Climbing plants for shade and partial shade: 10 species

With decorative foliage and often fragrant flowers, climbing plants surround fences and scaffolding and cover dreary walls. Most of the creeping and climbing species originally come from forests. So that they still receive sufficient sunlight, the plants have to grow tall. By nature, many of them are therefore well suited for places in partial shade and shade. However, there are a considerable number of climbing plants that are comfortable in the shade and partial shade.

Climbing plants

Before deciding on a climbing plant to plant a wall, a shed or the facade of your house, you should think about the suitability of the respective species. It is not only decisive whether the plant can cope with the local conditions. Another important criterion is the variant with which the climbing plant grows upwards. Because climbing plants have converted their leaves or shoots into adhesive organs or tendrils. One differentiates:

1. Self climber

Self-climbing species such as ivy or the Climbing hydrangea can hold onto a surface independently without a climbing aid. For this purpose, the shoots develop adhesive roots that dig into the subsoil in order to hold on to them. Therefore, there must be no cracks in the wall, otherwise the building fabric will be damaged. Other self-climbers like the wild wine instead form a contact secretion with which the plant “attaches” and thus does not damage the wall.

2. Scaffolding climbing plants

However, there are hardly any problems with the building fabric with all types of climbing plants that have one Climbing aid require. However, this climbing aid must be tailored to the respective plant. Winding climbing plants wrap their young shoots in a spiral around everything that offers them support, such as trellises or wires. However, it is very difficult for these winding shoots to hold on to grids or nets that are too thick.

Plants' light requirements

To indicate the light requirements of plants, three categories are used in practice, which are based on the average hours of sunshine at the respective location. The transitions are to be considered fluent.

• sunny location: more than six hours of full sun exposure per day
• Partial shade: between three and six hours of sun a day
• Shady location: less than three hours of full sun a day

Climbing plants for the shade

Akebie

At the Akebie / Chocolate Wine / Five-Leaved Climbing cucumber (Akebia quinata) is a looping plant that originally comes from East Asia. In our gardens, the climbing plants for the shade are not yet particularly widespread. The distinctive climbing cucumber has the name climbing cucumber with the grape-hanging flowers from their fruits, which in late summer ripen on the shoots up to nine centimeters long. These fruits are edible and have a slightly sweet taste.

• Height: up to 10 m
• winding climbing shrub (scaffolding or ropes as a climbing aid)
• Growth per year: 30 to 100 cm
• Location: shade or partial shade
• female flowers: brown-violet, arranged in racemes
• male flowers (on the same shrub): pink, fragrant
• Leaves: dark green, ovate with a long stem
• summer green
• Hardy to -20 ° C
• in the first few years still a bit sensitive to frosts

tip: In the shade the plant grows without any problems, only the abundance of flowers decreases slightly.

Tree shrike / round-leaved tree shrike

The round-leaved tree shrike (Celastrus orbiculatus) is particularly popular because of its pseudo-flowers and pretty orange-colored berries that stick to the climbing bush even over winter. These creepers are separate sexes. This means you need at least one male and one female specimen for the tree shrike to bear fruit. However, a tree shrike should be planted wisely. Because similar to that Wisteria the climbing bush with its thick shoots can exert enormous pressure on the climbing aid and crush smaller trees or downpipes.

• Height: up to 8 m
• Growth per year: about 1 m
• Partial shade, conditionally shade tolerant
• Leaves: light green, egg-shaped foliage, deciduous
• Flowers: sham umbels in May to June
• Fruits: orange berries
• stable trellis necessary
• hardy to -25 ° C

Clematis

Climbing plants such as clematis have proven their worth in partial shade. Of the Clematis There are countless varieties whose abundance of flowers sets colorful accents in the garden from spring to late summer. Although the queen of flowering climbing plants loves a bright location, she doesn't really like direct sunlight. Especially the foot of the plant should be in the shade.

• Growth height: up to 3 m (ornamental forms)
• Common clematis and mountain clematis up to 10 m
• Growth per year: large-flowered varieties up to 40 cm, wild species over 1 m
• Leaves: ovate, pointed
• Flowers: double and unfilled varieties in all imaginable colors
• needs a scaffold to support it
• not all varieties are hardy

ivy

The only evergreen climber that originally comes from Europe is ivy (Hedera helix). It is one of the completely undemanding types of climbing plants that can easily climb facades and walls up to 20 meters in height. Before you decide to use ivy, however, you should think twice about whether it will still be desired many years from now. Because the plant climbs with the help of adhesive roots, which it mercilessly knocks into masonry or insulation. Therefore it is very difficult to remove.

