Fast Growing Climbing Plants: Our Top 15

There are times when you just can’t wait for your climbing plants to grow. Like when your neighbour decides to install a hot tub in direct sight of your meditation garden. Or when you work from home and can’t look out of the window at that rotting old shed for even a minute longer. And of course no one wants to get sunburned under a bare pergola for years waiting for the plants to grow.

With quick growing climbers, you don’t have to. Just plant, sit back and rub your hands together with glee as that unsightly fence, wall or cold war bunker disappears behind a carpet of fresh green, month by delicious month. And these speedy climbers aren’t purely functional - you can add flowers, scent, colourful foliage and even fruit to the mix, with fast growing climbing plants for every situation and purpose. But how quickly do climbing plants actually grow? I asked our grower for her recommendations - and for some hard and fast numbers. Here’s what she said…

Jump to:

• Best for shade
• Best for sun
• Best for flowers
• Best for scent
• Best for autumn colour
• Best for walls
• Best fruiting
• Best for arches
• The fastest growing climber
• How to make your plant grow faster

Best for shade: Ivy

Easy to grow ivy (Hedera) is a stylish, classic way to cover a building or a wall. It grows even in full shade (although it prefers a little sunlight) and as ivy is self clinging, you don’t even need a trellis to support it. It’s a great choice for helping wildlife too, as birds and insects rely on it for shelter, as well as its spreading habit creating vital wildlife corridors.

How fast does it grow?

Ivy can grow by 2.7m per year.

Our grower recommends:

• 'Hibernica' Ivy - Grows up to 10m x 8m.
• Variegated Ivy - Grows up to 8m x 8m.

Best for sun: Passion flower

Passion flower vines are a great way to cover a trellis or conservatory ceiling with greenery in no time, but they do need plenty of sun. Provide the right conditions (six to eight hours of sunlight daily) and you’ll be rewarded by the most spectacular tropical flowers. The vines themselves are fascinating too, with stem tendrils that reach out and coil around everything they touch, like springs.

How fast does it grow?

Passiflora can grow by 6m per year.

Our grower recommends:

• Purple Passion Flower 'Damsel's Delight' - Grows up to 12m x 1.5m.
• White Passion Flower 'Snow Queen' - Grows up to 4m x 1.5m.

Best for flowers: Wisteria

Wisteria can take a year or two to get going, but once it does, buckle up. You can expect up to 3m of growth each year, so make sure you have a strong support in place for your plant. The fastest growing is Chinese wisteria (sinensis) but Japanese wisteria (floribunda) isn’t far behind, and it has the biggest flowers. Whichever you choose, planting in a sunny sheltered spot means you’ll get the best flowers from your wisteria.

How fast does it grow?

Wisteria can grow by up to 3m per year.

Our grower recommends:

• Chinese Wisteria - Grows to 6m x 5m.
• Japanese Wisteria 'Macrobotrys' - Grows to 6m x 5m.

Best for scent: Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle is the spectacularly scented climber that’s surprisingly low maintenance. Perfect for decorating a patio pergola, fence or garden seating area, it’ll quickly cover its supports in plenty of lush green, twisting stems. Honeysuckle typically flowers from July to September, and several varieties are evergreen. It flowers best in a sunny position, but will also grow well in light shade and is drought tolerant once it’s established.

How fast does it grow?

Honeysuckle can grow by 2.5 - 3.5m per year.

Our grower recommends:

• Hall's Japanese Honeysuckle - Grows up to 8m x 1.5m.
• Henry's Honeysuckle - Grows up to 8m x 1.5m.

Best for autumn colour: Crimson Glory Vine

Aptly named Crimson Glory is an autumnal sensation with some of the brightest ruby, crimson and amber toned foliage you’ll see anywhere. The vigorous vine is ideal for covering a shed, garage, wall or fence, and it’s not just a one season wonder, with lush green heart shaped leaves in spring and summer.

It needs very little care beyond a bit of initial watering and a sunny spot in your garden. Just give it a strong support to climb up and watch it go…

How fast does it grow?

Crimson Glory Vine can grow by 3m per year.

Our grower recommends:

• Crimson Glory Vine - Grows up to 15m x 4.5-6m.
• Boston Ivy - Grows to 20m x 10m.

Image source: Wikimedia.

Best for walls and fences: Russian Vine

Russian Vine AKA Mile-a-minute plant, is a seriously big hitter. Plant one of these and your cold war bunker will be as distant a memory as my last holiday to Moscow. Fallopia baldschuanicum (to give it its formal name) establishes quickly and grows a strong 4m per year. It’s happy in sun or partial shade, and will even grow in clay soils. Even better, from July to September it’s covered in dreamy pink and silver-white flower clusters.

How fast does it grow?

Fallopia baldschuanicum can grow by 4m per year.

Our grower recommends:

• Russian Vine - Grows to 12m x 4m.

Best fruiting climber: Kiwi Fruit

I’ve included this one because I’ve just got a kiwi vine and it’s growing at a rate of knots! Even before the flowers and fruit develop, this is a lovely looking plant, with big, heart shaped leaves and that characteristic kiwi fluff on every part of the plant.

If you only have space for one kiwi plant, make it a self fertile variety such as Jenny or Solissimo - other varieties will need a pollination partner to produce fruit.

How fast does it grow?

Kiwi vines can grow by 1.5-4m per year.

Our grower recommends:

• Jenny Hardy Kiwi Plant - Grows up to 4m x 4m.
• Ken's Red Hardy Kiwi Plant - Grows up to 4m x 4m.

Best for pergolas and arches: Ornamental kiwi

If your aim is to create a leafy canopy to cover a pergola, arch or garden arbour, Actinidia kolomikta will not only do this in double quick time, but will bring a riot of flamboyant colour to your garden, with its plentiful heart shaped foliage variegated with pink and white tones throughout the summer months and tipped with splashes of silver as it matures. Add in tiny white fragrant flowers and you’ve got the perfect pergola plant.

How fast does it grow?

Ornamental Kiwi can grow by 1.5-4m per year.

Our grower recommends:

• Ornamental Kiwi - Grows to 4-6m x 2-3m.

Image source: Flickr.

The fastest of all: Virginia Creeper

Virginia Creepers (and all the variations of the Parthenocissus family) are vigorous plants that can deal with any amount of light or shade. They’re self clinging climbers which can swiftly turn a wall, fence or building into a living wall of colour, with five pointed, emerald green foliage that turns ruby red in autumn. These are easy-care climbers that need minimal pruning and don’t tend to be bothered by pests or diseases, so you can just sit back and watch them grow.

How fast does it grow?

Parthenocissus can grow by 6m per year.

Our grower recommends:

• Virginia Creeper - Grows to 15m x 5m.
• Chinese Virginia Creeper - Grows to 10m x 5m.

How to make a climbing plant grow faster

To get the best from your climber and help it grow as fast as possible, make sure you choose a planting position with the right light conditions, good support and good quality soil. If your soil isn’t great, you can mix in some new compost or well rotted manure to boost the nutrient content. After planting, feed your new climber with a general purpose fertiliser at least once a year and keep up a regular watering schedule for the first year or so, reducing this to spring and summer watering only in subsequent years. Check your climbing plant regularly for signs of pests or diseases, and treat these promptly to prevent serious damage to your plant. 

Remember that if your climber is too successful and outgrows its position, you can prune any of our recommended plants down to size.

All growth rates and eventual sizes quoted are approximate and vary from plant to plant, as well as being dependent on position, soil, regional weather and aftercare.