Climbing plants solve several problems at once: they hide an ugly wall or fence, shade a terrace and turn an arch or pergola into a flowering tunnel. The key is to match the climber to the spot and understand how it holds on to its support. Below are eight reliable climbers for Ukraine's climate, annual alternatives and planting tips. Roses for arches and fences are covered in climbing roses.
Fresh flowers for your home or as a gift: potted plants and flower baskets.
The least demanding climbers: they grow in sun or shade, add 1–3 m a season and turn red in autumn. Ideal for quickly greening walls and fences.
Orange or red trumpet flowers from July to September; loves sun and warmth. It produces many root suckers, so plant it away from paths and foundations.
Evergreen and shade-tolerant. In cold winters in central and northern Ukraine it can suffer frost damage. The berries are poisonous — keep this in mind if small children use the garden.
Long lilac racemes in May make it one of the most spectacular climbers. It does best in the south of the country and needs a very strong support, as a mature plant is heavy. Seedlings take many years to flower, so choose grafted or cutting-grown plants.
Hundreds of varieties with flowers from 3 to 20 cm. "Head in the sun, feet in the shade": shade the root zone with low plants. Pruning depends on the group: group 1 needs little pruning, group 3 is cut back hard in spring.
Large heart-shaped leaves cast dense shade over a gazebo, and the flowers look like a tobacco pipe. All parts of the plant are poisonous.
One of the few flowering climbers for shade, with white flower heads in June. It grows slowly for the first 2–3 years, then picks up speed.
It does not cling on its own — tie the canes to a trellis or arch, training them closer to horizontal to get more flowers. Ramblers flower profusely, usually once; climbers have larger blooms and often repeat.
To cover a mesh this summer, or if you rent your home, choose annuals: morning glory, sweet pea, nasturtium, scarlet runner bean. Sown in May, they reach 2–3 m by midsummer. For long-flowering bedding plants, see flowers that bloom all summer.
Ivy and campsis can damage old render and timber cladding and get under roof tiles. On such façades, climbers on a trellis set away from the wall are safer.
Among perennials, Virginia creeper and hops; among annuals, morning glory.
Ivy, Virginia creeper, climbing hydrangea or Dutchman's pipe.
Author: Maria Svitlovir
Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.
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