• Height: 4 to over 10 m (depending on the species)
• Growth rate: 50 to 70 cm per year
• Root climber, self-climbing
• Leaves: three-lobed to heart-shaped, deep green (also species with variegated leaves)
• Flower: inconspicuous light green
• evergreen
• well tolerated by frost

hop

Hops (Humulus) are among the rapidly growing climbing plants that can quickly green large areas. There is no need to fear that the plant will cause structural damage to facades. The hops are ideal, for example, for balconies, for covering downpipes or as an inexpensive high green roof. The hops actually do not belong in the climbing plant category, but in the perennials. Its shoots grow up out of the ground every year and then die off in autumn after flowering. All parapets, downpipes, masts or fences on which woody types of climbing plants must not be placed are suitable as climbing aids.

• Height: up to 12 m
• Growth: up to 1 m per week
• Sun to partial shade, also shade
• Flowers: cat-like flowers in female specimens
• Leaves: similar to grapevines
• dies to ground level in autumn
• hardy to below -35 ° C

Climbing hydrangea

the Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris) is one of the types of climbing plants native to the forests of Japan and Korea. The fine white flowers contrast nicely with the dark green foliage from June to July. Hydrangeas need deep, acidic soil to thrive. However, they are also suitable for cultivation as a container plant. You should also plant it in a location in partial shade or shade, because in the sun the plant suffers and grows only very poorly.

• Height: up to 10 m
• Growth rate: 80 cm per year
• self-climbing (scaffolding is recommended, however)
• Flowers: plate-shaped flower panicles with small white flowers
• Leaves: strong green, acuminate heart-shaped foliage
• completely hardy to -26 ° C

tip: A Hydrangea petiolaris is well tolerated by pruning, but hardly needs pruning because of its low slope to overgrown.

Pipe bindweed / ghost plant

The whistle winch (Aristolochia macrophylla) elegantly winds up to ten meters high on fences and climbing aids in a very short time. This climbing plant lives up to its name, because it has a particularly strong growth - not only in height, but also in width. However, if you let it grow undisturbed, it can be between four and six meters wide. It is therefore perfect, suitable for greening even larger walls and fences with only a few plants. In addition, the Aristolochina macrophylla can live up to 100 years. As far as the lighting conditions are concerned, the whistle winch is also very undemanding. She copes very well with both sun and shade.

• Height: up to 10 m
• Growth per year: 50 to 100 cm
• Plant support necessary into old age
• sheltered location necessary
• Blossom: small, particularly distinctive flowers, yellow outside, red-brown inside
• Leaves: heart-shaped and very large (10 to 30 cm in length)
• Shedding leaves
• Fruit: similar to cucumber, up to 9 cm in length
• Hardy to -30 ° C

Knotweed

A knotweed (Fallopia aubertii, also Polygonum aubertii) is difficult to tame because of its enormous vigor. Therefore, you should think carefully about where you put the climbing plant. It is perfect for all large areas that are not particularly beautiful to look at, such as the facade of a stable, a garage or a long, high wall. It is not suitable as a container plant or for small houses, as the cutting effort is too high. The knotweed likes to grow in a sunny location or in partial shade, but it is also well tolerant of shade.

• Height: up to 20 m
• Growth per year: several meters
• Blossom: white, panicle-shaped (July to September)
• Leaves: fresh green, oblong oval
• summer green
• rod-like climbing aids
• sufficient distance to downpipes, lightning rods etc. retain

Self-climbing wall wine

The self-climbing wall wine (Parthenocissus quinquefolia 'Engelmannii') originally comes from North America. He is very popular as a fast-growing climbing expert. The three- to five-lobed leaves, which turn into a glowing red eye-catcher in autumn, are up to 12 centimeters long. From the inconspicuous flowers, spherical, blue-black fruits form in late summer, which are not edible for humans, but are a welcome source of food for birds. The wall wine thrives in the sun as well as in partial shade and shade.

• Height: up to 12 m
• Width: up to 4 m
• Growth per year: 50 to 100 cm
• climbs up on almost all materials itself
• Flowering: June to August, inconspicuous greenish
• Leaves: lanceolate, five-lobed, dark green
• beautiful orange-red to purple color in autumn
• summer green
• Hardy to -30 ° C

Ornamental kiwi / ray pen

From spring onwards, the leaf tips of the ornamental kiwi (Actinidia kolomikta) turn white-pink, making them a very special highlight in the garden and on the terrace. This is where their name comes from, colored-leaved kiwi or flamingo kiwi. As a rule, the plant keeps the foliage on the shoots for a particularly long time, often until November. However, as a weakly looping climbing plant, a ray pen must be tied to a trellis. Although the fruits are much smaller than those of the "real" kiwi, they are still very tasty and healthy.

• Height: only 2 to 3 meters (rarely up to 5 m)
• Growth per year: about 50 cm
• Sun to shade, as protected as possible
• better leaf color in partial shade
• must be connected
• Leaves: lanceolate, light green with bright colors
• protect against heavy frost in the first few years