7 Fast-Growing Vines That Won’t Scramble Out of Control, to Turn an Ugly Wall From Bare to Beautiful

You need a fast-growing flowering vine to quickly cover a bare wall or perk up a pergola post? But don’t want those speedy stems to invade your entire backyard every summer forever after? It's an age-old gardening problem. Thankfully, there are now plenty of exuberant climbers that are beautifully well-mannered, swiftly reaching a good size without any riotous, unruly growth.

Late winter is the perfect time to start thinking about adding a climbing vine to your garden. Planting straight after the first frost gives them the longest-possible growing season for maximum coverage, and you can start some off indoors 6–8 weeks beforehand – which, depending on your zone, is right about now. Getting organised before the main growing season starts also lets you fix the right support in your garden while it's pretty clear of leaves.

All our recommendations will give you fast growth without the hassle of forever pruning a too-vigorous plant, and a long flowering season of beautiful blooms. Which is the best vine for your garden?

1. Honeysuckle ‘Major Wheeler’

How fabulous are these rich-red blooms with opulent golden highlights? If you’re a sucker for honeysuckle but don’t want to burden your garden with its bully-boy nature, take a look at Lonicera sempervirens ‘Major Wheeler’. While many native species are considered invasive, this cultivar only grows to 7 feet. It’ll quickly reach this height, however, happily scrambling up an archway, twisting around a trellis or rambling along a fence-top.

Its growth habit is the only reserved thing about this floriferous perennial, however. The plant is smothered in hundreds of 2-inch blooms from June to September, rich in nectar to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. While it’s not the most fragrant of honeysuckle varieties, it still has a light, sweet scent, and birds will feast on its red berries come fall.

Hardy in zones 4–8, perennial honeysuckle ‘Major Wheeler’ is available from Nature Hills.

2. Clematis ‘Empress’

Many of us gardeners have sworn off clematis after an encounter with super-speedy grower montana in our earliest gardening days (we’ve all been there!). But there are hundreds of better-mannered clematis, and the current trend is leaning towards breeding more compact varieties. Don't worry, though: bijou doesn’t equal boring.

Launched at the UK’s prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in 2019, Clematis ‘Empress’, available from Nature Hills, is one of the most striking new cultivars. Its flamboyant sugar-pink flowers are a whopping 5 inches wide with a stylish central pompom, blooming in early summer and then again in September. Hardy in zones 4–9, it’s fast-growing but only reaches a very manageable 7 feet high.

3. Wisteria ‘Amethyst Falls’

Love wisteria but worried it’ll take over your garden? Not all wisteria are created equal and, while it’s true that most are rampant growers quickly reaching 40 feet wide or more, some varieties are far better behaved.

One choice example is the native Wisteria frutescens ‘Amethyst Falls’, available from Nature Hills. It’s still a vigorous vine, growing up to 10 feet in a single year, but it’s a dwarf cultivar so only reaches a third of the size of its Asian cousins. Its blooms and leaves are a little smaller than the Chinese and Japanese wisteria species too, but the fragrant lavender-hued flowers still dangle an impressive six inches.

This perennial vine will attract hummingbirds, and it’s a host plant for skipper butterflies, so it’s a favorite for a wildlife-friendly garden. Like any wisteria, it can take a little while to settle into its new home before flowering, but the deciduous foliage is pretty enough to warrant the wait. And once it does start blooming, if you deadhead its May flowers, the plant will usually reward you with a second flush. Suitable for zones 3–12.

4. Cup and Saucer Vine

Another option for fast-but-not-furious coverage is to plant a vine that’s not fully hardy in your zone. Cup and saucer vine (Cobaea scandens) is a perennial but it’s only hardy in zones 9–11. Grow it in a colder climate and it’ll romp away in a sunny spot, reaching up to 30 feet in a single season, then die after the first hard frost. It’s easily grown from seed, available from Burpee, so you simply treat it as an annual and repeat the process the following year.

It’s a pretty plant, the fragrant 2-inch flowers starting out a creamy pale green before gradually maturing into rich violet-purple for an ombré effect. The deep-throated blooms, held aloft on curvaceous stems, are a favorite with hummingbirds, too.

5. Trumpet Vine Summer Jazz

If you’re familiar with native Campsis radicans or the Chinese trumpet vine, you’ll know how glorious their dramatic tubular flowers and delicate leaves are – and how quickly these aggressive growers can get out of hand! But compact cultivars are available, and the sun-loving Summer Jazz series is one of the best, topping out at just 6 feet.

Campsis x tagliabuana Summer Jazz is still a fast grower for a speedy result, and you can choose from the red-orange ‘Fire’ and yellow ‘Sunrise Gold’, both from Nature Hills. The flowers last from summer to fall, when the leaves of this deciduous perennial vine turn a beautiful golden tone. Just as carefree and easy to grow as a regular trumpet vine, it’s drought-tolerant and hardy in zones 5–9 once established, and tolerates a wide range of soil types. It’ll even cope in a container.

6. Black Eyed Susan Vine

Tried, tested and universally adored, Black Eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata) is a classic for good reason. It grows quickly to eight feet from seed and flowers all summer, so it’s such an easy win if you want to cover a fence, fast, or need a temporary solution while you decide on a perennial climber. It happily tumbles from a hanging basket, too, if you’d rather pretty-up a wall from the top down.

Technically a perennial, it can’t survive frost so most folk treat it as an annual, sowing from seed. That vigorous growth needs to be fuelled by fertile soil and lots of sunshine, and supported by wires or a trellis – or try letting the twining stems scramble into a mature shrub. Cultivars are available in a range of warm tones but we reckon you can’t beat the cheery yellow and orange Thunbergia alata, available from Amazon. Plant the seeds outside after the last frost, or start them indoors on a sunny windowsill six weeks before.

7. Star Jasmine

If you live in zones 8-11 and want to cover a large area without having to spend hours pruning, then star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) is a wonderfully fragrant climber that thrives in sun or partial shade. You’ll have to be patient for the first year as it settles into its new home but, once established, it grows rapidly, up to 6 feet a year, to a mature height of up to 20 feet. And the best thing about this more cautious habit is that you don’t need to prune it to size unless you want to, though nipping off stem tips once it’s finished flowering will encourage denser growth.

The honeyed vanilla scent of the white pinwheel flowers from June to September is intoxicating, and strong enough to fill your backyard. As it’s especially intense in the evenings, this perennial vine is a super choice for a patio or seating area. With evergreen foliage, Star Jasmine, available from Fast Growing Trees, looks good year-round, too.

Provide Strong Support

Control the Growth

Don’t forget that you can boost the growth of your vine by feeding it. Most fast-growing climbers are hungry feeders so applying a slow-release all-purpose plant food such as these Organic Plant Magic Granules from Amazon in spring will ensure quick coverage.

You can continue to feed your climber once a month, but steer clear of nitrogen-rich fertilizers as they’ll encourage leaf growth over flowerbuds. Instead, choose a high-potash fertilizer for more blooms – a tomato fertilizer such as Espoma Organic Plant Food from Amazon is just the job.

Don’t feed perennial vines after September, as lush new growth will be more susceptible to winter damage.

Another way to deliver a steady supply of the necessary nutrients is with a layer of mulch, such as this Organic Mulch from Amazon, in spring.