Types of Purple Flowering Vines: Climbing Vines With Pictures

There’s something magical about vines covered in beautiful purple flowers. Their trailing stems and dangling blooms add drama and vertical interest to any garden. Purple flowering vines are excellent for growing up trellises, arbors, fences, or letting them scramble along the ground as groundcovers.

This guide will showcase some of the most eye-catching purple flowering vines to consider for your landscape. You’ll find pictures to help identify each one, plus details on their growing needs. Get ready to be inspired by all the shades of violet climbing vines nature has to offer!

Clematis

No list of purple vining plants would be complete without the regal clematis. This flowering vine has hundreds of varieties that bloom in rich purple hues.

The Jackmanii clematis is a prolific bloomer with large 5-6 inch violet-purple flowers. Meanwhile, the Polish Spirit clematis has smaller but extremely vibrant hot pink-purple blooms. Sweet Autumn clematis produces a mass of little pinkish-purple flowers in late summer.

Most clematis vines grow 6-12 feet tall, though compact cultivars are available. They require at least 6 hours of sun, well-drained soil, and regular watering when established. Plant clematis with their crowns buried 3-4 inches deep.

Passion Flower

The purple passion flower (Passiflora incarnata) is an unusual-looking native vine with intricate, fringed blooms. Their petals form a distinctive purple crown over the center, giving them a wild, disheveled appearance.

This vigorous, self-sowing vine will quickly cover a fence, pergola, or mailbox with its bright green leaves and stunning purple flowers. It prefers full sun to partial shade and moist, well-drained soil. Humingbirds and butterflies flock to the blooms.

Wisteria

Wisteria’s cascading clusters of pea-like lilac or violet flowers look straight out of a fairytale. These vigorous Asian vines are renowned for their stunning floral displays draped along trellises, pergolas, and archways.

Some popular purple wisteria varieties include Amethyst Falls, Blue Sapphire, and Kyushu Wisteria Tree. All require full sun and fertile, moist soil to thrive and bloom well. Careful training and aggressive annual pruning is required to keep them in bounds.

Morning Glory

For a temporary blast of color, consider the old-fashioned morning glory vine. This fast grower can quickly scramble up trellises or fences, covering them in vibrant purple trumpet-shaped flowers during the summer.

Look for purple morning glory cultivars like Grandpa Ott, Flying Saucers, and Crimson Rambler. Morning glories bloom best in full sun and appreciate a little afternoon shade in hot climates. Let the soil dry slightly between waterings.

Climbing Roses

Several climbing rose varieties showcase beautiful purple blooms. Some classics include Blossomtime, Colette Clement, Blue Magician, Compassion, and Crimson Glory, which has deep crimson-purple flowers.

Climbing roses require at least 6 hours of direct sun and fertile, well-drained soil. Be sure to provide sturdy support like a trellis or arbor. Prune climbing rose canes after they bloom to encourage more flowering.

Purple Hyacinth Bean

For a fun and fast-growing annual purple vine, look no further than the hyacinth bean plant (Lablab purpureus). Its stems are covered in dazzling clusters of pea-like purple flowers and bright purple seed pods.

Hyacinth bean vines can grow 10-15 feet long in one season when planted in full sun and fertile soil. Use them to cover chain-link fences, trellises, or let them trail along the ground as a flowering groundcover. Beware though – ingesting purple hyacinth beans can be toxic.

Sweet Pea Vine

Sweetpea vines like ‘Royal Family’ and ‘Cupani’ are loaded with fragrant purple flowers all along their climbing stems. Just brush against their petals to release the heavenly aroma!

Sweet peas require cool spring and fall temps to thrive, making them a perfect seasonal vine in cold climates. Plant them in sun to light shade and provide a short trellis or support cage for their 3-5 foot vines. Deadhead spent flowers to encourage more blooms.

Star Glory Bower

For showstopping purple vine flowers, look no further than star glory bower (Clerodendrum thomsoniae Balf.f.). This tropical vine produces huge 6-8 inch clusters packed with hundreds of small star-shaped purple blooms.

In warm areas like Florida or California, glory bower vines can grow 20+ feet long when planted in sun or part shade. The flowers appear sporadically year-round. In cold climates, it makes an amazing annual purple flowering vine to dress up a pergola or gazebo for summer.

Purple Climbing Hydrangea

Hydrangeas typically grow as shrubs, but some cultivars like ‘Monrad’ have climbing vine forms with stunning purple flowers. Purple climbing hydrangeas feature large, flat clusters of teeny violet florets.

These broadleaf evergreen vines require partial shade and rich, well-draining soil. They cling to surfaces like brick or wood using aerial rootlets. Hydrangea vines only reach about 30 feet, so they are excellent for smaller areas like mailboxes or porch columns.

Purple Bell Vine

The aptly named purple bell vine (Rhodochiton atrosanguineus) dazzles with masses of deep purple, tubular bell-shaped flowers dangling from its vigorous vines. The stunning blooms cascade down like curtains of purple.

Grow purple bell vines in full sun to partial shade and fertile, well-draining soil. They quickly grow 10-15 feet long, making them ideal for scrambling up sturdy trellises, pergolas, or fences. Hummingbirds adore the blossoms!

Purple Vines for Every Garden

Whether you want a temporary riot of purple vining flowers or a permanent fixture to train up a trellis or arbor, there’s a stunning purple-blooming climber for your landscape. From old-fashioned morning glories to exotic tropical vines, these versatile plants add height, texture, and vibrant color wherever they climb.

Purple vines are great candidates for pergolas, fences, containers, mailboxes, archways, and more. Be sure to provide them with ample sunlight, fertile soil, and something to climb on. In no time, you’ll have a breathtaking floral display of dangling purple flowers draping gracefully in your garden.