Houseplants are a great addition to any home, but oftentimes they simply sit in their pot and only liven up the small area in which they stay. To achieve a truly lively room that is bursting with life, you’d have to have many different pots scattered around. And honestly, that’s a lot of maintenance.
One way to get around this issue is to grow some climbing plants! Climbing plants will add a whole different dimension to your home, and typically they’re quite easy to take care of.
They will also provide a unique way to decorate your walls, whether they are the only decoration or they’re trailing around your other decor. They can even be trailed up bookcases, and other furniture that you wish to add some texture to.
And additionally, although these plants are termed “climbing”, you can let them hang down as well. So you could place the pot up high and let the leaves dangle delicately where they may. This can be an equally stunning look.
So here is a list of some great climbing houseplants that you can grow from the comfort of your own home to give your house a lively boost!
Table of Contents
1. Pothos
We’re going to start out this list with the stunning Pothos plant. This plant is renowned for its many varieties which will leave you with plenty of options for which one you’d rather see in your home. The possibilities here are plentiful, and it’s an extremely easy plant to grow as well.
As a climber, it’s easily the most versatile of them all. It can be left hanging, or trailed along anything you want it to be due to its adaptable vines. So it’s the perfect plant to consider if you’d like to try out more complex designs with its tendrils.
2. Philodendron
The Philodendron plant is actually often mistaken for the Pothos plant, as well as the Monstera plant, but there are some key differences which make this plant quite unique. As an example, the leaves of the Philodendron are often thinner and less waxy than those of the Pothos.
This plant is a dream to shape, and so there’s plenty of room for you to personalize how your plant grows and spreads. For instance, if you’d like a fuller and bushier look than the plant would normally give then you simply have to trim off foliage just above the leaf node to encourage more growth to come from that node.
An this type of climbing plant has many variations as well, almost 500 species are included within this genus.
3. String of Pearls
The String of Pearls plant is one of the most unique houseplants around, and contrary to many of the climbing plants you’ll see on this list, it’s actually a succulent! It comes from a region in the southwest of Africa, and similar to most succulents in the way that it’s quite easy to take care.
This is one plant that you can instantly identify because there isn’t another quite like it, the stems grow quickly with this plant being regarded as very fast growing, and attached to them are circular green leaves. As you may have guessed, these leaves resemble pearls.
But if you don’t like the idea of pearl shaped leaves, this plant has almost 1,000 different variations. And some of these variations feature different shaped leaves, from teardrop shapes to even crazier ones like dolphin shapes!
4. English Ivy
The English Ivy is a climbing plant that you will have no issue with getting to attach to walls or other objects you want it to climb up, as its woody vine will attach to nearly anything you wish it to.
This type of ivy is also sometimes called the European Ivy because it hails from various parts in Europe as well as Scandinavia and Russia. And although there are many different types of ivy, the English Ivy is one of the most well known.
Aside from looking beautiful, this plant also has a lot of air purifying qualities. It removes benzene, formaldehyde, xylene, and toulene from the air. And it was actually voted one of the top 10 air purifying plants by NASA.
5. Clematis
The Clematis plant is one houseplant that can actually flower indoors! This is a pretty rare trait for most houseplants, including climbing ones, but the Clematis will produce star-shaped and colorful blooms indoors as well as outdoors if it’s properly taken care of.
The fact that these blooms can come in so many different colors is also a major benefit to owning this plant, as you can choose a color that fits the best inside your home. Options include colors like whites, reds, blues, and even shades of purple!
This plant can be quite difficult to grow at times, but it shouldn’t be a problem as long as you know what to expect.
6. Wandering Jew
The Wandering Jew plant is the opposite of the previous climber in the respect that it is extremely easy to care for. This trait makes it an easy houseplant for beginner gardeners to care for, but advanced gardeners can find satisfaction in growing it as well.
But similarly to the previous climber, the Wandering Jew actually blooms indoors as well! And the best part is that it actually blooms all year-round. The tiny petals it produces will open in the morning and close at night.
And living up to its reputation for being easy to handle, you can easily encourage growth of new blooms so that you have more and more flowers sprouting.
7. Monstera
You might remember that the Monstera genus was actually mentioned earlier in this article due to the fact that it is often confused with two similar climbers, but it’s high time that this charming houseplant makes its own official appearance on this list.
This is a very popular type of houseplant in its own right, and the genus actually contains a very popular variety which is named the “Swiss Cheese Plant“. But although that’s the most popular member of this genus, there are over species you can choose from.
This is one of the longer-living climbers on this list, it could liven up your home for close to 40 years! And it doesn’t take long for it to grow to a desired length, as it’s known for its fast growth.
