The Best Climbing Plants That Add Shade And Beauty To Your Pergola

Pergolas work great for creating a shady spot to gather in outdoors. These tall structures feature open-topped canopies that can be built over walkways, dining areas, and other outdoor spaces. Pergolas are an affordable and stylish backyard upgrade in their own right, but while a bare wooden pergola is a useful feature, adorning it with a climbing plant transforms it into something magnificent. Plus, climbing plants like rambling roses, clematis, star jasmine, and passionflower provide reliable cover in warm, sunny weather. 

Growing a climbing plant on a pergola is not too difficult with the right species — those that grow quickly and climb high. That said, training is necessary for most of these climbing plants to guide growth up and over the pergola structure. Vertical wires or other supports might be used to tie tendrils or vines as they grow. For the best success with growing any of these climbing plants on your pergola, ensure that you've improved the soil at the base of the posts. However, if you select a great climbing plant to begin with, you will have better success using them to upgrade your pergola.

Transform your pergola every summer with an incredible spread of rose blooms. Rambling roses (Rosa multiflora) are ideal climbing plants for pergolas. This type of rose has flexible stems that are easily trained to trail up and over structures, providing a respite from the sun. Unlike climbing roses, rambling roses will burst into bloom all at once during their growing season. Depending on your hardiness zone, select an appropriate rambler cultivar. For example, in USDA zone 3, try the double red 'Cherry Frost'; meanwhile, in zone 5, go for the double pink blooms of 'De La Grifferaie.'

There are beautiful hydrangea shrubs you can decorate your garden with, but you can also grow climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea barbara) up a pergola for the ultimate shade and beauty. Otherwise known as "woodvamp," this hydrangea species is a semi-evergreen vine native to the U.S. that easily climbs structures by reaching out with aerial rootlets. The best flowering occurs in partial shade and it fills in areas with a dense grouping of leaves up to 3 feet wide, making it an ideal plant to add shade to a pergola.

You may want to think twice before planting wisteria in your yard, unless it's American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens), a non-invasive, native option with incredible climbing ability. Originating from the swampy areas of Virginia, Florida, Arkansas, Texas, and southern Illinois, American wisteria twines counterclockwise, which tells it apart from the invasive Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda). Hardy in zones 5 through 9, this fragrant species grows quickly, but not aggressively, twining onto structures up to 20 to 30 feet in height. American wisteria displays stunning pea-like purple or blue flowers from April to May, adding shade and privacy to your space. 

With over 300 species to choose from, clematis pairs lovely blooms with an excellent climbing habit. Planting a clematis vine is a good place to start for a pergola. Mountain clematis (Clematis montana) features early-flowering, star-shaped blooms in shades of white, purple, pink, red, and blue. This climbing plant requires proper supports to grow successfully up a structure. But mountain clematis is an easy option to grow, obtaining heights of up to 30 feet, from where it provides ample shade. It's hardy in zones 6 through 9. 

Add climbing plants that will make you feel like you're living in a fairy tale, like coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), to your pergola for the ultimate magical vibes and shade in the summer. Prized as a native alternative to aggressive and invasive vine plants, coral honeysuckle can climb up to 20 feet high after training it with fence wire. Its stunning, trumpet-shaped flowers are a favorite of hummingbirds and provide lovely color to your outdoor spaces. This vigorous vine blooms on new growth, so prune it right after flowering is finished to prep it for next year.

Your pergola doesn't only need to stun in the spring and summer. To add visual interest and shade to your outdoor space in the fall, grow crimson glory vine (Vitis coignetiae) on your pergola. This vigorous vine displays beautiful green leaves in spring and summer, which turn a stunning shade of scarlet red in autumn. Native to Japan and Korea, it's a type of grape vine, although you should not eat the fruit it produces. Hardy in zones 5 through 7 and growing up to 30 feet long and 60 feet high, this vine uses tendrils to support itself.

A tropical vine with large showy blooms, bougainvillea is made up of 18 different species, including Bougainvillea spectabilis, Bougainvillea glabra, and Bougainvillea peruviana. Native to South America, this woody vine's bright flowers are actually modified leaves called "bracts," with long-lasting color. They range from bold purples to flashy oranges, and give gorgeous shade to your pergola. Choose this flashy climber a spot that gets plenty of sunlight, which ensures the most attractive blooms in summer. Bougainvilleas are hardy in zones 9 through 10, but can be grown as annual plants in cooler zones in the U.S. 

Bring fragrance, elegance, and shade to your pergola with star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), an Asia native that blooms in late spring with tiny white flowers shaped like pinwheels. Vigorous by nature, star jasmine is an aggressive, but not invasive, type of Asian vine, and is actually not a true jasmine. Otherwise known as confederate jasmine because it's historically grown in the southern U.S., this species can grow up to 20 feet tall by twining up structures. Hardy in zones 8 through 10, it also attracts bees and other pollinators. Its popularity in the south comes from its drought-resistance. 

Transform your pergola into an exotic retreat with mandevilla (Mandevilla splendens). A popular climbing plant for hot temperatures, mandevilla comes in lovely shades of pink, red, and white, with foliage that provides cooling shade. In tropical areas, this climbing flower remains evergreen. A great option to keep your mandevillas thriving year after year is to grow them in pots, instead of directly in the ground. Capable of growing 10 feet long over one season, you can prune them back to remove them from a pergola when cold weather returns.

A quick-growing annual vine native to Mexico, cup and saucer vine (Cobaea scandens) reaches as high as 20 feet tall and spreads 3 to 6 feet in one growing season outside of its native tropical habitat. A great vine choice to add cascading shade to a pergola, its cheerful blooms resemble little cups. The flowers begin as green and turn purple as they mature, offering a delightful show to enhance your pergola area. A sub-tropical species, it is hardy only in zones 9 through 11.

For a plant that will bring color to your yard during drab winters, select winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum). With sprawling growth and yellow, funnel-shaped flowers, it easily adds beauty and shade to a simple pergola. Although this jasmine species is native to China and Tibet and grows rapidly, it is not invasive. The cascading look of winter jasmine is especially well-adjusted to colder temperatures, and the plant is hardy in zones 6 through 10. Grow it where it can get winter sun. Train this vibrant species up a pergola and it can reach heights of 10 to 15 feet.

Grow the native muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia) to add shade and visual interest to your pergola. This grape vine, originally from the south, has simple tendrils that mark it as different from other grape vines. With proper support, such as a pergola, a muscadine grape vine can grow rapidly in a short time. Given a few years, these plants can cover an entire 6-by-15-foot area, as long as it has sufficient sunlight and space to grow. To produce fruit, plant both male and female plants, or grow a self-fertile cultivar.

Unusual fringed blooms in shades of blue and lavender characterize this unique flower that will have your neighbors staring. Passionflower, also known as apricot vine, trails up your pergola in no time to provide summer shade. It uses axillary tendrils to climb, reaching as high as any nearby structure would allow. It's one of the hardier passionflower species, growing as a perennial in zones 5 through 9. The unique flowers are extremely attractive to pollinators. It also grows edible fruit, called maypops, that burst when crushed and attract birds.

Bring your pergola to life with Spanish flag (Iponoea iobata), a vine that displays banana-shaped blooms in a lovely gradient moving from orange red to yellow, somewhat resembling the national flag of Spain. Also known as the firecracker vine, this climbing plant grows rapidly by twisting stems around supports, taking only a few months to reach a height of 18 feet. A late-blooming species, Spanish flag will add beauty and shade to your summer garden. Hardy in zones 9 through 11 and grown as an annual elsewhere, this vine should be planted in a sunny spot for the best growth.