4 climbing plants to grow on a windy balcony

Wisteria, robust and generous

If there’s one plant with strong and sturdy branches capable of withstanding gusts without flinching, it’s definitely the wisteria! Once established, this powerful liana is known to twist metal stems or flimsy fencing with ease. It will therefore need a solid support, such as a railing, a screen, or a trellis, where it can even act as a windbreak and privacy screen during the beautiful season.

Wisteria is valued for its magnificent and abundant spring flowering in long, colourful, and fragrant clusters. The finely dissected foliage with a slightly exotic appearance is deciduous, disappearing in autumn.

For pot cultivation, choose smaller-growing varieties, such as Wisteria venusta. This Japanese wisteria is quite hardy down to about -20 °C and easy to grow, even in poor soil. Just ensure regular pruning to contain its growth and prevent it from encroaching on your neighbours.

For example, consider the typical variety with its very romantic white flowers, or ‘Grande Diva Nathalie’ with its cascade of bicoloured mauve and white flowers, or even ‘Rosea’ with its delicate pink flowering.

To go further, discover the additional dossier “Wisteria: how to plant, prune, and care for it” and the article “Growing wisteria in a pot”.

Wisteria venusta

Honeysuckle, divine flowering and fragrance

The honeysuckle needs no introduction, being one of the most beloved climbing plants in the garden. This popularity is well-deserved, as it boasts numerous qualities: ease of cultivation, rapid growth, longevity, good hardiness, disease resistance, and tolerance to various soils and climates… It also has a good resistance to winds, making it an ideal candidate for creating windbreak hedges.

Additionally, it features a generous, fragrant flowering with a beautiful palette of colours to suit all tastes. The foliage can be evergreen or deciduous, depending on the varieties.

For pot cultivation on balconies or terraces, opt for smaller and less exuberant varieties. Among them:

• Lonicera henryi ‘Copper Beauty’ (2 metres tall and 1.5 metres wide), which has the advantage of evergreen foliage;
• Lonicera heckrotii ‘Gold Flame’ (3 metres tall and 1 metre wide), with its bright pink flowering and yellow-orange centre;
• Lonicera periclymenum ‘Caprilia Imperial cov’ (2.5 metres tall and 1.5 metres wide), featuring a colour that evolves from pink to cream and yellow;
• Lonicera hybrida ‘Celestial’ (3 metres tall and 1.5 metres wide), known for its summer flowering in orange and salmon-pink;
• The charming dwarf honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum ‘Chic et Choc’ (1 metre tall and 60 cm wide), which reveals a white-pink flowering that turns yellow-orange in June.

The young voluble stems of the honeysuckle cannot cling on their own: therefore, provide a sturdy support with soft ties to help it grow steadily. You may also choose to cultivate it in a large container with an incorporated trellis.

To learn everything about cultivating honeysuckles, check out our articles “Honeysuckle: planting, pruning, and maintenance” and “How to plant a honeysuckle in a pot”.

Lonicera henryi ‘Copper Beauty’

Ivy, a dense and evergreen foliage

The ivy is a very self-sufficient climbing plant: it attaches itself using strong climbing roots to the supports available to it: walls, railings, trellises… While it has a reputation for being destructive, it is primarily the already damaged walls or brittle materials that should fear its suckers.

Its natural sturdiness makes it a climbing plant resistant to the assaults of the wind. Quite hardy, very easy to care for, and low-maintenance, it is also a wonderful plant for biodiversity. It indeed helps birds and insects in winter with its discreet flowers and fruits.

The ivy features evergreen green foliage (tolerant of shade) or variegated (requiring filtered light). In a pot on a windy balcony, grow the smaller varieties:

• Hedera helix ‘Goldchild’ (1.5 metres in height with a spread of 1 metre), with its variegated yellow and cream foliage;
• ‘Ivalace’ (1.5 metres in height with a spread of 1 metre), featuring strikingly crisp, crinkled foliage;
• ‘Marginata Elegantissima’ (2.5 metres in height with a spread of 1.5 metres), which bears green foliage with cream edges, tinged with pink.

Just ensure regular pruning so that your ivy does not become too invasive.

For more information, check out the articles “Climbing ivy, Hedera helix: planting, growing, pruning” and “How to grow ivy in a pot?”

Hedera helix ‘Goldchild’

Winter jasmine, a climbing plant that brightens the cold season

As its name suggests, winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) has the advantage of flowering in winter, from December to April. Its multitude of small lemon-yellow flowers makes it a true sun that brightens the cold season, even under the snow. The foliage being deciduous, the flowers appear on still naked branches.

This variety, although unscented, offers many qualities. It is first and foremost the hardiest of the genus, capable of withstanding temperatures down to about -20 °C. It is drought-resistant, tolerates all exposures, even windy ones, and all types of soil. Finally, it requires very little maintenance.

Winter jasmine has modest dimensions (approximately 2.5 metres in all directions), allowing it to be grown in pots. It is a sturdy climbing plant, whose woody climbing stems will need to be trained to grow vertically on the balcony or terrace.

Find our growing tips in the dedicated section “Jasmine: planting, maintenance, pruning”.

Jasminum nudiflorum