Somewhat surprisingly, vines that grow rapidly and flower beautifully in moderate climate years can also do quite well in years with below average and above average temperatures, below average and above average rainfall, handle late frosts in the spring and early frosts in the fall. 

Many vines can flourish in years of average temperatures, average rainfall, or an overall average climate. Since some of these vines are native plants, they have evolved to handle a fairly wide range of weather extremes for short periods of time. Their natural settings also generally allow the native plants to have a wider tolerance for diseases, helps them be more insect tolerant and salt tolerant. 

Many vines for average conditions like Carolina Moonseed have lovely fall or Autumn foliage colors, or beautiful fruits. In addition, many of these vines attract birds and butterflies, particularly hummingbirds, to your landscape. You may also be surprised at the diversity in the list of these vines since some can also be used as groundcovers and shrubs, since many are truly broadleaf evergreens that just happen to also climb.

Frequently during the height of the bloom period, Clematis in particular, are seen tumbling over mailboxes up and down most streets.  A new, interesting use for Clematis is to encourage the plants to use other shrubs and evergreens to grow over. The contrast of huge, brightly colored flowers interlacing over Junipers, Cedars and Spruce is very eye-catching, bringing new magic to the home garden during the summer.

Depending on what type of vine you plant, by trimming the spent flowers; you can easily encourage another entire large flush of blooms just a little bit later in the growing season.

To view learn more about vines for moderate conditions, please visit Virtual Plant Tags.