematis knowledge iceberg. Like I said, these plants are fascinating. Here are a few other guides that will help you learn more about growing these charming vines:
Here’s a question for you: Is a garden complete without a vine? Some may passionately argue that it isn’t, as this type of plant adds another dimension and potential burst of color or fragrance to a garden that other plants can’t provide. I, myself, am a mild vine enthusiast. Maybe it’s because vines, in general, can be tricky to maintain and, if not done properly, become a brambly, ugly mess. A well trimmed vine, though? That, I can get behind.
Here are ten facts about vines—their nature, habits, and abilities—that might skew your attitude toward (or against) them.
Above: Rosa mulliganii, in the white garden at Sissinghurst Castle, is not a vine. Just one rose covers this structure. Photograph by Jonathan Buckley, from Ramblers: The Most Romantic Rose.
Did you know that in some parts of the world the term “vine” refers solely to grape vines and the term “climber” is used for plants that climb. To make matters even more confusing, there are plants that behave like vines but aren’t technically a vine. These are called scramblers like some shrub roses that can be trained to climb. So, what exactly defines a vine? It’s a plant whose woody stem needs support to climb and it uses tendrils or it twines up a structure. A vine can also sprawl along the ground.
2. Some won’t return year after year.
Above: Morning glory will re-seed liberally. If you want to keep it in check, deadhead the flower once it’s done blooming. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Gardenista, from Gardening 101: Morning Glory.
Some vines are evergreen (like jasmine), some are deciduous and lose their leaves (like Boston ivy), and some (like clematis) have both evergreen and deciduous types. Some vines should be treated as annuals (like sweet peas), and some vines are invasive in certain areas and are difficult to eradicate (like blue morning glory vine, Japanese honeysuckle, and English ivy). Pro tip: Before choosing any vine, check with your local extension service to make sure it isn’t invasive in your area.
