Fragrant climbers
Looking for something to adorn a blank wall, cover an eyesore or provide attractive screening? These flowering climbers do double time with their good looks and gorgeous perfumes, writes STEVE FALCIONI
Climbers are a useful group of plants for covering fences, garden sheds and bare walls, and for providing privacy and shade when trained up trellises, arbors and pergolas. While trees and shrubs can do the same thing, climbers generally grow faster and take up less space, which makes them indispensable.
And when you add perfume to the mix, you’re really onto a winner!
Here are 10 of the best fragrant climbers. Some of these plants aren’t easy to find during winter, but it never hurts to start a wishlist and be ready to pounce later in the year.
1 Climbing roses (Rosa spp. & hybrids)
It’s impossible to go past the queen of flowers when thinking of perfumed climbers, as these roses suit so many different garden styles, including cottage, informal, and even formal (with a little restraint). Just keep in mind that they’re deciduous, so if you’re after a screening plant, a rose may not be your best option. As most varieties have thorns, they are not well suited to narrow pathways. Also, don’t be fooled by labels that say ‘nice fragrance’, as this usually means you can barely smell a thing! Instead, look for climbing roses with more robust descriptions, such as ‘heady perfume’, ‘rich scent’ or ‘intoxicating fragrance’.
Two of my favourite varieties are climbing Devoniensis (creamy white) and Duchesse de Brabant (soft pink).
2–10m 2–10m ST A WT CT
2 Wisteria (Wisteria sinensis, W. oribunda & hybrids)
Arguably one of the best-known climbers, wisteria is a deciduous plant that produces masses of delightful hanging flowers in spring, often before the foliage appears. Though it’s well known for spectacular racemes of purple flowers, there are also white, pale mauve and pink varieties available. Most wisteria are large, vigorous climbers that need to be grown on strong supports and require pruning twice a year. They also need a bit of winter chill to encourage flowering. In very cold regions, Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) is the best choice.
3–30m (unpruned) 3–30m (unpruned) ST A WT CT
3 Chinese star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)
In late spring and early summer, Chinese star jasmine bursts into full flower. While each of the creamy flowers is only 1–2cm wide, the blooms smother the entire plant and fill the air with a rich, spicy perfume. Aside from the magnificent floral display, this climber is a great screening plant because it doesn’t drop its lower leaves, but stays green from top to bottom. It’s happy to grow in pots, but make sure the pot is large enough to support the amount of growth you’re after. It suits most garden styles, but the dense foliage and smallish leaf size make it particularly suited to frequent clipping for that manicured look.
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Honeysuckle is a fast-growing vine that tolerates most conditions, and its owers are a food source for insects and birds.
4 Honeysuckle (Lonicera x heckrottii)
This heavenly scented honeysuckle produces narrow, tubular flowers with pinky-red buds that open to yellow. Peak flowering time is summer, but in warmer regions this starts earlier and extends into autumn. It’s a fast grower that stays evergreen, except in the coldest parts of Australia, where it becomes semi-dormant during winter. While it can handle poor soils, it performs best in rich, fertile soils. Prune after flowering to keep it dense.
5m 5m T ST A WT CT
5 Chilean jasmine (Mandevilla laxa)
If you’re after masses of large, white blooms with an intoxicating perfume, Chilean jasmine is for you. It’s a versatile climber that blends well with any garden style and colour scheme. Its dense foliage and fast growth also make it ideal if you’re in a hurry to cover something. In warm climates the plant is evergreen, but it becomes deciduous in cooler regions.
6m 6m T ST A WT CT
6 Stephanotis (Stephanotis oribunda)
This delightful climber has waxy green leaves and clusters of richly scented white flowers. It tends to bloom in bursts from spring through to autumn. Its growth rate is moderate, so this one won’t get away from you. Stephanotis does best in a rich, fertile soil that is free draining. I’ve grown it for years in a large pot, and with those thick, leathery leaves, it can handle drying out (luckily for me).
5m 5m T ST WT
7 Snail vine (Cochliasanthus caracalla)
This vine has clusters of white and mauve flowers that fade to creamy yellow. The buds are curled like a snail shell, and the flowers retain some of that twisted appearance. The richly perfumed blooms appear in summer and autumn. This fast grower with evergreen foliage makes the perfect screen. It’s best for warm zones, as it dies back in winter elsewhere.
3–6m 3–6m T ST WT
8 Chocolate vine (Akebia quinata)
No doubt I had you at chocolate!
Yes, the purply-brown flowers of this vine smell like chocolate and vanilla. Amazing, hey? If grown with a second plant for pollination, chocolate vine also produces fat, sausage-shaped fruit with a mild to sweet edible pulp in autumn. It grows as a woody vine, and is evergreen in warm areas but deciduous in colder regions. Chocolate vine is a very fast, vigorous grower that requires regular pruning to keep it in check.
4–10m 4–10m ST A WT CT
9 Arabian jasmine (Jasminum sambac)
It’s difficult to choose a single jasmine, but this one’s fragrant flowers are used in jasmine green tea, which I love! It’s a smaller climber, so it’s perfect if you don’t have a lot of space. It bears creamy white flowers in the warmer months, and there’s also a form with double flowers. It grows in a wide range of soil types, but needs very mild winters to survive.
3m 3m T ST WT
10 Climbing frangipani (Chonemorpha macrophylla)
I adore the vigorous climbing frangipani for its very fragrant, large, white flowers with yellow throats (just like a regular frangipani), which appear during the hotter months. It is densely growing, with long, oval leaves, and is evergreen in warm regions but semi-deciduous in cooler areas. Grow climbing frangipani on a strong support if you plan to let it get to full size.
7m 7m T ST WT