I Heard It On The Grapevine, Or Was It The Moonvine, Or Black-Eyed Susan Vine?

Which vine to curl up to?

Annuals are the simplest choice for easy-care, heavily flowering vines. There’s no pruning or snipping, because they’ll die back at the end of the season. You might pair them with a new perennial vine, since the annual will supply the flowers as the perennial establishes itself. Annual vines need full sun. Here are some good choices:

Morning glory (Ipomoea) Easy enough to grow from seed. The traditional form is Heavenly Blue, but it also comes in red, pink and white.

Moonvine (Calonyction aculeatum) - Looks like a white morning glory and blooms at night.

Black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata) - Unrelated to Rudbeckia, the perennial flower, but sure resembles it.

Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea) - In the kiwi family. Striking filaments distinguish the vine’s purple and white flower.

Hyacinth bean (Dolichos lablab) - You want something different? Dark purple pods dangle from this climber by summer’s end. Try scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus ) if you prefer red pods.

Perennials may take as long as three years to mature and flower fully, so be patient. They’re simple to grow, but if you choose one, you’re in for a certain level of commitment. Start by planting the vine in the proper amount of sunlight and pairing it with a trellis or arbor strong enough to support it at its full size.

Fertilize perennial vines with a 10-10-10 mixture twice each year, hack away dead branches, and adhere to the proper pruning schedule. For this, you’ll need to know whether the vine flowers on this year’s growth or last year’s and whether it flowers once or twice each blooming season. Ask when you buy the plant. With a little effort, you and your vine should enjoy a long, happy life together.

Here are some good choices among flowering perennial vines:

Clematis - With 300 varieties, it’s the queen of vines. Flat-faced and deep purple, Clematis jackmanii climbs many a mailbox post. Rampant Clematis paniculata produces tiny but sweetsmelling white flowers. Clematis varieties like sun but need plenty of mulch or a ground cover planted around their base to keep roots cool.

Silver lace vine (Polygonum aubertii) - Takes sun or part shade, and overflows with flowers beginning in midsummer.

Honeysuckle (Lonicera) - Prolific grower, tolerates some shade. Dropmore Scarlett features red berries in fall. Pink lemonade’s flowers blend pink and yellow.

Five Leaf Akebia or Chocolate Vine (Akebia) - Can take shade. Red to purple flowers appear early in the season.

Climbing Roses (Rosa) - Humid summers make them susceptible to black spot, but healthy ones flower endlessly. If thorns are a concern, try practically thornless varieties like Zephirine Drouhin and Climbing Pinkie.

Don’t underestimate the value of foliage. These perennial vines can be used to complement a flowering vine or to supply texture or color: Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) - Inconspicuous and green all summer, it flames scarlet in autumn, then drops its leaves.

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) - Yes, it’s a weed, and it can be invasive, but it’s handsome when it turns crimson in the fall.

Kolmikta vine (Actinadia kolomikta) - Features striking pink, white and green heartshaped leaves. Related to the kiwi.

Grapes (Vitis) - Try Concord grapes for their jagged leaves. Consider yourself lucky if the birds and squirrels leave you some fruit.

Porcelain berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) - Berries appear white early in the season, later turn Delft blue and finally deep purple at summer’s end.