You might like cup-and-saucer vine, cobaea scandens. I grew it, full sun, in my zone 6 garden.

Carol

Carol,
I grew that years ago when I had a greenhouse. I have seen it as a perennial and it was, in the heated greenhouse. Have you been able to have it flower as an annual? If so, was it from seed or did you find plants at a nursery?

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I grew it from seed in the garden itself, didn't start it indoors. And yes, it flowered very well. Didn't return the following year, though. But I thought you just want an annual?

Because if you want an easy perennial, grow honeysuckle or bittersweet. Hey, I have a lot I could give you. Lots and lots!

Carol

I have tried the cobaea twice and each time it has looked ready to flower, just before being killled by frost, but now that I hear someone else has had success, I might try again in a different spot..

I always like to have the black-eyed susan (thunbergia )and grow it from seed. It is usually quite floriferous. The one downside is that the seed doesn't keep well. I either collect seed at the end of the season or buy new seed
each year.

I also like asarina scandens. It does well and self seeds modestly, so that it is somewhat self-sustaining over time.

Well I can certainly try a fast growing annual, but I haven't ruled out a perennial. Passionflower might be an option as I said before, but honeysuckle would be far to rampant for those little trellises and bittersweet.........well I had all to do to eradicate that a couple of years ago when I had all the landscaping and garden construction done!

Asarum, does asarina grow and bloom fairly quickly? How about being full rather than a skimpy few stems?

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Bill, I can't access your photo link.

Claire

Claire it's a public photo on photobucket. It shows up OK when I read this thread.................I don't know why you don't see it. Not sure what I could do except to try to insert it here:

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Bill, I’ve grown a few annual vines. The morning glories and moon flower vine just bloom pretty late in the season. I’ve grown the moonflower a couple of times and didn’t get any bloom before frost. I’ve grown the asarina vine, and it is a cute little flower, but not really very exciting and I think it prefers part sun with some shade in the day.

I have not tried the cup and saucer or the passionflower because I thought they both bloom late as well. I also thought they both produce pretty dense growth. Passionflower I know less about. That sounds like something up your alley, being a little exotic and unusual. As long as the size will not dwarf your trellis.

I have taken a liking to clematis. There are so many different varieties. I’ve just started trying them in the past few years. I have a metal trellis that is about the size of yours that I’m growing clematis on. I bought one that has a longer bloom season but is a shorter version. ‘Blue Boy’, it is a pale grey blue. Wish I had a photo, but I couldn’t find any useful photos. It was only in it’s second year last year and has not filled out entirely.

I have another clematis, that was the only one I had for the past 15 years, that grows just a little taller than me and is on a small trellis on the house. It only has a short bloom period, which is a drawback, and the fact that they are bare lower on the vine. I wonder if you might pair it with another vine that has a longer bloom period? And add a pot of annuals at the base to disguise the bare legs? That I do have a photo of…

I forgot to add, that particular clematis is called 'Duchess of Edinburgh' and it blooms in June. But there are SO many others to choose from. And you could grow two together that have different bloom seasons.

And I should mention that I have not grown the Moonflower Vine in full, all day sun. Six hours at most. So perhaps you would get a different result, but it would still be pretty late in the season.

Have you considered growing a short climbing rose?

Now I can see both photos, the original and the one you inserted.

I have no experience with passion flowers but I've always been intrigued by the Passiflora incarnata Maypop which is a native and hardy to zone 5.
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Logee's carries it along with a lot of other interesting vines.

I think you already have the Carolina Jessamine which would also be good.

Maybe grow a non-hardy vine in a container and let it climb the trellises in warm weather and bring it inside during the winter? Logee's does that (I saw that on their website but now I can't find the quote easily).

Claire

I found this photo online of one Passion Flower Vine, just to give you some idea of it's size.

Ann and Claire,
Thanks for the input. I was only considering the hardy Passionflower as far as a perennial was concerned. I think that it would bloom fairly early each year once established. I could buy a tropical one each year (or try to overwinter cuttings) but it would be expensive and probably not as good for early bloom. I am open to all sorts of annuals as well as clematis. I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but the trellises are in beds, so underplanting to hide the lower, bare vines wouldn't be a problem.

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Ok, I see the hardy version's latin name is Passiflora caerulea. Blooming from June to Oct. 30ft tall though. I suppose you could keep it pruned to the size of your trellis. The annuals are fun. I've enjoyed growing them in the past, I like the black eyed susan too, and they have a yellow version and a pink version now. I haven't grown them well, again, because not enough sun for them, so no experience to share.

