If you are mulling over installing a pergola in your backyard, that’s a great idea. You can create a customized space where you and your family members or friends can spend many happy hours. You can have all kinds of features in your pergola depending on the activities that appeal to you the most.
You might install a motorized pergola with a roof that you can move into position depending on whether you want protection from the rain or shade from the sun. You can also think about whether you want a pergola that is composed primarily of aluminum, wood, or some other material.
When you have installed your pergola and you’re thinking about how to decorate the interior, you might feel like some climbing plants would fit in nicely. Lots of pergola owners go this route, and there are several viable options that you can probably find at your local greenhouse or nursery.
Let’s discuss some of the best climbing plants that do well in pergolas. One or two of these might be just what you want in your pergola to make it welcoming and tranquil.
Crimson Glory Vine
Crimson glory vine is a climbing plant that does well in many climates. It has its best colors in the autumn, when it takes on the crimson hue that gives it its name.
It is a large, hardy, vigorous climber. If you install it in a pergola, it will soon give you a leafy, lush canopy.
Trumpet Vine
Maybe you want something that looks a little more exotic. The trumpet vine is another climber that fits the bill.
The flowers when it blooms are a pale red that most individuals find very appealing. The plant is at its most attractive in the summer and fall.
The shadowy blooms range from orange to a dusky red as the autumn wears away. You will need either full sun or partial shade for this option. The soil it requires should be moist and well drained.
Wisteria
In some parts of the country, you can come across wisteria growing wild in enormous clumps. However, you can also grow it so that it climbs rapidly over an existing structure, such as a pergola.
The flowers usually show up in May or June. They are pendulous and produce a pleasant aroma. The flowers are a light purple that grows darker as the summer comes on.
This is one of the best climbing vine plants to add to a pergola if you want some shade. It will grow quickly, so keep an eye on it and prune it if it seems to be in danger of running wild.
Rambling or Climbing Roses
Who wouldn’t like to feature some lovely roses in their backyard? You can certainly do that with either the rambling or climbing varieties by adding them to your pergola.
These roses can produce flowers in different colors, but most of them will be a pale red or orange-tinted red. You can get a country garden look if you install them. Your pergola will also be the perfect setting for a scenic rendezvous this way.
Clematis
Clematis is best known for its deep purple flowers and dark green, climbing vines. If you happen to pick the right one, it will add color to your pergola in any season.
What’s perhaps nicest about this choice is that there are actually several different varieties. While many will be at their most colorful in the spring and summer, you can also sometimes track down the evergreen clematis. It will give you colorful blooms in the autumn and winter.
Grapevines
Grapevines give your pergola an elegant and classy look that’s timeless and desirable by many amateur gardeners and homeowners. The vines will usually fruit sometime in midsummer, though some won’t do so until early fall.
If you grow grapevines on a pergola, then they will climb up so that the fruit dangles down from the top. You will also get plenty of shade.
Potato Vine
Potato vine will give you some evergreen color. If that appeals to you, then install the vines and wait for the brilliant white flowers that should appear in midsummer.
These vines do well with a combination of sun and shade. They are another of the more hardy breeds on this list, so if some of the others you’ve tried don’t do so well in your climate, you might try this one and have better luck.
Passion Flowers
Passion flowers are one of the most distinctive climbing plants that you can install in a pergola. The flowers are exquisite, white with an inner touch of purple.
Bees love these flowers, so don’t be surprised to see that you are attracting many of the buzzing insects if you decide on this choice. That might bother some people, but most bees are harmless as long as you don’t antagonize them.
This plant will do fine in direct sunlight or partial shade. You should also find that it does the best in moist soil that is well drained.
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle is one more option if nothing we’ve mentioned so far appeals to you. It has one of the loveliest and most delicate flowers. The scent is also pleasant without being overpowering.
The growth you will see from the honeysuckle is twining and beautiful, as it twists and bends, seeking the sunlight. You can also get it in various colors.
Any of these might do nicely in a pergola, but there’s no reason to choose just one. You might get two of three of these options and install them to see which plant does the best.
Remember that when you install climbing plants, you are creating an ecosystem within your pergola that insects should enjoy as much as you will. You might like to relax in your pergola and take a nap if you set up a hammock for yourself. Perhaps you will catch up on some reading as you luxuriate while enjoying the color and pleasant scents you’ve created.
