Native Plants

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Sunday - September 14, 2008

From: Asheville, NC
Region: Southeast
Topic: Vines
Title: Vines for arbor in North Carolina
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Please identify vines that can be used for an arbor that fronts my garage and a portion of the house. Living in Zone 6, the arbor faces southwest. My interest is that the vine be non-invasive because the footing is in a flower garden and that the vine not exceed 20' so that it does not overgrow the roof of the house. Thank you!

ANSWER:

You can view vines that are native to North Carolina by doing a Combination Search in our Native Plant Database and choosing North Carolina from the "Select State or Province" option and then selecting 'Vine' from the "Habit (general appearance)" option.

As with most vines, you will need to monitor the one you choose to keep it from climbing where you don't want it to go.

Here are a few recommendations from the list of North Carolina vines:

Bignonia capreolata (crossvine)

Clematis crispa (swamp leather flower)

Clematis virginiana (devil's darning needles)

Gelsemium sempervirens (evening trumpetflower)

Lonicera sempervirens (trumpet honeysuckle)

Passiflora incarnata (purple passionflower)

Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)

Wisteria frutescens (American wisteria)