10 climbing plants for full sun

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea, sometimes spelt Bougainvillée, is an iconic climbing plant of the Mediterranean region that loves heat and full sun. Its hardiness is very low and it dislikes frost. It is however increasingly found in less southerly regions (Atlantic coast). If your climate allows it, embrace its large bracts in vivid hues, from violet to crimson-purple, through rosy white and yellow. They can form, from spring to autumn, a tapestry 5 to 8 metres high. Leaf persistence varies between varieties. Plant Bougainvillea in free-draining, light, non-calcareous soil. Help it climb by training it against a support; its prickles will eventually secure it to that support.

• Discover all our Bougainvillea varieties

Wisteria

Who hasn’t at some point succumbed to the sweet scent of a Wisteria ? Climbing, with woody climbing stems, very popular and with rapid growth, it adorns, with its clusters with a trailing habit, the supports it powerfully entwines. Between April and June (some even flower again a second, even a third time!), the inflorescences, from around ten centimetres to over a metre long, display shades of blue, mauve, pink or white. Their foliage also provides beautiful golden autumnal hues. Hard to choose between virginal purity of ‘Floribunda Alba‘, delicate shades of ‘Rosea‘ or the mesmerising blue-pink of ‘Domino‘. Also discover ‘Summer wisteria‘ which, although of a different genus, bears a striking resemblance. Less hardy, it also flowers later, between July and November.

Wisterias are vigorous, very disease-resistant and can reach over 15 m. Some varieties, more modest, are suited to small spaces, such as ‘Amethyst Falls‘. Grow them in any neutral to acidic, moist, well-drained soil. Very hardy (down to -20°C), they should be planted on a support commensurate with their size.

• Discover our wide range of Wisterias, as well as our factsheet: Wisteria: how to plant, prune and care for it.

Banks' rose

Although Banks’ rose shows less pronounced hardiness than its relatives (-10° to -12°C), it can nevertheless be grown as far as the Paris region, provided it benefits from a warm, sunny exposure sheltered from cold winds. This once-flowering but early-flowering rose (February to May depending on region) is declinate into a very soft butter-yellow in ‘Lutea‘, into pink with varied shades for ‘Rosea‘, or into creamy white with a gentle fragrance with ‘Alba Plena‘. These roses are remarkably generous. They literally become covered with fully double flowers for nearly three weeks, and remain attractive year-round thanks to their bright, glossy, evergreen to semi-evergreen foliage. Almost or completely devoid of thorns, they are also very undemanding, resistant to drought and disease. With very rapid growth, they can reach 10 to 12 metres. Grow them in any ordinary, well-drained, fertile soil, even dry and calcareous. Stems need guiding and training onto their support.

• Discover all our climbing roses as well as our liana roses.
• Discover our selection of the best varieties of roses, and how to grow them.

Jasmine

Beautiful climbing plant with scented flowers, Jasmin officinal shows relative hardiness (-12°C to -15°C). Full sun guarantees a fine summer and autumn flowering, white on the type or tinged with yellow on ‘Clotted Cream’. Its foliage green (golden on ‘Aureum’), evergreen in mild climate, its rapid growth and good disease resistance make it a top climbing choice for warm, sunny aspects. Dare the pink flowers and equally scented of Jasminum stephanense or those, carmine red, of the Bee’s Nest Jasmine, two original and decorative species. By training it, you can help your jasmine climb from 2.5 m to over 5 m. Jasmine appreciates any good fertile soil that stays moist. It tolerates limestone.

• Discover all our jasmines, How to choose a jasmine, as well as the sheet on planting, pruning and maintenance of jasmines.

Trumpet vine

If you are looking for a climbing plant with record growth, Bignone is the perfect choice! This liana with an exotic appearance adorns gardens from April through autumn in large trumpet-shaped blooms coloured yellow, red, orange or pink. Some even display bicoloured flowers, such as Campsis ‘Tracamp’, or offer a heady scent combining chocolate and coffee in Campsis capreolata. Foliage of Bignone, deciduous to semi-evergreen, is finely divided, and its clear green takes on golden to purplish tones late in season. Spectacular climber, it flowers from a young age and can be particularly vigorous, easily reaching 8 to 10 metres in good conditions. For small spaces, choose for example ‘Summer Jazz Fire‘, which has a more modest growth (4 m). Plant Bignone in any deep, cool, free-draining soil, even calcareous. Resistant to sea spray and drought, it only dislikes heavy, waterlogged soils. While some varieties are best kept for mild climates, they generally tolerate around -15°C. Bignoness need training, except Campsis radicans, which can colonise any support unaided but may also sucker from the base and spread into unintended areas.

• Discover our selection of Bignones, as well as the sheet on Bignone: planting, pruning, propagating.

