By Bev Johnson

Master Gardener

Most gardeners have a problem area in their “estates.” An ugly shed, a deck with 6 feet of bare legs, a neighbor’s ugly fence, the places you can’t plant a coverup hedge. The solution could be a vine.  Boston ivy will grow almost anyplace except in full shade. Actually, if you have full shade, you are out of luck growing vines or hedges. Anyhow, this vine will tolerate dry conditions. She can climb to 30 to 40 feet using tendrils that end in little discs that attach themselves to almost anything. She has bird loving dark blue berries in the summer that turn bright red in the fall. Boston is a slower grower, but it fills out beautifully.  A more restrained version is Engelman’s ivy. If you ever need to remove these ivies, cut them off at the base then wait a few days for them to dry up before you try to pull them off. 

Clematis is always a favorite. It is relatively easy to grow. They need a well-drained, sunny site. They like cool roots so plant a small shrub or groundcover at her feet. She wants her head in the sun and her feet in the shade. Plant her deep, making sure that the lowest 2 pairs of buds (they are opposite each other) are below soil level. Prune back at least half the top growth before you plant. If your clematis blooms in mid to late summer, it is flowering on new growth and can be cut back to about a foot in early spring. This ensures the whole vine is blooming and not just the top. If it blooms in the early spring, it can be lightly pruned after blooming to keep it in shape. Or you can just leave her alone to do her thing. 

Trumpet creeper will attract hummingbirds. She will grow 12 to 15 feet and can easily hit 30 feet. This is a native sun lover. The vines get very heavy so plan on a sturdy support. The most commonly sold species is Campsis radicans that flowers orange. There are also other cultivars that bloom red, salmon or yellow. She can take several years before she decides she likes where you planted her and blooms.

A shade tolerant zone 4 vine is Dutchman’s pipe. She is a slow grower who twists around her supports and will get to about 25 feet. The leaves are large and heart shaped. Hidden in the foliage are flowers that look like a curved pipe. This strange flower lures insects with her strong scent. When the bug creeps into the flower, it briefly traps them. When the insect is well coated with pollen, the flower opens and lets the insect fly away. 

Golden hops die back each winter, then pop right back up in the spring. It will then grow 20 to 30 feet. This pretty vine has golden/chartreuse leaves that fade to green later in the summer. The flowers are inconspicuous but are followed by bright yellow hop cones that can be used to flavor your homemade beer. This vine will twine around anything it can reach so don’t stand still too long near it.

Porcelain berry vine is a cousin of grapes. In the fall she has clusters of edible but bad tasting multi-colored berries. They start out green then turn turquoise, pink, purple and black. She climbs by tendrils and will die back each winter. Once she is well established, she will grow more than 8 feet each summer. The variety Elagans has cream and green variegated leaves. If you are covering up an old toilet, a 30 feet vine may be just the thing. Plant more vines.