The hardiest evergreen vines are conifers.
No one grows pyracantha for sale anymore because bad bugs must like them.

I still see firethorns at local outlets. The flowers smell and the thorniness is nasty. Some are a bit tender, others disease-susceptible - you have to identify and track down the superior ones. The fruits can be spectacular.

Pyracantha coccinea is actually weedy in this region, popping up on its own here and there.

Evergreen clematis needs to be diligently pruned and trained when limited to a structure, otherwise it soon forms heaps of growth underlaid with unsightly lingering dead leaves. And it freezes back periodically in areas outside of the banana belt. One of those plants that looks good after the last winter in Seattle sites where it stayed above 10F-15F but may have been badly browned in places farther north and east, where it didn't stay above the single digits.

Any combination of trellis and climber is liable to involve continued pruning and training. But many climbers develop quickly, and such an arrangement takes less horizontal space than a hedge.

Have a look at the plant selection guide near the front of the Sunset Western Garden Book.

Maybe an evergreen vine isn't in the cards. What are your favorite deciduous vines for covering a wide area in full sun?

Whaever you do , don't plant ivy please!!!!! i AM SURE THIS IS A NO BRAINER.

No, it's not a no brainer! See, this is why I need help! Ivy was one of the vines I was thinking of. What else should I avoid like the plague?

English ivy is considered a no-no for ecological reasons (as is kudzu, which, believe it or not, has been found in the NW), but most other vines behave more or less properly. I dislike trumpet vine, Campsis radicans, as it produces hosts of errant shoots from a wide spreading root system. Ditto golden hops. Wisteria requires a very substantial support system (will rapidly overwhelm most trellises) and can also produce root shoots.

For full sun, there's nothing wrong with honeysuckle. Many species are wonderfully fragrant in summer and all attract hummingbirds. Grapes, both edible or ornamental, are a good choice for full sun. Or climbing or rambler roses. None of these will be evergreen and all will require some sort of training and periodic pruning to maintain correctly and keep size in check. Clematis are also a possibility but generally require more attention than most other vines with regards to pruning, fertilizing and watering.

FWIW, most vining/climbing plants need about 3 years before they are established enough to provide good coverage and plentiful blooms, some a bit longer.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Akebia is almost evergreen. There's an evergreen lonicera on my neighbor's fence that has tubular coral pink flowers and it grows big-will cover a large area. There's also an evergreen climbing hydrangea out there. Sorry don't know the exact varieties.

Jim

Coral pink sounds like Lonicera sempervirens or maybe a hybrid of it. The evergreen hydrangea species grown here tend to be damaged by cold winters. One that was growing some yards up a tree trunk in the Seattle arboretum died completely down during a cold snap (1990, coldest in 30 years).

A smaller example, probably a different species planted on Camano Island was partly burnt this winter but was not killed. It probably got below 10F on the site. One looking like the one that was in the arboretum also survived on Camano. I don't think it was left looking particularly affected.

These are not as showy in flower as deciduous hydrangeas.

Thank you! I'll have to look into the different honeysuckle varieties. And I love climbing hydrangea. We have one on the north side of our barn, which we planted about 3 years ago. It has yet to bloom, but looks very healthy and has grown much faster than I expected. I would think though, that a climbing hydrangea would need some shade, and the area we're thinking about gets full sun.

There's a little store in Old Town Silverdale (McGregor's, for those in Kitsap County) that has a fun vine growing around the top of the building. I asked the owner about it and she said it's Virginia creeper. She said she planted it about 13 years ago and has loved it. Anyone else have any experience with it?

Thank you again!

I think Hydrangea seemanii is the tender one and H. integrifolia is the hardy one (and probably the one growing 50' into a douglas fir tree at Burpwood).

Virginia creeper can get very large but I wouldn't call it ill behaved. However it might be too large to be suitable for a trellis. I think Lonicera henryi ought to work great for that sort of situation. Another good evergreen vine if you can find it is Holboellia coriacea (spelling?)

There are some good ivies out there including the variegated forms of H. colicha and H. canariensis, which are not known to pose an invasive threat here.

I would feel like I was really missing out if I didn't grow Zepherine Drouhin. Hot pink thornless everblooming rose, first and last to bloom in my garden. She may have looked a little ratty after the spectacular first bloom and while she was growing replacement canes for the bloom she has now. I may tend to overlook a tinsy bit of blackspot since I don't spray. But what I do see is the lovely blooms for 6 months. And usually there is foliage on her all winter.

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My Akebias are evergreen, plant 2 varieties and you can get the lovely lavender fruits, but they do get very big over time. Holboellia has not been very vigorous for me.

What fantastic suggestions! I looked up some photos and information on lonicera henryi and it's gorgeous. And I've never even heard of that gorgeous pink evergreen thornless rose! I never even knew such a thing existed!

I have some research to do on Holboellia! What fun options!

Thank you, Eileen

The one that froze down in Loderi Valley was H. integrifolia or one that looked like it. This may not have been hurt at all on Camano this past winter. The one on the wall that did have a little twig dieback has the leaves of the H. seemannii. But the blooms it has produced so far I didn't see with the complement of sterile flowers being shown online, nearly as many as H. anomala petiolaris.

Where a deciduous one was to be used I would choose Schizophragma hydrangeoides instead, the flowerheads remain fresh much longer than those of climbing hydrangea.

If you can get it past the slugs and established. I've had quite a problem with it, more than one plant never taking hold well and taking off even when not eaten to the quick.

I did a search for lonicera henryi and found this website with wonderfull photos of it climbing up walls using supports in different patterns. There is also a chart of support patterns good for this vine. This page is in English, but more info is in German.

Here is a link that might be useful: evergreen honeysuckle photos of vining patterns

I've had a bit of a problem with Akebia. Several years ago I planted some in a grove of Vine Maple. After a few years I decided it wasn't a good choice because it was running rampant on everything planted there. That being Aucuba and Davidi Viburnam, plus the Vine maple, of course. Little did I know that Akebia spreads underground like Passion vine and pops up all over.
What a mistrake!
Mike

Is the space somewhat protected in winter? With our mild winters I have been growing a Star Jasmine and it is evergreen and vining and looks lovely, even when not in bloom. This is its 3rd winter just close to the house and under a bit of an overhang.