# Gardeners, what's a hearty great climbing vine for Midwest! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 7, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316 "2023-04-07T15:43:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/1 "2023-04-07T15:43:49Z")
I live in Wisconsin and I don’t want to see my neighbors any more. I hate wooden fences, but don’t mind green walls so I’ve planted pine trees and I’ve installed trellis’s for vines. Now I need to plant massive rows of something that grows so hearty, thick and wild it’ll almost be invasive. Bonus points if it looks pretty and keeps away Box Elder bugs (Sage, ground cloves and Lavender does, planted loads of that already too) but I’m really looking for thick long-lasting cover here. Thanks for any help you green thumbs can give me. Even some names off the top of yer head can point me in the right direction, I’m new to this. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/2 "2023-04-07T16:11:17Z")
How high does it need to be? I’ve got a patch of raspberry that needs to be cut back every couple of years. The canes grow in big arches that root when they touch the ground. I try to pull these new roots up and bend the cane back on itself so the patch grows up instead of out. It works pretty well and the thorny thicket is pretty much impenetrable. The leaves are a nice green on top but silver underneath and the stems & canes have a reddish hue. ETA: and a harvest of edible raspberries, too. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/3 "2023-04-07T16:15:02Z")
6’ is enough, he has a two story house that I don’t want to see, but these will mostly be on second story deck boxes with climbing trellis build next to them. My mom has some dangerous looking raspberries she has to mow back every month during summer. 4 feet wont cover it, but the berries would be great for kids. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/4 "2023-04-07T16:28:03Z")
Kudzu of the north, grape vine, aggressive climber just keep it away from woodlands. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/5 "2023-04-07T16:49:30Z")
Was wondering about Kudzu, won’t it die in the winter here? We have loads of Buckthorn already, not the invasive species I’m looking for. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/6 "2023-04-07T16:53:35Z")
I’m pretty sure kudzu would die, but grape vine, what I jokingly called our kudzu of the north, thrives. Not the same as buckthorn. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/7 "2023-04-07T16:59:06Z")
English ivy can be slow, but will do the job. You can grow grapes vines to completely cover a wall, too, but that’s a lot harder. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/8 "2023-04-07T17:03:07Z")
You don’t want kudzu - it’s ugly. If you’re looking for a climbing vine, a clematis like sweet autumn clematis is probably a good fit. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/9 "2023-04-07T17:43:25Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > English ivy can be slow, but will do the job. You can grow grapes vines to completely cover a wall, too, but that’s a lot harder. Ok, thanks. Will check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/10 "2023-04-07T23:07:32Z")
If I had a good place for it, I’d grow Kentucky wisteria. > **[Blue Moon Kentucky Wisteria](https://www.monrovia.com/blue-moon-kentucky-wisteria.html)** > > The hardiest of wisteria! Dependably blooms up to three times in a growing season once established, producing beautiful, foot-long racemes of fragrant, pea-like, lavender-blue flowers. Cloaks shade arbors and structures. Ideal for arching over... Trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) is sometimes recommended for quick cover, but it has invasive potential and needs close attention to avoid its swamping trees and other nearby plantings. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2023, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/11 "2023-04-07T23:37:34Z")
Trumpet vine grows pretty impressively - tho deciduous. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/12 "2023-04-08T00:55:33Z")
Yes, this. Very pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Cwturner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Cwturner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cwturner)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/13 "2023-04-08T02:41:58Z")
A bamboo will do what you want. And a whole lot more if you let it. There are running bamboos that need to be restrained in tubs or concrete trenches. And clumping bamboos that are more well behaved. Both are gracefull, full plants to block a neighbor. Some localities have, rightly, outlawed them, so choose carefully. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/14 "2023-04-08T02:51:36Z")
What kind of soil is in that spot, and what’s the sun/shade like? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/15 "2023-04-08T12:18:33Z")
And how much water does it get? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/16 "2023-04-08T14:29:36Z")
Another factor is just how cold it gets in an average winter (a Wisconsin garden could be anywhere from zone 3 to zone 5). In any case, that probably eliminates evergreen perennial vines. Depending on winter lows, sun/shade, soil etc., a couple of other choices to look at are types of honeysuckle vines (not the invasive Japanese honeysuckle) and climbing hydrangea. [This list](https://plantnative.org/flowering-vines-to-grow-in-wisconsin.htm) has some additional intriguing candidates. I’d be tempted to grow Smilax herbacea, the smooth carrion flower, renowned for its allegedly putrid, neighbor-repelling floral fragrance. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2023, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/17 "2023-04-08T19:25:39Z")
Sorry guys, on my phone mid Easter. Thanks for the interest. To answer some questions, these will be in potting soil, regularly watered, full sun but could do partial shade. Potted or smallish containers for my deck is where these will go. Not more than a gallon of soil per plant so nothing like lavender I think. ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/18 "2023-04-09T00:42:13Z")
I’ll second the grapevine. I’ve had it up here in northern Wisconsin and it grows thick and wild. I’m not sure how it would do in pots though. How about Clematis? That would give you anywhere from 8 to 10 feet with the trellis. Both of those are perennial and will grow back every year, but you’ll have to mulch them good in the winter to keep them alive if they’re only in pots. Another thought - go with some nice fake vines, put them in the pots, attach to the trellis. Spray 'em down with the hose when they get dusty. They make some realistic looking fake plants nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/19 "2023-04-09T00:49:21Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) is sometimes recommended for quick cover, but it has invasive potential Trumpet vine IME is second only to morning glory in its whacky “I’m taking over everything!” ability. Granted I’ve only dealt with the both of them in temperate California, but they were both incredibly tenacious about invading and expanding over everything. Pretty flowers, but you really need to stay on top of them, to the point where I would never mess around with either ever again. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2023, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316/20 "2023-04-09T01:08:20Z")
Vigorous hardy perennial vines in “smallish containers” (a gallon of soil is minimal) will rapidly become pot-bound and likely have trouble surviving in the open over harsh Wisconsin winters. The stated requirements pretty much limit you to certain annual vines. It’s hard to think of ones that’ll grow fast enough in a growing season to shield your activities from the neighbors. Maybe one of those roll-out shade awning things they advertise on late-night old fart TV might do the trick? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gardeners-whats-a-hearty-great-climbing-vine-for-midwest/982316.md?page=2)