8. Grape Ivy
The Grape Ivy, although it’s slow growing, will climb up almost any surface and cover it with its delicate leaves if given the chance. As a climber, this might be one of the best ivy options out there due to this trait.
It gets its name because it looks similar to grape vines, but you don’t have to worry about your houseplant growing any grapes, because despite the name it will not produce fruit.
And this is another plant that is easy to grow indoors, so it would be perfect for an inexperienced gardener to try out. Furthermore, it will work in a variety of different climates since it requires very little light to survive.
9. Creeping Fig
The Creeping Fig gets its name from its tendency to grow slowly at first, or “creep”, and then speed up as it goes along, eventually reaching lengths of up to 15 feet (4.5 meters). This makes it a great climber because it can cover a large area with no problem.
Another trait that makes it easy to grow as a climber is the fact that trimming and pruning it, in order to get the shape you want, won’t harm it at all compared to some of the more delicate vines that don’t respond as well to aggressive pruning.
One downside to this otherwise easy to deal with plant, is the fact that its lifespan is typically quite short (about 3 years). But you can easily get around this issue by taking health stems from it and propagating them often, giving your plant new life again and again.
10. Hoya
The Hoya genus is notoriously difficult to deal with, but as long as you do your research beforehand it isn’t at hard as you might think. And it’s waxy foliage is something that many people enjoy adding to their home, so it’s definitely worth a try.
One of its strengths as a climber is the fact that it’s easy to layer in order to have more growth than the original plant can produce.
Simply fill a pot with moist soil, place it close to the current plant, drape a vine inside of the new pot and wait for new roots to start growing at which point you can separate the vine from the mother plant and you’ll have brand new Hoya growth.
11. String of Hearts
The String of Hearts is a climber that is best suited for a hanging basket rather than upwards growth, it simply looks better this way. But by no means are the delicate vines trailing down a bad thing, this is a stunning houseplant!
It’s also extremely easy to care for, and even easier to encourage to have bushy growth if that’s the look that you’d prefer. All it takes is some strategic trimming and it will thicken up its growth swiftly.
Another great thing about this climber is that it’s actually non-toxic to pets which is great since you don’t have to worry about trailing vines reaching the ground and posing a hazard to your cats or dogs. This is a unique feature that not all climbers have in common!
12. Teddy Bear Vine
The Teddy Bear Vine is the only climber on this list that has softly textured leaves, but this uniquely textured foliage is actually responsible for this vine’s equally unique name. Much like the previous entry on this list, it’s best suited for trailing down instead of growing upwards although it can be done.
It is a succulent plant which means it’s fairly slow-growing compared to some of the other climbers on this list, but it also means that it doesn’t require much watering and is easy to take care of.
This vine is also a chocolate brown color which can be great if you don’t want another bright green vine in your home at the moment.
13. Green Coins
The Green Coins plant is actually a member of the Peperomia genus, and is known to look amazing spilling out of a hanging basket. The Peperomia genus is actually full of great plant options, but this one is the only one we’ll be discussing today.
Contrary to this climber’s name, it actually sports colors other than just green. It has red-brown stems that feature small, round leaves that are green on the front and a contrasting shade of red on the back which makes for a uniquely colored plant indeed.
This houseplant is perfect for beginners and can even take a lot of “neglect” without being any worse for wear, so if you’re just starting out with gardening then this might be the plant for you!
14. Wisteria
The Wisteria plant is well known for its beautiful white, blue, or purple flowers that can climb and engulf the outside of houses if given the opportunity, but what many people don’t realize is that this climber can actually been grown and contained indoors as a houseplant.
Obviously this plant is quite fast growing so it will take a lot of pruning and trimming during the spring depending on how much you want it to spread, but because of this fast growth it is one of the best climbers out there, even indoors.
And the best part is that its stunning colors will still be present even if its being kept as a houseplant.
15. Black-Eyed Susan Vine
Last, but certainly not least, we have the Black-Eyed Susan Vine. The standout feature of this plant are the flowers this vine will produce which are orange, with black in the middle, hence the name. That’s right, we’re closing this list out with a blooming climber!
Now this climber does best with something it can grow upwards on, in a spiraling pattern. So vertical growth is definitely preferably to hanging growth to this particular plant.
It also isn’t commonly grown indoors, but it can be a houseplant with relative ease if you’re willing to learn about its needs. The biggest of which is plenty of sunlight!
So to Conclude…
Climbing houseplants can be a great thing to have in your home, whether you allow them to drape gracefully over objects, trail delicately downward, or climb up the walls and furniture.
And with the correct amount of trimming and pruning, most of these options are not difficult to keep in line, and will thrive in an indoor setting. Climbing houseplants can be some of the most satisfying ones to grow.
So you should definitely think about adding some to your home if you haven’t already.