For a screen, shade on an arbor, hiding a fence, or for attracting

hummingbirds and butterflies… nothing beats a vine. Fortunately

Austin’s gardeners have a world of vines to choose from. Here

are some of my favorite annual and perennial vines:

 

Cypress vine: this vine has tiny red flowers with delicate fern-

like leaves. It produces hundreds of flowers and thousands of

seeds, which insure its return next year. The red flowers bloom

all summer and attract hummingbirds.

Morning-glory: these vines also bloom all summer with trumpet-

shaped flowers three to four inches across. They come in a world

of colors, from reds to blues.

 

2. Perennial vines There are three different patterns: herbaceous,

deciduous, and evergreen. 

Coral vine or Queen’s Crown: a beautiful, vigorous vine that can

grow 20 to 30 feet in the summer season and can be found in coral

and white. They return from tubers in the spring. Butterflies love

coral vine.

Passion vine: a beautiful and aggressive perennial vine that blooms

spring and summer with lavender to blue flowers. It is a host plant

for many butterfly species. It is not uncommon to have the vine

eaten back by butterfly larvae (caterpillars) overnight!

 

Chinese Wisteria is a popular spring bloomer. It produces blossoms

before foliage appears. Its large clusters (racemes) of flowers can be

found in purple, white, blue, rose, and mauve. Be sure to look for a

grafted plant because seedling-grown plants rarely bloom.

 

Trumpet vine is very aggressive, grows rapidly, and can attain a

height of 30 feet. It blooms in clusters of trumpet-shaped, reddish-

orange flowers that are popular with  hummingbirds. This vine has

a quite the reputation for wanton destruction of  wood fences and

trellises, so I suggest that gardeners choose the slightly less ram-

bunctious form called ‘madame galen.’

 

Honeysuckle comes in a great variety of colors including coral,

white with yellow, purple, and pink. They all are great vines because

they are evergreen, have great drought tolerance, bloom more than

one season a year, are deer resistant, and attract wildlife. Possibly

the most popular is Texas Coral honeysuckle because hummingbirds

love it and it attracts birds as well. Best to keep this vine in the sun;

too much shade can bring on powdery mildew.

Crossvine is a tendril climbing aggressive vine that comes in tan-

gerine, red, lavender and purple. The variety known as Tangerine

Beauty has bright coral blooms which are very popular with humm-

ingbirds. Crossvine can grow in full sun and occasionally can be

found in very shady locations.

 

Carolina Jessamine blooms a golden yellow in late winter to early

spring. Its fragrant  flowers attract hummingbirds and its dense

foliage makes a great screen. Sun to part shade is perfect for this

South Carolina native.

 

Confederate Star Jasmine produces masses of sweet smelling,

white blossoms in the spring with glossy dark green foliage as a

background. Star grows in sun to part shade and is often found

in full shade.

 

Two advantages to evergreen vines are they provide screening

throughout the year and they do not have to be cleaned off the

fence or trellis after they freeze back.