Growing Vines in Zone 8
Do you want flowers sailing up the trunk of a tree or an eyesore dilapidated building covered in foliar displays of Boston ivy? No matter what your landscape goal is, vines are a quick and easy solution. Most are tough enough for a broad range of weather conditions while others are suited to the slow, sultry heat of the South. Zone 8 plants need to be both. Some tips and tricks on climbing zone 8 plants should help separate the good from the bad and ugly. Some vines should never have passed North American shores. Like the Japanese kudzu vine, which has taken over much of the wild regions of the southern landscape. It was used to stabilize soil, as cattle fodder, and introduced as a shade ornamental in the southern region. Once there, however, the plant took off and now overtakes 150,000 acres annually. Your vine solution doesn’t need to be nearly as tenacious or invasive. Once you have your location, consider the amount of light the area receives daily, how much maintenance you want to do, whether you want an evergreen or a gentle flowering vine, and many more decisions. One of the better options is to choose a plant native to your zone 8 region like:
Carolina Jessamine Crossvine Muscadine grape Swamp Leather flower Evergreen Smilax
Flowering Zone 8 Vines
A vertical wall of color, scent, and texture can’t be beaten. Flowering zone 8 vines can provide long-season blooms with swaths of jewel, pastel, or even fruit tones.
Clematis is one of the better-known ornamental bloomers. There are many cultivars and species and each has a unique flower. Japanese or Chinese wisteria are tenacious vines with gently petaled blooms in white or lavender. Passionflower, or Maypop, is native to North America and has uniquely frilled blooms that look like something out of a 60’s art project. In the right conditions, they form sweet, aromatic fruits.
Not all plants are considered climbing zone 8 vines. Climbers need to self-support and usually, they attach to the wall or structure up which they are growing. Growing vines in zone 8 that are not climbers will require your assistance going vertical. Some good ones to try are:
Cherokee rose Trumpet creeper Tri-Color Kiwi Dutchman’s pipe Climbing hydrangea Perennial sweet pea Golden hops Bougainvillea Trumpet vine
Zone 8 Evergreen Vines
Evergreen plants brighten the landscape even in the doldrums of winter.
Climbing fig is in the class of self-supporting climbing zone 8 plants. It bears dainty, heart-shaped glossy foliage and is perfect for a partial shade location. Algerian and English ivy are also climbers and have colorful foliage in fall.
Many evergreen plants also produce berries and create habitats for small animals and birds. Others to consider for this zone include:
Evergreen honeysuckle Fiveleaf akebia Wintercreeper euonymus Jackson vine Confederate Jasmine Fatshedera
