Choosing The Best Plants For Your Pergola

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What are the best plants for your pergola? First, let’s quickly look at what a pergola is!

A pergola is an open structure design with pillars that support flat cross beams and latticework, often covered with plants.

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People use pergolas as a trellis with climbing plants on a walkway or protecting some full sun outdoor spaces.

The best pergola plants grow fast, covering the structure and requiring minimal care.

Pergola vines and climbing plants vary in size, appearance, and growth habits.



Most of these are flowering plants and delicate vines, which add color to the structure and landscape.

Some gardeners combine plants with different blooming seasons to help extend the “season of color.”

A beautiful pergola adorned with lush, climbing wisteria plantsPin

It’s, therefore, paramount to ensure that the pergola design is strong enough to support several climbing plants.

Although most climbing plants are self-clinging, others require some assistance to attach themselves to the pergola structure.

Below Is A Run Down Of Some Of The Best Plants For Your Pergola

Jewel of Africa Nasturtium Flower

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The Nasturtium vine is available in various appealing mandevilla colors like maroon, orange, salmon, yellow apricot shade, and red.

Besides, the combination of green leaves and colorful flowers makes the pergola look very beautiful.

They grow in yards, fences, trellises, and as a garden cover.

Nasturtium grows best in full sun and fragrant blooms from June to September. They are easy to grow and flourish if they are maintained with care.

Clematis

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Henryi clematis has beautiful daisy-shaped flowers has beautiful daisy-shaped flowers with dark green foliage that provide the best sight in summer.

Its flower vines look very wonderful falling over a wooden pergola. The flowers grow best when given direct sunlight.

It starts blooming at the start of summer and is seen throughout the summer. Henryi clematis reaches 6′ feet tall and the flower has a width of 24″ inches to 3′ feet tall.

This flower is quite stunning, with a creamy color that is dark in the middle, and it is a favorite among gardeners.

Honeysuckle

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The flowers of the honeysuckle have a fragrance that is nostalgic, and it multiplies when dusk sets.

It has more than 180 different species, and a number of them are creepers.

It is a large and common vine that grows rapidly. One single plant of honeysuckle can cover a big sturdy pergola very easily.

Grape Vine

This is one of the best climbing plants for pergolas. The plant will give not only partial shade and a warm sitting area but also juicy grapes as well. It can be grown in a variety of climates.

The grape vines are natives of Central Asia, Southwest Asia, America, and the Mediterranean, and therefore the cultivars are widely available.

Blue Moon Wisteria

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The Wisteria plant grows in red, blue, purple, and white colors.

It blooms vigorously during spring and can spread 4′ to 8′ feet tall and reach a height of 15′ to 25′ feet tall.

The beautiful vine produces purple flowers by the third year of planting and needs full sun.

The well-drained soil should be somewhat acidic and fertile.

When planting this climbing vine plant as a pergola plant, it should be supported well during the early stages.

Blue moon wisteria needs a lot of maintenance and is the best to grow on modern pergolas.

Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans)

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The trumpet vine has showy flowers that are trumpet-shaped. The fragrant flowers can appear in different colors, such as orange, yellow, or red.

They attract pollinators like bees and hummingbirds.

Trumpet vines look great on garden pergolas and grow best in full sun and partial sun.

The plant reaches a height of 25′ to 40′ feet. The pink flowers need sunlight, but the leaves can grow well in the canvas shade too.

Bougainvillea

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Bougainvillea has got climbing varieties that are suited choice for pergolas. It is disease-resistant and pest free. It is considered the best climbing plant for much-needed shade.

The plant spreads with full elegance even when planted in a small pot.

It grows in an equatorial climate and does not like extreme cold weather or excess rainfall.

The most frequently cultivated are the pink, red, yellow, and purple colors, but there are many other variety of colors available.

The best season for North America is fall or spring.

Climbing Hydrangea

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This pergola with flowering vines is rewarding because of its glossy heart-shaped and green foliage and its fragrant white flowers that appear in clusters from spring to late summer.

The plant is a slow grower and it needs training and pruning. Climbing hydrangea can be grown in colder regions within USDA Zones 5-8.

Golden Hops

This is a fast-growing vine that quickly covers pergolas and even arches.

They can grow to 8 meters long without difficulty. The lime green or yellowish lush foliage is what makes it beautiful.

Golden hop is a low-maintenance hardy and scented vine that does well in cold climates (USDA Zones 4-8). Not good for a warmer climate.

Butterfly Pea

Clitoria Ternatea Flower Butterfly PeaPin

The traditional climbing flowers of the butterfly pea – Clitoria ternatea are the best food for butterflies.

It is a legume and both its flowers and seed pods are edible.

The shiny deep blue flowers are the most attractive thing in the plant. It is a tropical vine that grows best in zones 10 and 11 with the afternoon sun.

It can be grown as an annual in cold temperate zones.

Bleeding Heart

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If you are searching for a beautiful climber for extra shade, the bleeding heart plant is perfect. The flowers are heart-shaped and look very exotic.

The Bleeding Heart requires moist soil and locations that receive partial to plenty of sun. Suitable for cold temperate climates and can be grown in USDA Zones 3-9.

Perennial Sweet Pea

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When growing the perennial sweet pea flower over the traditional pergola, avoid growing the bush-type varieties. It should be planted in the sun and well-drained soil.

It grows best in warm zones in the fall and winter. In temperate zones plant this flowering vine during spring or summer.

Sweet peas grow to a height of 8′ feet. It requires a lot of attention as it is prone to pests and bugs.

Passiflora – Passion Flower

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The Passionflower vine grows well and prefers a frost-free climate.

Some varieties can handle temperatures to the upper 20° degrees Fahrenheit without serious damage.

The Passionflower shows off all its glory with white blooms from mid-summer to early fall with its fragrant and attractive flowers.

For more about the exotic passionflower read our detailed article here.

Clytostoma Callistegioides – Lavender Trumpet Vine

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The lavender trumpet vine comes from Brazil and Argentina and is a strong grower.

Violet or lavender 3″ inch flowers, produced from March to May in panicles. The leaves are often simple, on flowering twigs with wavy margins.

The vine wants full or partial sun and fertile soil growing in California and Florida.

Zephirine Drouhin Rose

The Zephirine Drouhin rose is among the best climbing roses.

The canes of these rose plants are thorn-free and they have a beautiful alluring color. The canes are also flexible making them easy to wrap around wood pergolas.

They grow to 15′ feet tall. The unique flowering does not need much sunlight and can blossom well in shadows.

Honorable Mention

Below are popular plants you’ll also find wrapped around and growing up custom pergolas and other garden structures.

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