Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
courtneylyn_gw

Mixing vines on an arbor?

courtneylyn
10 years ago

I have a four-post arbor shading my entryway. The posts are ten feet high, and they are set six feet apart on two sides and twelve feet apart on the other two.

I have sort of an eclectic taste in decorating indoors, so it stands to reason that I would consider planting multiple varieties of vines on the arbor. Good idea? Terrible idea?

I LOVE fragrant blooms, and was thinking of working with two vines that bloom in different seasons so I'd always have some pretty flowers. Problem is...I know nothing about plants.

Comments (6)

  • jaymo49
    10 years ago

    Not sure whether this is a pathway or a porch arbor, but that is something you need to consider. Some of the vines grow so much that it is a constant battle to keep them off the roof. Jasmine is fragrant when it blooms, but only one month a year. Blue sky vine is beautiful, but has no scent, and sometimes waits until just before frost to bloom (although my friends and neighbors' bloom in the summer). Don't plant either of these where they can get near the roof. Not sure about trumpet vine, I think the yellow one is the dreaded cat's claw, which apparently is a tarted up kudzu....maybe it is different from the orange one. Cape honeysuckle blooms in the fall and winter if it is mild, not like this year. Wisteria is beautiful and fragrant, but keep it away from your house (I have mine about 12 feet away with a sidewalk in between). It can mess with your foundation. I haven't had much luck with clematis since moving south. Passionflowers are pretty and some people say they grow like weeds (not for me). The yellow mandevilla with the shiny leaves (not sure what its real name is) is really vigorous and blooms all season long and hummingbirds love it. It will die back, but if you cut it back and mulch it well it will come back in spring. Of course, you can put climbing roses like Lady Banks (but only blooms once a year) or a repeat blooming climber. I haven't grown crossvine or snail vine, but that might be a good choice. Annual vines are great to plant until your perennial vines do some growing (the first year it sleeps, the second it creeps, the third year it leaps). Cypress vine (little red flowers and lacy foliage) blooms late summer, attracts hummingbirds, hyacinth beans (also hummingbird attractor) bloom late summer and have sweet pea like pink flowers followed by purple pods. Morning glory and moonflowers are beautiful. When mixing the vines, if it would look right on your arbor, you could put a 2 foot lattice trellis about halfway down on the long side(s) and grow two matching vines there, maybe the jasmine which is nice and green all the time, then put your colorful vines at the corners. Good luck when we can finally get out in the yard again! This winter is separating the men plants from the boys!

  • princesspea
    10 years ago

    A very common pairing is clematis and climbing roses. Give a look at the clematis forum for some examples.
    However, I have climbing roses to deal with at work they are all over our gates and I am the only one not afraid of them, so I don't really have them here at home.
    I have a mix if annual vines (moonflower, sweet pea) and perrenials (3 different jasmines, clematis) on my front porch- the jasmines just joined- they will be enthusiastically pruned ( I love to prune) and the clematis are the type you prune nearly to the ground in fall, all at one whack, instead of the kinds you have to fuss about.
    In zone 9 the best way to do sweet peas is plant in the fall. Mine are blooming already (San Jose, CA). Moonflowers you have to plant late when the dirt warms up, soak the seeds in warm water overnight and then plant on the hottest side of your pergola, they really want heat.

    On my backyard gazebo are coral flame honeysuckle and pandorea (bower vine). Just started. We will see how they go.

    Have fun !

    Pea

  • unbiddenn
    10 years ago

    I mix vines in several places in my garden. Roses and Clematis, clematis and clematis, clematis and honeysuckle. The only thing you really have to pay attention to is how vines are taken care of at the end of season. Mixing say... Morning glory and clematis is disastrous, because morning glory must be removed at the end of its season (its an annual) and the clematis vine should be left. they are nearly identical, and impossible to distinguish between the two. Only pair vines that need the same type of care, to save yourself future headache.
    The picture is of an arch, it holds two different roses, and four different clematis, when i trim , I trim all at once.

  • Dusty Giles
    7 years ago

    What about clematis with Carolina jasmine? I have two types of clematis not sure what kinds. Light purple and dark purple see pictures live in zone 7b in Alabama the light one blooms early May and darker one comes in about 4weeks later. Thanks


  • Helen Aragon
    3 years ago

    I'm trying a wisteria and a trumpet vine as a standered in a large container can't wait to see how that goes.