Whether you’re in the market for a plant for its oxygen-boosting, air-purifying benefits or simply adore the evergreen décor they provide – it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to purchasing your first blooming green companions.
Though hanging baskets featuring long, draping plants are incredibly popular, a lesser-discovered indoor plant variety is the climber. This is likely because climbing plants require slightly more maintenance if you’re going to prevent them from taking over your space and transforming it into a jungle like a real-life game of Jumanji.
Offering a fairytale-like aesthetic, climbing plants are capable of creating an ethereal forest-like atmosphere when cultivated correctly. What’s more, when grown on the outside of houses, evergreen climbing plants can even act as energy-saving devices by offering an extra layer of outer insulation during the winter months.
How do climbing plants grow?
According to the RHS, climbing plants cover outdoor walls in bustling foliage and blooming flowers with the help of tendrils, twining stems, stem roots or sticky pads. Other varieties, including shrubs, need a little bit more help and must be tied to supports to thrive.
However, the vast majority of traditional plants for hanging baskets can be transformed into indoor climbing plants by simply providing a supportive structure for them to climb on. This includes species such as Philodendrons and Tradescantia Zebrinas.
While outdoor plants might require supportive structures in the form of criss-cross trellises, indoor plants usually climb best with the help of cylindrical structures known as moss poles.
We’ve rounded up a selection of the best bloomin’ beautiful climbing plants for you to add to your wheelbarrow.
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Indoor climbing plants
English Ivy / Hedera Helix
Make like Taylor Swift and watch your evergreen ivy grow. Though ivy adores humidity and regular watering, it is a practically unkillable plant considered by some seasoned horticulturalists to be an invasive species.
This English Ivy from Patch has the ability to transform any indoor or outdoor space into a Cumbrian landscape that would inspire the likes of Coleridge and Wordsworth.
Buy now £25.00, Patch
Devil’s Ivy / Epipremnum aureum
English Ivy’s devilish sister, this variation of the equally unkillable vine plant requires slightly less watering than her relative. Complete with fuller, larger heart-shaped leaves and a unique spotted pattern that looks as though the plant is constantly dappled in specks of light, Devil’s Ivy offers a slightly more dramatic silhouette. Simple to care for and a fantastic option for beginners, Devil’s Ivy can be easily trained to climb a moss pole.
Buy now £75.00, Patch
Wandering Dude / Tradescantia Zebrina
Don’t be fooled by the Wandering Dude’s seemingly small stature – this plant will grow for metres upon metres no matter how often you prune it.
Pleasingly purple and green, the Trandescantia Zebrina is also extremely easy to propagate, so you’ll be able to sustainably gift your plant’s offcuts to friends and loved ones in no time.
Buy now £14.95, Bloombox Club
Umbrella Tree / Schefflera
Providing a slightly neater and more cultivated appearance than most climbing plant varieties, the Umbrella Tree will elevate your space without overly encroaching on it. Native to Taiwanese forests, the Umbrella Tree will grow up to nine metres tall in its natural habitat, making it a fantastic climber.
Buy now £30.00, Patch
Heart-Leaf / Philodendron
Romantic, feminine and oh-so sweet, the Heart-Leaf hanging vine plant can truly go the distance if cared for properly. Native to Central America and the Caribbean, this climbing fiend can reach heights of up to six metres on its home soil.
When watered correctly and placed in a loving environment, you too might be able to make your Philodendron climb untold heights.
Buy now £15.00, Patch
Outdoor climbing plants for the garden
Wisteria Frutescens
Perhaps the most recognisable climbing plant of them all, fragrant Wisteria consists of delicate, trailing lilac blooms which hang like miniature purple waterfalls. It is often cultivated to grow on the outside of homes or up columns. Though not evergreen, Wisteria is a hardy shrub that can grow up to 500cm in height and spread across up to 300cm of space.
Buy now £14.99, Thompson Morgan
Japanese Honeysuckle / Lonicera japonica
An evergreen climber, Japanese Honeysuckle may be considered an invasive species, but it can certainly make small gardens and cottages look like fairy houses with characteristic white and yellow blooms. Due to the fact that this plant produces inedible fruits – we recommend avoiding it if you have particularly curious, hungry pets.
Buy now £27.99, Crocus
Indian Mint / Satureia douglasii
Unlike traditional mint plants which have a habit of growing upwards, the Indian Mint has a habit of producing beautiful, creeping trails. Non-invasive and capable of growing up to 50cm, add this plant to your wheelbarrow for a natural, reviving scent and fairytale aesthetic. Nightly fresh mint tea awaits.
Buy now £5.50, Amazon
Trailing Rosemary / Rosmarinus officinalis – pack of three
Producing a similar, ethereal effect to fantastical Wisteria, Trailing Rosemary is just as stunning, perennial and far easier to care for. Plus, your home and garden will constantly smell like the woody and aromatic fresh herb. It’s a win-win situation.
Buy now £29.95, Gardening Express
