Vines for shady areas

Does any one have any suggestions for vines which would do well in predominantly shady areas? I live in Kansas (Zone 5). I have an east-facing garden, and have placed a trellis near the wall of the house. The area is under the shade of a large oak tree most of the day, except for a period of about 1 1/2 to 2 hours of mid-day sun (directly overhead). I planted a goldflame honeysuckle there a couple of months ago, hoping that that would be enough sun. Although the plant appeared vigorous when I planted it, it has not done at all well and is apparently suffering from powdery mildew. I treated it with an organic, non-chemical product I bought at the local garden store, but it hasn't really helped any.

I'm wondering if maybe the area is just too shady for a honeysuckle and that I should try another kind of vine. I am considering a sweet autumn clematis or perhaps a climbing hydrangea, but am not sure if either one is the best choice.

Thanks.

The climbing hydrangea should work for you, only down side is it won't be evergreen. Clematis likes its roots shaded, but the top in sun so a shady place probably isn't the best choice for it.

Hi Sophie, real sorry your Honneysuckle came victim of the dreaded powdery mildew, if I were you though, I would prune off the shoots that are effected for now, burn them and respray the shoots that look ok, the other thing to try is to water the soil realy well and add a mulch, although powdery mildew is a problem where humidity is high and ventilation is poor, the later cant be the problem as your honney suckle is outdoors, however that could also mean that there aint enough breeze wafting along the side of the house, your plant needs water/food ect, to grow strong and be ably to fight off the mildew, if these conditions do apply, then you will be hard pushed to have good resuls with most climbers, your Hydrangea would prob be your best bet as they are quite tough, the wood has a bark on it rather than the others you mentioned where the wood is more delicate, none of the plants you have in mind are evergreen and if you would enjoy evergreen, then maybe you could try one of the more attractive Ivy's, these come in various leaf colours/shapes, some actually flower,(not really noticable, but then they berry also) and will grow just about anywhere, but planting against a wall usually means a very dry soil, so you should add as much humus/compost to the planting area as you can, this will help retain some moisture so the roots can use it when really needed. Drastic measures ofcourse could be, getting a tree specialist to look at your tree, to assess if it could have some of the limbs removed without ruining the appearance of this big shadeing tree, if you tell him what it is you are planning, ie to let some sun and light into the area, being an expert, he should be able to say what you will gain or not before you make your mind up. Oaks are magnificent trees, but in a garden setting, sometimes they do outgrow there position and I know we have had to have some profesionaly lopped, the following year, the trees looked good again and we were able to enjoy more of the space the shade previously took up. hope this helps you some, good luck whatever way you choose. WeeNel.

Periwinkle, either major or minor, does well both in shade and under oak trees. It's evergreen. I've had some (minor) growing on the north side of my house for 3 years and it's spreading very nicely. Most of it never gets hit with sun at all and what's beginning to grow out toward the edge of the bed now gets about 3 hours of morning sun each day.