Ask-a-Dave's-Gardener: Vine Help in Colorado, 1 by laurelfly

laurelfly wrote:
My house is in Boulder, CO, zone 5a. We get very high winds, intense sun, relatively dry climate, cold winters (frequently in the 30\'s can get as low as -10) and can get hot summers (mostly 90\'s, occasionally can creep to 100 degrees). Please see attached for pictures of the areas I\'m working on in my garden. They are 3 very unique challenges where I would like a vining plant. I would love input especially from Colorado gardeners on what plants they would recommend for these 3 areas. I\'ve done a bunch of research and the options are based on that, but please let me know if any of these are bad ideas.

AREA #1
This is a west facing area where I would like to squeeze between a spruce tree and juniper bushes (I think) a couple of 26\" wooden planters for growing vines up a shed wall that is a little unsightly. I\'ve heard that if you grow in a container you need the plant to be hardy to 1-2 zones below where you live. This area will get afternoon sun, but the soil will likely become acidic over time with the proximity of the spruce tree and juniper bushes. I don\'t think anything would grow there unless I provided a planter, so that was my plan. I don\'t want something that would grow into the spruce tree and kill it, although it is a monster, so that would be difficult.
Options:
Virginia Creeper
Clematis

AREA #2
This is a south facing planter, although it has a brick wall to it\'s west and we are in the process of building a 6\' tall privacy fence about 5\' away from the planter to the north. There are also neighbors trees that shade the area. So, it is very shady. I had a grape planted there for a couple of years that I recently replanted to a sunnier location. The grape did grow and seemed healthy, but never fruited. Ideally I would like a non-invasive shade loving vine to grow up a trellis and maybe someday grow over into an arch over the entry gate. However I don\'t want something that will sucker or attach to the brick wall and be damaging to remove. Flowers would be great, but I know that is a difficult ask.
Options:
Five Leaf Akebia
Dutchman\'s Pipe
Adlumia fungosa

AREA #3
We have a dead cottonwood tree that we cut to 20\' tall that I have been dreaming about as a \"tower of flowers\" for several years. I\'ve attempted a male and female hardy kiwi which died the first year. A neighbor who is a garden aficionado said that hardy kiwi\'s like more humid climates and are very challenging in Colorado. The next year I planted a trumpet flower vine. This will be its\' 3rd year and it is about 4\' tall and pretty spindly looking. It\'s main trunk if you can call it that at 1/2\" wide got whipped by the wind and split down the middle. It remains to be seen if it will come back this year, but I\'ve been reading horror stories about trumpet vines and so am a little spooked and am thinking about digging it out while I still have a chance. I have suspicions that the soil may be goofy in this area because of the rotting roots of the cottonwood, I will try to do a ph test this weekend. This is next to my compost pile so there should be very rich soil in this area. I do not want something that will sucker and invade my grass/compost/garden nearby. I want something that is flowering and doesn\'t need to be pruned because once it gets to 20\' tall, I don\'t expect I\'ll be up there on a ladder pruning. I would prune it off of my new fence though. I would like a mixture of flowering vines that won\'t kill eachother. This area is very shady until the vine gets above 6\'. After that it will get a good dose of southern sun.
Options:
Climbing Hydrangea
Honeysuckle (I am a little confused on honeysuckles, it seems like some are non-invasive, so advice on what type would be great)
Clematis (Another confusing variety. Want one that doesn\'t need a lot of pruning and one that will grow tall and flower a lot.)
Cross vine, bignonia capreolata
Morning glories
Poor Man\'s Ginseng - codonopsis pilosula