Solanum

Graceful climbing plant whose abundant flowering extends from May to the frosts depending on the climate, Solanum is a liana with woody climbing stems with very rapid growth. Its fine downy foliage, deciduous to evergreen depending on winter severity, is a bright glossy green. It is borne on long flexible shoots that need training to elegantly clothe the support for which it is intended. Solanum can thus reach 2 to 6 metres, and then displays a multitude of small star-shaped flowers, the white or bluish shades highlighted by a yellow centre. Reopening throughout the season, they give off a faint, slightly jasmine-scented fragrance. Fruit, decorative, only rarely forms in our climates. Turn to variety ‘Album‘ for a bright white flowering, or to ‘Bleu‘ for violet-tinged hues. Solanum crispum, the hardiest, for its part displays a mauve colour. Also try Solanum rantonetii, a bushy species well suited to training. Favouring mild climates, Solanum indeed has low hardiness and can really suffer below -8°C to -10°C, especially if not in a well-protected situation. Plant it in any ordinary to fertile, fresh and free-draining soil, even slightly calcareous. Easy to grow and with no serious pests, it tolerates drought very well once established.

• Discover our selection of Solanums, as well as the fact sheet on Solanum: planting, pruning and cultivation.

Passionflower

Passionflower undeniably brings an exotic, tropical air to the garden. With very rapid growth, this liana with striking bright green decorative foliage, evergreen to semi-evergreen, flowers throughout summer, and sometimes into mid-autumn, in large, solitary, characteristic flowers. True masterpieces of craftsmanship, they display a sophisticated, unmistakable pattern in solid or mixed shades of white, blue, violet or red. Some selections, such as ‘Perfume Passion‘ also offer as a bonus a pronounced fragrance. The fruit, resembling small mangoes, is edible, but of little culinary interest, except in certain species such as Passiflora incarnata, or Passiflora edulis, the species that produces the famous passion fruits. Not very hardy, passionflowers can hardly withstand temperatures below -10°C, and some are even sensitive to light frost. Well established in any fertile soil, this liana can climb from 3 to over 8 m, even in dry soil. Equipped with tendrils, it can take hold of its support unaided.

• Discover our very wide range of Passionflowers.
• Also read our fact sheet on Passionflowers: planting, growing and pruning.

Fremotodendron

Fremotodendron is a bush sarmentous that benefits from being trained as an espalier. When trained this way, it forms a tapestry 6 metres high which, in spring and summer, is adorned with thick, waxy, glossy yellow flowers, all the more striking when illuminated by the sun. It happens that this very ornamental bush is not very hardy (-12°C) and requires a warm, sunny position. Its foliage, dark green, is evergreen to semi-evergreen. Take care when handling and wear gloves, as it bears hairs that can be irritating. Fremotodendron prefers neutral or calcareous, rich, light soils, but tolerates poorer, stony substrates. What it most dislikes is stagnant moisture at its base. Prefer well-drained, even dry soil. Slow-growing, it tolerates sea spray and pollution.

Pandorea

Pandorea (or Podranea) ricasoliana is another bush particularly well suited to training. Sometimes called Orchid liana, it is also known as pink trumpet vine. Its flowers indeed recall those of its relatives. They appear in clusters of trumpet-shaped flowers, pale pink striated with purple, from late summer to autumn. Slightly scented, they are also very melliferous, and attract many pollinators to the garden. Of rapid growth, this bush can spread to 7 to 9 m in all directions when trained on a support. Its foliage, deciduous most of the time, disappears as soon as temperatures fall below -4 to -5°C. La stump can for its part withstand -8°C, provided it benefits from a deep, loose but well-drained soil. Tolerant of lime, it also copes well with sea spray, wind and drought. Undemanding, sober and exotic in appearance, it is a plant that requires warmth and sun to flower well.

Mandevilla laxa

Fragrant exotic liana, the Mandevilla laxa, or Chilean jasmine, has an exceptional flowering period, which can extend from June to October depending on climate. Its small funnel-shaped flowers appear in white clusters and give off a most pleasant fragrance. Foliage, heart-shaped, is green in season, and takes on lovely golden tones before falling. It can be semi-evergreen if temperatures remain above freezing. It is indeed a climbing plant with fairly moderate hardiness (-8°C to -10°C), therefore best suited to southern regions or areas little affected by prolonged frosts. Of rather rapid growth, Mandevilla develops long voluble stems that become lignified fairly quickly. They twine unaided around their support. In good conditions, the plant can reach 3 to 4 m in all directions. Best results are obtained in rich, light soil, fresh yet well-drained, even slightly calcareous. Resistant to disease, Chilean jasmine can withstand periods of drought. It will, however, be more attractive if soil remains fresh.