I'm looking for a vine to cover a downspout on my deck. It is bright shade and I'm in 7B. I'd like it to be a clinging vine that would attract hummers.

Any ideas?

Good luck. Most hummer flowers I have found grow in the sun. All my shade vines are foliage-types. Trumpet Vine is about the only thing I know that grows in full shade and it is invasive here. Let us know if you find anything.

Hi Cheryl,
Thanks for the reply. I'm going to have this in a pot on my raised deck so I think I could contain trumpet vine.

Really invasive. Attracts bees also, so watch out.

Thanks

I would try coral honeysuckle and crossvine.
And maybe gonolobus... For the monarchs.

How about clematis? Some are for bright shade, right?

DD has the sweet autumn clematis. One is growing in the sun & one in shade.

How about Brunnera macrophylla..it loves the shade but keep it moist,has cute little blooms and hardy to your zone, a ground cover growth, nice heart shaped leaves when not in bloom. Hummies will go to any type of blooms..they are just playful

I like that, thanks!

Clematis grow in bright shade.
I have them north of the house and they are doing fine there.

You might try Clematis virginiana. It looks almost identical to Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora). But Clematis virginiana is a native to the eastern half of the U.S. including South Carolina.

http://www.wildflower.org/plan...

Back to the trumpet vine -- I planted this in-ground with morning sun afternoon shade and never had any blooms. Good foliage, but no flowers. Also not too aggressive. Dug it out with intent to relocate but never got around to that and it died. I have had very little regrowth where I dug it out other then the occasional sprout now and again. I'm in the Pacific NW, Zone 8. Temperate, wet, mild.

We had it morning shade, afternoon sun in CT. It had been in the ground probably for years when we bought the house & was engaged in tearing down the garage.

What about Vinca minor 'Variegata'? It will be pretty in or out of bloom.

If your container is large enough you might pair up something that blooms all summer, with another plant that blooms in the fall.

I've had both of these on my north-facing deck for the past couple of years and they do very well in bright shade.



Little Bas blooms in flushes all summer long.

Trumpet Vine. I wouldn't recommend it to grow up a downspout. I had one growing on a PVC trellis and had to dig it out after 4-5 years due to it pushing/moving the trellis . This is a very strong woody vine that could probably pull your downspout off the house. Also the seeds do sprout lots of new babies and roots travel. Try researching an annual vine. TV doesn't like any attention so if it hasn't bloomed don't fertilize or water.
Zone 8 gardener.