Skip to main content

How to train climbing vines to climb up a trellis or along a wall

Your vines want to climb - here's how to help them

Gardeners can have a love-hate relationship with climbing vine plants. They’re often some of the most beautiful and magical-looking plants in our collection, but they can be the most challenging and the most demanding plants to care for.

It doesn’t matter if they are flowering plants in your landscape, vegetable plants in your garden, or draping houseplants that add just the right amount of green to your home — they’re all lovely, and they’re all difficult. So here we’re going to talk about some of the most popular plants that will climb on a trellis, why growing them this way is best for them, and lastly, how to train your plant to grow on a trellis.

Difficulty

Easy

What You Need

  • Vining plant (pothos, clematis, climbing roses, etc.)

  • Netting

  • Moss pole

  • Wood trellis

  • PVC pipe

  • Chicken wire

  • Nails and screws

  • Twine, garden tape, or shoe strings

There’s a list a mile long of the plants that’ll vine up or across a trellis, but some of the most popular ones are clematis, blue moon wisteria, climbing roses, cucumbers, pole beans, pothos, and string of pearls. You probably already know if you have one within your collection, but if you’re looking to add to it, there are many sources where you can find a complete list of vining plants for almost any need or situation.

Clematis climbing trellis
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Why a trellis will benefit vining plants

For the most part, vining plants want to climb, but there are specific conditions that some plants might need. Unfortunately, our homes, gardens, and landscapes rarely have these conditions naturally, so they must be produced artificially to help these plant vines in the way that they want. Encouraging plants to vine and helping them do so will be better for the plant’s health in the long run and will result in the look or production you’re looking for.

For example, most cucumber varieties want to climb up something. If they don’t have a trellis or support of some kind, they’ll trail along the ground and grow that way. While this might not seem like a problem at first, it’ll quickly become apparent why it might be, when the trailing vines choke out other plants in the garden, and the forming cucumbers are overrun with insects and rot from laying on the ground.

It’s also true that cucumbers formed while hanging from the vine are more evenly shaped, and cucumbers on the ground might become curved or deformed. This also goes for flowering plants. They’re more likely to succumb to disease or insects, and they won’t produce as many or have as luscious blooms if they’re left to vine along the ground.

Pothos vines
Shadow Inspiration / Shutterstock

How to train vines to grow on a trellis

With all of the downsides of not ensuring your vining plant has support, you might be worried about keeping them from meeting this fate. Luckily, training vines for most plants is pretty simple, easy, and affordable. Almost anything can be used as a trellis, and you can build your own with materials you already have or make it easier on yourself and order one online. No matter which route you take, it’s essential to consider the type of trellis best for the kind of plant you have.

Step 1: Make or use a thinner trellis made of netting to support plants that reach out with small vines that wrap around anything they touch, such as the cucumber plant.

Step 2: Make or use a moss pole or wooden trellis for plants like pothos, which send out tiny "fingers" that look like hairs. These types of plants will prefer moss poles or trellis made of wood where they can grab on and have some grip.

Step 3: You can use PVC pipes, old chicken wire, or nails and screws with some twine for other plants.

Trellis
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Setting up a trellis

Whichever type of trellis you choose, it’s essential to get the setup in place before the plant gets too big. Once the plant is a certain size, it will quickly become unruly, and you might have to do some pruning and chopping to get it to come back in line.

Step 1: Start the training process when plants are still young and malleable.

Step 2: Watch the plant to ensure it's trailing properly. Prune and adjust the plant as necessary to get it back on track.

Training moss to grow on a pole
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Training vines to climb

The vines already know what to do, so the phrase “training a vine” is a little silly; what we actually mean is helping the vine to climb in the way we want them to. All this takes is time and consistent checking.

Step 1: Once the plant is sending out vines and reaching, attach the vines to the trellis with twine, garden tape, or even old shoe strings. Whatever you have around the house is fine as long as it’s soft and won’t cut into the vine.

