Best Vines to Grow on Pergolas and Arbors

Bougainvillea

Botanical name: Bougainvillea glabra

Flower color: Red, pink, purple, orange, white, yellow, and orange

Size: 30 feet

Growing conditions: Zone 9, 10 (USDA)

If you want a vine that produces a riot of color up and across an arbor, trellis, or pergola and you reside in the Mediterranean-like or sunny climate, bougainvillea might be your answer. This native to tropical and subtropical South America may be planted in a container, used on patios as a summer annual, and then moved to a protected area during the winter.

This vine can grow quickly, depending on the variety. If training on an outdoor structure, tie shoots to strong support to avoid wind damage.

Bower Vine

Botanical name: Pandorea jasminoides (Tecoma jasminoides)

Flower color: White or pink

Size: 30 feet

Growing conditions: Zone 9 to 11 (USDA)

A native of Australia, P. jasminoides grows quickly and produces white flowers with pink throats that bloom from late spring to early fall. One variety, 'Deep Pink Form,' is fragrant. It prefers regular water.

Cape Honeysuckle

Botanical name: Tecoma capensis (Tecomaria capensis)

Flower color: Orange-red

Size: Up to 40 feet or more

Growing conditions: Zone 9 to 11 (USDA)

This South African native can be hard-pruned into a shrub or left alone. Once established, it quickly becomes a vine with shiny dark green leaflets. The Cape honeysuckle requires little water and withstands both wind and salt. Its compact flowers appear from fall into spring (in warmer climates).

Carolina Jessamine

Botanical name: Gelsemium sempervirens

Flower color: Yellow

Size: 20 feet

Growing conditions: Zone 7 to 10 (USDA)

This Southern-sounding beauty is native to the southeastern United States. Leaves are shiny and light green and attached to long branches that grow in different directions. Climbing up a trellis, arbor, or pergola, Carolina jessamine's vines will hang down and blow in the wind. Yellow flowers are trumpet-shaped and fragrant.

Chocolate Vine

Botanical name: Akebia quinata

Flower color: Plum; reddish-purple or dull purple

Size: To about 30 feet

Growing conditions: Zone 4 to 8 (USDA)

A native to Japan, China, and Korea, Akebia is admired for its dainty leaves and dangling clusters of vanilla-scented flowers. The chocolate vine bears edible fruit that looks like a long, purplish sausage. Arbors, trellises, and pergolas help support this climber.

Clematis

Botanical name: Clematis spp.

Flower color: Blue, red, pink, white, lavender, magenta, dark purple, yellow, and more

Size: Some varieties can reach 20 feet and beyond

Growing conditions: Zone 4 to 9 (USDA)

This beautiful vining plant requires about six hours of daily sunlight to get the greatest number of blooms. Plant where clematis can climb up an arbor, pergola, trellis, or fence to support the stems. A long-held belief is that clematis must be planted with its "feet in the shade and head in the sun," but regular water and mulch should be sufficient. Plant near shallow ground covers or plants that won't compete for root and ground space.

Climbing Roses

Botanical name: Rosa spp.

Colors: White, pink, red, yellow

Size: To 40 feet or more

Growing conditions: Zone 4 to 11 (USDA) (varies by cultivar)

The climbing species can be vigorous, covering the roof of a house or up into a tree. The more moderate climbers are ideal for pergolas and arbors. Besides being beautiful, some have intoxicating scents. Climbing roses are easy to grow and care for, especially once established. Prune, water, feed regularly, and deadhead blooms to encourage more flowers.

Grapes

Botanical name: Vitis vinifera

Flower or fruit colors: Grapes are purple, green, black

Size: Can grow to 20 feet or more

Growing conditions: Zone 6 to 9 (USDA)

Take a drive through California's highways and backroads, and you'll see grapevines growing on hills, in front yards, and seemingly on every spare plot of land. Everyone is taking advantage of the climate and soil to grow grapes and make wine.

Grape-growing for wine-making is not just growing a few vines and making wine in the basement. While wine grape varieties prefer a Mediterranean climate, they aren't limited to those regions. Grapevines need support, and a pergola or arbor provides the perfect framework for them to climb and thrive.

Giant Burmese Honeysuckle

Botanical name: Lonicera hildebrandiana

Flower color: White

Size: Up to 30 feet

Growing conditions: Zone 9 to 11 (USDA)

A fast-growing native to China, giant Burmese honeysuckle is an especially attractive vine for arbors and pergolas, although it needs strong support. Its leaves are oval, glossy, and dark green, while the flowers blossom white, turning yellow and orange. The flowers pop up in summer and are fragrant.

Moonflower

Botanical name: Ipomoea alba

Flowers: White

Size: Up to about 30 feet

Growing conditions: Zone 10 to 11 (USDA)

Moonflower is a fast-growing vine that provides quick shade for an arbor or pergola. Its funnel-shaped flowers are fragrant and open at night or on overcast days. This plant needs heat to bloom.

Passion Flower

Botanical name: Passiflora spp.

