Versatile native flowering vines will grow on you

Vines can add a new dimension to your garden. Many are grown for their vibrant flower colors, and there are several great locally available native vines to consider adding to your landscape. All will need some support such as a trellis, fence, or snag (remains of a dead tree).

Why plant natives?

A plant is considered native if it existed in a certain area or ecosystem prior to European contact. Growing native plants provides many benefits to the environment.

First, as these plants evolved in a particular environment, they are better adapted to local soil, moisture, and climate conditions than introduced exotic plants, making them less dependent on pesticides, fertilizer, and irrigation. They’re also less likely to become invasive or disrupt local ecosystems. Finally, they better support local wildlife than do non-native plants, providing shelter and food for birds, mammals, and insects.

How do vines climb?

Vines can be split into three basic groups based on how they climb: clinging, twining, and sprawling. Clinging vines use specialized organs to hold onto structures. As examples, grape vines and crossvines use their tendrils to help them climb, while Virginia creeper uses small, sticky rootlets to cling to surfaces.

Twining vines like moonflower, wisteria, jessamine, or coral honeysuckle rely on a different method, twisting their stems around upright supports. They may need a little help from you if you want them to find their way along fences or trellises.

Sprawling vines have long stems but no means of attachment. Without help, they may just grow in an ever-expanding mound on the ground.

Training your vines

Vines tend to be fast growers, climbing ever upward in their quest to reach the sun. This can be an advantage if you’re using taller structures like arbors to support them. But on fences or trellises, vines can end up looking sparse at the base.

Training your vines from day one can help fix this problem. For twining vines, weave the new shoots sideways through the sections of the fence or trellis, and keep doing this as the vines grow. Once the vine reaches the top of the fence or trellis, start weaving the stems downward. For clinging vines that attach themselves to their supports, pinch the tips of the new shoots to encourage the vine to branch out and get fuller.

To effectively attach sprawling vines to a structure, you'll need to provide them with support. For example, if you want to have them grow up a fence, you can attach wires or a trellis to the fence to weave the stems around or just gently guide the stems back and forth between the fence slats as they grow.

Spend a little time training your vines, and you’ll end up with good coverage on your trellis or fence.

Here are some great native flowering vines for you to try,

Passionflower

Zebra longwing and gulf fritillary butterfly species rely on native passion vine to feed their young.

You may know the native passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) as “maypop,” so called perhaps because the hollow yellow fruits make a popping sound if you step on them. Another explanation is that the name comes from the fact that by May, you may find them popping up all over your yard. The vine can easily grow to 30 feet, and if you don’t take care, it can take off over the tops of bushes next to the arbor or trellis that supports it.

This is an easy-to-grow twining vine that bears lavender to purple flowers that look alien. The blooms are three to five inches wide with a wavy fringe over five petals. The middle of the bloom looks like a helipad, with a tiny yellow pollen sac suspended overhead. Each flower lasts about a day during the summer and early fall.

In addition to being an attractive garden addition, the passionflower serves as a host plant (meaning that caterpillars eat the leaves) for both gulf fritillary and zebra longwing butterflies. You may also find that hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers. While the native passionflower may produce fruit, it is not very tasty. These vines will grow best in full sun but will tolerate some shade.

Coral honeysuckle

Coral honeysuckle is a great hummingbird attractor and is easy to train to grow up an arbor.

Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) grows all over Florida, and, in our area, the leaves may drop in colder winters. Also called trumpet honeysuckle, this vine is best known for its bright red, tubular flowers. Clusters of blooms emerge on new growth in spring and summer. The flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies for months before maturing into berries. These fruits then draw songbirds in late summer and fall.

This vine will require the support of a trellis or fence, and individual stems can grow up to 15 feet in length. Training and pruning can help direct these stems and improve overall form. Coral honeysuckle grows best in slightly acidic soil. And while it grows in partial shade, it blooms best in full sun.

Coral honeysuckle is generally a low-maintenance plant once it has established. It is drought tolerant and generally does not attract pests.

Crossvine

This crossvine was found growing over an azalea bush at Maclay Gardens State Park.

Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) is a perennial evergreen vine, named for the cross-shaped pattern seen in stem cross-sections. It typically puts on a spectacular display of tubular red-orange flowers with yellow throats that are prized by hummingbirds. This vine climbs on its own using tendrils, so it can easily scale fences or even tall snags. I planted this vine at the base of a 20-foot-tall pine snag, and it climbed to the top and bloomed in just a few months.

This vine will grow best in well-drained organic soils and produces the most blooms if planted in full sun. Crossvine can live up to 50 years and can grow long and far. It’s best planted in an area where it has plenty of room to spread. While it is easily propagated from seeds, it also sends up new plants from its roots.

Moonflower

Moonflowers are easy to grow from seed and take just minutes to open as the sun goes down.

When I think of moonflowers (Ipomoea alba), I think of the vines that my grandmother always had growing above the support for the porch swing in her back yard. On warm evenings we patiently waited and watched for the beautiful flowers to open.

The moonflower produces huge white flowers, six to eight inches in diameter, open at sunset and close again in the morning. Their sweet scent attracts night feeding moths, including the hummingbird moth, which really does look and sound like a hummingbird.

In our area, moonflowers are grown as annuals, and seeds are readily available in a wide variety of stores. Nick the hard seed coat on each seed and give them an overnight soaking in warm water for fastest germination. You can either start them inside under grow lights or plant them directly in the soil when it warms in spring. Moonflowers start blooming in summer, and you can enjoy their blooms through fall. Try collecting the seeds in the fall for next year’s vines.

Carolina jessamine

For blooms in late winter into spring, try planting Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens). As temperatures rise, the vines will be adorned with two-inch-long, yellow flowers. The trumpet-shaped flowers put out a sweet fragrance, making the vine that much more attractive for pollinators and gardeners alike.

This evergreen vine stays bushy and compact when it’s grown in full sun. In shadier spots, it will climb trees and shrubs as it tries to get closer to the sunlight, with the vines reaching up to 20 feet. In home gardens, it’s a great vine to use on arbors, trellises, and pergolas. While it will tolerate some shade, plant Carolina jessamine in full sun for maximum flowering.

American wisteria

This vine may be a bit more difficult to locate for purchase, but it’s worth the effort. The more familiar and more showy Chinese and Japanese wisteria are not recommended by UF/IFAS due to their invasiveness or potential invasiveness, so we recommend the native variety, Wisteria frutescens, which bears blue-purple flowers throughout the spring and summer. The blooms may not be quite as fragrant as those of their Asian cousins, but they also won’t try as hard to take over your yard. As an added bonus, American wisteria is a larval host plant for both the silver-spotted skipper and the long-tailed skipper butterflies.

This vine is not picky about soil types and will bloom in part shade to full sun. It’s a fast grower and can achieve a length of up to 30 feet. Be patient with this vine as it can take two to three years to start blooming and note also that it loses its leaves in winter. It twines around its support, and, as it matures, the vine thickens and can crush a wood structure. A metal support system is thus recommended for American wisteria.

There are many more native flowering vines beyond those listed here, so you have many to choose from. Why not give a native flowering vine a try in your yard? You and the pollinators in your area will be glad you did!

Susan Barnes is a Master Gardener Volunteer with UF/IFAS Leon County Extension, an Equal Opportunity Institution. For gardening questions, email [email protected].