Guides / Vines and climbers

Vines and climbers

Plants that trail, climb, scramble or wind.

Illustration of a cucumber plant climbing

A

Armand Clematis
Clematis armandii
How to grow Armand clematis, Clematis armandii. Why cold, drying wind scorches its evergreen leaves even when the wood survives untouched, pruning after flowering rather than in winter, and the sap that can leave ungloved hands itching for days.
ModerateToxic if eatenSkin irritant

B

Blue passion flower
Passiflora caerulea
How to grow blue passion flower, Passiflora caerulea. The extraordinary flower explained, whether the orange fruit is safe, and cutting it back after a hard winter.
Moderate
Boston Ivy
Parthenocissus tricuspidata
Practical guidance for growing Boston ivy, Parthenocissus tricuspidata, including self-clinging adhesive pads, autumn colour, wall damage risk, Japanese beetle, and mild berry toxicity.
EasyHarmful if eaten

C

G

Great Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea spectabilis
Practical guidance for growing great bougainvillea, Bougainvillea spectabilis, including thorny climbing habit, drought-triggered flowering, full sun, pruning, frost protection, and mild skin irritation.
ModerateSkin irritant

H

Hops
Humulus lupulus
How to grow hops, Humulus lupulus. Training the bines clockwise up strings, why you need female plants, picking at the right moment, and drying the cones.
ModerateSkin irritant

J

Japanese Wisteria
Wisteria floribunda
How to grow Japanese wisteria, Wisteria floribunda. Telling it from Chinese wisteria by which way the stems twine, why an unpruned vine grows plenty of leaf but flowers poorly, and the pea-like seed pods that cause severe vomiting if eaten.
ModerateToxic if eaten

M

O

Oriental bittersweet
Celastrus orbiculatus
How to identify oriental bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus. Telling it from native American bittersweet by where the berries cluster, why its tightening stems girdle and kill the trees it climbs, and why cutting it down alone rarely stops it growing back.
EasyHarmful if eaten

P

R

Russian vine
Fallopia baldschuanica
How to grow Russian vine, Fallopia baldschuanica. The mile-a-minute plant, what it will and will not do to a building, and how to get rid of one.
Easy

S

Spanish Jasmine
Jasminum grandiflorum
How to grow Spanish jasmine, Jasminum grandiflorum. Why it scrambles rather than twines and needs tying to a support, its almost year-round flowering in a warm climate, and why a plant sold as "Carolina jasmine" is a different, dangerous species entirely.
ModerateHarmful if eaten

T

Trumpet Vine
Campsis radicans
Practical guidance for growing trumpet vine, Campsis radicans, including its vigorous suckering growth, hummingbird flowers, aerial-root climbing, hard pruning, and skin-irritant sap.
EasyHarmful if eatenSkin irritant

V

Virginia creeper
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
How to grow Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia. Scarlet autumn colour on a bare wall, whether it damages brickwork, and keeping it out of the gutters.
EasyToxic if eatenSkin irritant