Well, you've chosen a lot of great plants, Bill, I'm sure you will do it again. :-)

Another possibility is to try a Morning Glory that blooms earlier, since you liked them.

Johnny's Selected Seeds says that President Tyler is the earliest Morning Glory they sell. Unfortunately they only sell seeds, but they say "Days to Maturity or Bloom: 45"

Claire

This post was edited by claire on Sat, Mar 9, 13 at 16:58

Bill -

For reliable early season bloom, I have had great success with Gelsemium sempervirens 'Margarita', on a trellis just a tad larger than yours. . .for years, I had always admired a friend's glorious yellow jasmine when I visited Wilmington, NC (Zone 8) each April - they finally asked me WHY I didn't just grow it! Lo and behold, it's hardy to Zone 6, and it's evergreen. . .since it's an early
performer, it shares the trellis with two clematis.

Like you, it seems, vines have started to interest me a
lot. . .especially since my space is constricted. After
seeing an intriguing presentation about a decade ago
at the NYBG by the owner of Brushwood Nursery,
they've become my go-to source for vines of all sorts.
If you check the link, under "Jasmine", the first photo
gives you a good look at "Margarita"

Carl

Here is a link that might be useful: Brushwood Nursery

Carl,

Thanks for the info.

As it happens, I've been growing 'Margarita' for several years. I planted three more two years ago, but the first one is almost 10 years old. Before 'Margarita', G. sempervirens varieties weren't reliably hardy here in zone 6. It interested me because it's just about the only evergreen flowering vine I can grow here.

Here are a couple of photos of my oldest one.

As you can see, it's a great performer.

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Like PM2 I grow clematis; I know I have more than 30, but have sort of lost count. Initially one needs to be a bit patient, but after 2 years, they do really well. You can choose them by size - Clematis on the Web is a great resource to look up details of height, hardiness, bloom season, etc. My best luck has been mail ordering them; though I have gotten a few at local nurseries, they aren't commonly carried around here. (Brushwood, Hummingbird Farm, and Silver Star Vinery all have nice plants.) If you plant type 3's they get pruned to a foot or so in winter, so you don't have to look at dead vines for long.
C. HF Young
{{gwi:265354}}From June 5, 2012

C. Stolwijk Gold the beginning of the second season (this is only the base of the plant - it was about 3 1/2 feet tall at the time.)

I have grown Asarina scandens, but for me it only got about 4 feet tall. I grew it in a pot and really liked its delicate texture there. I don't know how impressive it would be against your stone wall, though it might be a nice contrast.

I have grown sweet peas (the annuals have a lovely scent, but the perennials seed too aggressively and aren't scented.) The annuals do best in cool weather, so you could plant some early and then have a warm weather vine to take over later.

One of my (and the hummingbirds') favorites is scarlet runner bean. I use the tiny beans steamed and let some of the pods mature for dried beans, and just enjoy the flowers all season. I don't plant them near pink flowers, however, since they are a slightly orange-red.

I have grown Thunbergia many years, but they always end up sort of underwhelming me, though I don't dislike them. They might contrast well against your dark stone.

I also really like Lonicera sempervirens 'Major Wheeler'. When I've seen it in other gardens, it has not been huge, but I don't know how much it was pruned. Mine is only a year old so I can't speak to its eventual size in my garden. It is native and doesn't seem to have aggressive tendancies as far as I can tell.

You could also look into some of the more restrained climbing roses. You have a lot more options in that area than I do.

Kiwi vines are nice, and some varieties produce fruit, but they are way too big for those trellises IME. One of my neighbors grows them up and across the top of a stone wall. I'll have to see how she trains them. You might be able to do that. I'll take a photo next time I am over that way.

I am also going to be zone pushing this year, based at least partly on some of your photos. I've ordered G. sempervirens 'Margarita' and will place it in a sheltered spot in the hopes of making it happy enough to flourish for me.

There is also a non-native variegated form of Virginia creeper that is supposed to grow less large. That could grow in another spot on your wall if you wanted, as they don't need trellises to climb.

NHBabs,
That HF young is really nice!

I have seen some references that state G. sepmervirens 'Margarita' is hardy to zone 5. Given that it has been rock hardy for me here for several years (8+?) in zone 6, I think a sheltered spot in zone 5 may be OK. I hope you have good luck with it.

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