Step 2: Tie the reaching vine onto the trellis and repeat that process as the plant grows. Eventually, the plant will keep reaching up, and you might only have to tie off vines here and there.

Vining plants are a great way to add a vertical or horizontal element to your garden or home, and many of our favorite foods come from vining plants. Learning to care for a vining plant to let it live its best life will ensure you have a happy and healthy plant for years to come.

Editors' Recommendations

Rebecca Wolken
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Rebecca's has written for Bob Villa and a Cincinnati based remodeling company. When she's not writing about home remodeling…
Grow your indoor or outdoor garden and support these Black-owned plant shops for Black History Month
Get your next leafy friend from one of these Black-owned companies
Various plants on different stands

If you're a plant parent, you buy your supplies and new baby plants from somewhere. So, instead of the chain stores, consider supporting Black-owned plant shops to get your leafy friends everything they need to thrive. Check out any of these Black-owned companies to find your next plant addition no matter where you are, because every one of these businesses ships all over the U.S.

Grounded
Mignon Hemsley and Danuelle Doswell started this beautiful plant company in 2020 to help create a calmer space in homes through the addition of greenery. If you have no idea where to start, Grounded offers complimentary 15-minute consultations to get you going. It has a subscription option for the more adventurous plant parent, and if you have fur babies at home, look at their pet-safe options so you won't have to worry about a curious nose.
Crazy Plant Bae
From plants to planters to a subscription box, Crazy Plant Bae has a little of everything. No matter how green your thumb is, you'll find something to fit your budget and space. Get the kids involved in gardening and sign them up for one of the workshops, or have them visit your child in their classroom. But the best part about this company is that it's a Black women-run business with its third generation of family members, and it has over 40 years of service at your disposal.
deVINE Plantery
If you want easy-to-care-for plants without a lot of fuss, or more unique plants, check out deVINE Plantery. This Black woman-owned company has adorable plants, fun accessories, stunning art pieces, and a few other gift ideas. Need help styling the plants in your home, want a consultation about what plants to get, or want to take a gardening class? This business offers all of that and more.
De La Fleur Designs
If you want only flowers for your space with a lot of color and beauty, then De La Fleur Designs is where you should look. It doesn't just put together any ordinary bouquet. Owner Daphne oozes the sophistication and elegance you'll see in whichever arrangement you choose. Whether you need a sympathy arrangement, wedding flowers, or want to sign yourself up for a monthly bouquet delivery subscription, De La Fleur will take care of it all.
The Plant Project
The first Black woman-owned plant company in Texas, The Plant Project opened its doors in 2020 to bring the joy of all things leafy to the area. Plants with a pop of color, herbs, plant accessories, and even a plant self-care set are all on the menu. Or visit one of its four locations to get the full in-person experience of a plant shop and see how amazingly beautiful the inside of its stores are.

Read more
Want to make your pothos plant’s vines thicker? Follow this guide
Here's how to help your pothos have a fuller appearance
A pothos as a wall vine

Maybe you're a new plant parent, and like so many beginners, you brought home a simple golden pothos to start your indoor plant collection. Maybe you're just fascinated by this fast-growing plant's low-key nature and seemingly endless varieties.

Whatever the case, you may have noticed that your once full and bushy pothos has gotten leggy and now looks like the rest of us when we go too long without a haircut. Rest assured that this isn't just you; this problem affects pothos and many other vining plants, but there are plenty of things you can do to help your leafy buddy.

Read more
Everything you need to know about growing healthy ferns indoors
Tips for indoor ferns and how to keep them healthy
A hanging maidenhair fern

Ferns are wonderful plants for filling in shady spots in gardens. They’re soft, fairly low maintenance, and neutral yet classy. Can you say the same about growing ferns indoors?

It may come as a surprise, but ferns can grow just as well indoors as outdoors! They can bring a soothing touch of green to any shady room. If you need a plant to boost morale in an office or liven up a poorly lit bedroom, ferns may be the right choice for you. To keep these ferns happy and healthy indoors, here’s what you need to know.

Read more