The first thing you need to consider is whether the job is full-time or seasonal. You need perennial vines for the full-time jobs and annuals for the seasonal ones. This week we will consider the full-time jobs and the seasonal ones next time.
Full-time employment requires settled, mature employees who have a long term view of their career. Where you want a vine to do its job year after year, long-lived, vigorous and hard working are attributes to look for. In some parts of the world there are perennial vines that are evergreen but in our cold climate, those that persevere at their jobs almost always lose their leaves as a protective measure, even if they might keep them all winter in a warmer zone. Good job opportunities for perennial vines include covering a pergola or arbor, shading a porch, climbing a trellis, and decorating a post, wall or fence where you don't want to have to replace the vine each year.
When writing the job description, an important consideration is what kind of support it will have. Perennial vines climb in several ways. Some, like honeysuckle, hardy kiwi, and silver lace vine twine around the support as well as around their own stems. They can climb something as large as a 2 x 4, but need help on solid surfaces such as walls or board fences. These plants do the best job on lattice, chain link or some other relatively small diameter support. A temporary support like netting or even a stout string can lead them to the top where they can find something to hold and become self-supporting.
Other climbers, such as grape vines and perennial sweet peas produce leafless tendrils that twine around whatever they touch like a hand holding on to the trellis. For these, the support needs to be small enough in diameter that the tendrils can reach around it. A modification of the tendril talent is that of the Clematis cousins. They twine the leaf stem (petiole) around their support. Each leaf tries to grab something to hold so, when you are training one, don't wait too long between sessions or it will be a hopelessly tangled mess. These workers do best with the same type of supports as mentioned above. Where you wish to employ them on walls or to shade porches, provide trellises or nylon strings, remembering that these guys will be with you for years if you are mutually happy with the arrangement.
