13 Best Evergreen Climbers - Passionate Gardeners

I had a song repeating in my head the other day, “Don’t fence me in.” Do you know it? It’s a popular American song written in 1934 by Cole Porter, and sung by so many other artists, including the one I couldn’t get out of my head…Talking Heads.

The lyrics below, had me thinking about how much I value space and freedom outdoors…

Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies
Don’t fence me in

But a lot of times we need and appreciate a little fencing in… a little privacy from neighbors and a busy world! Outdoors, we can put up fencing, walls, arbors, pergolas; just about any architectural structure to create privacy and dimension, or, just the wall and ceiling planes to our gardens and outdoor rooms. So when you need the perfect marriage of evergreen climbers for architectural structures, (or vice-versa) here are some great choices:

Hardy Evergreen Climbers

1. Akebia quinata (Fiveleaf Akebia) Zones: 5 – 9. Evergreen to semi-evergreen. Vigorously spreading and climbing vine with attractive, bluish-green foliage. Spring blooming Flowers are fragrant and grow on dangling stalks; color is deep purple. Fast cover for arbors. Expect this vine to grow quickly and vigorously. Part to full sun. Stems 20 -25 feet long.

2. Clematis armandii (Evergreen Clematis) Zones: 7 – 9. Large, leathery green leaves and with lots of showy and fragrant, star-like white blooms in brilliant clusters. Fast coverage for patios, trellises, arbors and great privacy screen. Spring bloomer. To 25 feet. Part sun.

3. Gelsemium sempervirens (Carolina jasmine) Zones: 7 -9. This vine tends to climb more quickly when grown in shady conditions, reaching lengths of 20 feet. The fragrant yellow flowers bloom in late winter or early spring. This fast growing vine will cover whatever you don’t want to look at.

4. Bignonia capreolata ‘Tangerine Beauty’ (Tangerine Beauty Crossvine) Zones: 6 – 9. Evergreen to semi-evergreen. Easy to grow vine that produces abundant tangerine blooms over a long season. Attaches itself to most surfaces by tendrils. Bloom time: Late spring to summer. Full sun.

Clematis armandii. Zone: 7 – 9

Fast Growing Climbers for Mild Winter Areas

5. Ipomea acuminata ‘Blue Dawn’ (Blue Dawn Morning Glory) Zones: 9 – 11. Excellent fast-growing bank or slope cover with dark green leaves and large violet blue flowers. Aging flowers turn pinkish for a two tone effect. Free-flowering perennial vine. Full Sun. Fast growing to 25 feet.

6. Jasminum polyanthemum (Pink jasmine) Zones: 8 – 10. Fast-growing evergreen vine prized for its spectacular display of intensely fragrant pinkish-white flowers. Use as a climber over trellis or arbor, groundcover or in containers. Full sun. To 20 feet. Spring blooming.

7. Tecomaria capensis (Cape Honeysuckle) Zones: 9-11. This self-clinging vine quickly grows 15 to 20 feet long. Flowers are orange red long tubular flowers which bloom in clusters. Bloom time: Fall to winter. Once the plant becomes established, it needs minimal watering or other maintenance. Full sun.

8. Solanum jasminoides (Potato vine) Zones: 9 – 11. Evergreen to semi-evergreen. This is an attractive, shrubby climber gives an almost perpetual display of showy blue-white blossoms. Good ornamental cover for fences or walls, or grow across lattice for shade. Spring blooming. Part to full sun. Fast growing: 20-25 feet.

Jasmine Vine: A Fast Growing Climbers for Mild Areas.

A Few More Evergreen Climbers for Mild Climates

9. Ficus pumila – (Creeping Fig) Zones: 9 – 11. An evergreen vine with small, leathery, dark green leaves. Vigorous-growing, clinging, dense branches will adhere to any surface. Partial to full sun. Pretty fast.

10. Hardenbergia violaceae ‘Happy Wanderer’ (Purple Vine Lilac) Hardy to 20-25° F. This evergreen vine that climbs by twining stems to 12-16 feet. Flowers are pinkish-purple with a chartreuse spot in center which cascades like small Wisteria blossoms in the winter to early spring.

11. Pandora jasminoides – (Pink Bower vine) Zones: 9 – 11. Evergreen twining branches hold glossy bright green compound foliage creating a perfect background for the flowers. Bright pink trumpet-shaped blooms have rose-pink throats for a lovely effect. Full sun. Summer bloomer. Growth 15-25 feet long.

12. Passiflora ‘Coral Seas’ – There are many passion vines to choose from. I selected this one, because it is one of my favorites. ‘Coral Seas’ is a great Passionvine for coastal gardens, but will not stand inland heat. It is a vigorous grower with a long blooming period. Flowers have coral-pink petals with purple filaments in the spring through fall. The lush medium green leaves have broad lobes. Needs full sun to bloom well.

13. Trachylospermum jasminoides (Star jasmine) Zones: 8 – 11. Beautiful evergreen vine with very fragrant, star shaped white flowers. Easy to train on posts, walls or trellises. Part to full sun.

Enjoy year-round green vines! Also, I’ve included links to take you right over to Amazon to make it easier to find the vines listed (and if you’re heading over to your local nursery be sure to jot down those botanical names). As your vines grow in, read this post we wrote on setting up hardware to train your vines.

Happy gardening!

ps: Planning to train your vines to cover a fence or a wall? You’ll need to create support – and training is key. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to find everything you need at your local hardware store. You can purchase cable wire and related hardware by heading over to Amazon (we’re affiliates, so we do earn a tiny commission 😉 ). As mentioned, we’ve put together a list of what we use to make it easy to find what you need.

Stainless Steel Cable

Made from 304 stainless steel for superior strength, corrosion resistance and durability. 1/16 inch diameter wire is thin yet strong. 328 feet length provides ample wire for training your vines (smaller roll lengths are also available). Holds up the 368 lbs – and you’ll need a strong wire cutter like the one we’ve suggested below.