5 Sensational Flowering Vines for Warm Climates

Love them or hate them, no tropical garden is complete without wild, crazy vines. They latch where they shouldn't, demand persistent pruning, take more space than allotted, and will swallow a shed in a week if allowed—but we grow them for the flowers. Here are the showiest blooming vines from late summer through fall.

Cape Honeysuckle

(Tecoma capensis)

Love this sprawling, rambling vine (really a shrub) for its profusion of vibrant orange flowers and fine evergreen foliage. Pollinators adore it—especially hummingbirds. Flowers range from golden orange to deep red-orange; buy in bloom to get your preferred shade.

Makes a large, untidy mass of blooming stems but can be trained up trellises with loose ties. Use as ground cover on large hillsides or for erosion control—give it lots of room; it spreads.

Colder-climate gardeners: it works well in containers with occasional trimming, held upright with stakes or allowed to scramble over pot edges.

• Hardiness: 20°F (USDA zones 9–11)
• Water: Low once established
• Light: Full sun
• Mature size: 6–8 feet
• Seasonal interest: Biggest flush late summer into fall
• Plant: Spring through fall

Passionflower

(Passiflora spp.)

Colors range from intense scarlet of red passionflower (Passiflora miniata) to pastel lemon (P. citrinus) and white (P. 'Constance Elliott'). Edible types—passion fruit (P. edulis) and giant granadilla (P. quadrangularis)—are delicious fresh, in ice cream, or juiced.

Valuable host plants for butterflies, especially natives. Maypop is native to much of the eastern U.S. with edible fruits; corky stem passionflower (P. suberosa) suits most of Florida. Incense passionflower (P. 'Incense') has surprisingly strong fragrance.

Low care but very vigorous (some say "weedy")—may need heavy pruning or removal, unless butterfly caterpillars get there first.

Red passionflower (Passiflora miniata) is one of the more dramatic species and occasionally bears edible fruit.

• Hardiness: Varies by species; some to -10°F (zones 6–11)
• Water: Average
• Light: Partial to full sun
• Mature size: Varies; most reach 6–8 feet
• Seasonal interest: Summer through fall
• Plant: Spring through fall

Gloriosa Lily

Gloriosa superba 'Rothschildsiana'

This vining lily lookalike has exotic flowers with twisted petals facing downward like comets or flickering flames, shifting from pale yellow to full orange and red.

Plant long fleshy roots like bulbs, 2–3 inches deep, spring through summer. Tropical and impatient cold-climate gardeners can add container-grown plants when freezes aren't an issue.

Plant near support—wire trellis or informal shrub—so tendril-like leaf tips can grab hold. Resist pruning errant stems; doing so kills the entire stem to ground and delays blooming.

• Hardiness: 20°F (zones 9–11)
• Water: Average
• Light: Partial to full sun
• Mature size: Rambling vine 4–6 feet long
• Seasonal interest: Summer through fall
• Plant: Spring through summer

Caution: All parts poisonous if ingested; handling roots can irritate. Plant out of children's reach; wear gloves when handling roots.

Pink Trumpet Vine

(Podranea ricasoliana)

Cotton-candy-pink trumpet-shaped blooms resemble related crossvine and trumpet creeper (also good choices), but this South African native speaks in softer tones with finer foliage—ideal where subtlety is needed. And it smells amazing.

Plant at base of your tallest trellis, fence, or pergola—potential to reach 20 feet with space. Drought-tolerant once established; low care if given room to roam. May suit containers with pruning shears ready to keep it in scale.

This pink trumpet vine twines along a fence.

• Hardiness: 20°F (zones 9–11)
• Water: Low
• Light: Full sun; tolerates some shade
• Mature size: 15–20 feet
• Seasonal interest: Flowers summer through fall
• Plant: Spring through fall where hardy

Bougainvillea

(Bougainvillea glabra)

The most common vine here—found from Florida to California, scaling trees and stucco mansions. Naturally suits Mediterranean architecture with muscular woody trunks and rosy warm-hued blooms—perhaps due to exceptional drought tolerance?

What most consider flowers are actually colorful papery bracts surrounding insignificant white true flowers. Second notable feature: narrow piercing thorns—any burglar's evening becomes unforgettable if planted along a wall.

Prune hard in spring, or remove lower branches to reveal twisting fissured trunk as living sculpture. Look but don't touch.

• Hardiness: 20°F (zones 9–11)
• Water: Low
• Light: Full sun
• Mature size: Up to 40 feet
• Seasonal interest: Summer through fall
• Plant: Spring through fall