Flower colors: White, pink, purple, red, yellow, and orange

Size: Can climb to 40 feet or more

Growing conditions: Zone 7 to 10 (USDA)

Natives of tropical Americas, Asia, Australia, and the South Pacific, the genus includes more than 500 species, most of which are vines. A passionflower vine will attach to the structure, such as a pergola or arbor, when provided support. Passionflowers tolerate most soils but like regular water and sun with dappled shade for optimum growing performance. The flowers have different colored centers and all kinds of variations. Some species are fragrant.

Blue passionflower (Passiflora caerulea), pictured, bears edible fruits (maypops). Wait until the fruit is fully ripe before eating.

Pink Jasmine

Botanical name: Jasminium polyanthum

Flower color: White, pink

Size: Up to 20 feet

Growing conditions: Zone 7 to 10 (USDA)

This evergreen vine hails from China and is popular for its highly fragrant blossoms, which are rose on the outside and white inside. Jasmine can be planted in the ground or in containers and trained over arbors or pergolas. In warmer climates, it blooms from late winter through spring, but flowers can appear throughout the year.

Trumpet Creeper

Botanical name: Campsis radicans

Flower color: Red, orange, and yellow

Size: Up to 40 feet

Growing conditions: Zone 7 to 10 (USDA)

Also known as common trumpet creeper, this vine is native to the eastern United States and is popular in cold climates. Once established, it will grow in other regions as well and is drought tolerant. A fast grower, it can quickly reach 40 feet. Tubular flowers bloom throughout the summer months.

Coral Honeysuckle

Botanical name: Lonicera sempervirens

Flower color: Scarlet to yellow-orange

Size: Up to 20 feet

Growing conditions: Zone 4 to 11 (USDA)

Coral honeysuckle's showy, trumpet-shaped flowers are deep red to orange but have no scent. This plant is also sometimes called trumpet honeysuckle. It blooms from late spring through summer and produces long leaves that are medium green above and bluish green beneath. Some varieties, such as 'Cedar Lane,' are vigorous growers.

Wisteria

Botanical name: Wisteria

Flower colors: Purple, blue, white, or pink blossoms

Size: Varies according to species and location; some grow to 40 feet or more

Growing conditions: Zone 5 to 9 (USDA)

Wisteria grown as a vine should be pruned and trained to control size and shape and produce a strong trunk. Cut back or pinch long streamers and side stems and tie the stem to a stake or arbor.

Climbing Hydrangea

Botanical name: Hydrangea anomala 

Flower colors: White

Size: 30 to 50 feet tall, 5 to 6 feet wide

Growing conditions: Zone 4 to 10 (USDA)

Climbing hydrangea is a flowering deciduous vine often grown on trellises or climbing structures, and because of its suckers, it can climb a wall with little effort. It produces white flowers with dark green foliage but is slower to grow, usually taking up to five years to reach its mature size with its full production of flowers. Once established, prune it regularly in summer to keep it growing to your needs.

Sweet Pea

Botanical name: Lathyrus odoratus

Flower colors: Red, pink, blue, white, and lavender

Size: Up to 8 feet tall

Growing conditions: Zone 3 to 8 (USDA)

Sweet pea plants are beloved for their scent and variety of flower colors, producing red, pink, blue, white, and lavender blooms. This annual must be planted yearly, but it grows up to 8 feet tall and flowers in spring, early summer, and fall. This plant's greatest downside is these cool-season blooms stop producing flowers in sweltering, high heat. Sweet peas do not produce edible pods; this plant is toxic to humans and pets.

Firecracker Vine

Botanical name: Ipomoea lobata

Flower colors: Yellow, orange, red

Size: Up to 10 feet tall

Growing conditions: Zone 8 to 11 (USDA)

Firecracker vine makes bright red tubular-shaped flowers that beckon hummingbirds and other pollinators to sample their nectar. These floral firecrackers develop a floral progression from yellow to orange to red. This fast-growing vine is a tropical plant only returning in zones 10 and 11. It will die when frost arrives. Replant it every year for a show of beautiful annual blooms. These plants are closely related to morning glory and sweet potato vines.

Virginia Creeper

Botanical name: Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Flower colors: Greenish-white

Size: Up to 20 feet tall and wide

Growing conditions: Zone 3 to 10 (USDA)

Virginia creeper is grown for its green, golden, red, or variegated foliage, although its small greenish floral clusters make a dainty appearance in late spring. The flowers mature into purplish-black berries favored by birds (although toxic and inedible by humans). This plant handles full sun without a problem and returns yearly in most zones. It easily grows up trellises, arbors, and walls, with tough-as-nails grips that can sometimes be hard to remove.

Mandevilla

Botanical name: Mandevilla spp.

Flower colors: Pink, red, white

Size: Up to 10 feet tall

Growing conditions: Zone 10 to 11 (USDA)

Mandevilla or rocktrumpet is a fast-growing flowering vine that thrives in hot weather but can't tolerate frosty temperatures. Plant this vine annually in late spring once frosty temps have passed. This plant gives your arbor or trellis a tropical look while attracting hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees to your garden. This plant is easy to maintain, does not need much beyond water, and has an occasional feeding of fertilizer to keep flowering prolific throughout the season.