Flower covered arches have always been a popular element of wedding decor. Growing your own tropical flowering vines over your arbor is a great way to save some money on your flower budget for your wedding! 

Here are a few key things to keep in mind to make sure your flowering vines look their best on your big day:

• Fertilize your plants on a regular schedule, from when you first pot them or plant them in the ground until your wedding day. 
• Stick to a regular watering schedule as well, so you don’t end up with wilting plants. Give your plants a really good drink the day before the wedding.
• To achieve the romantic effect of a completely vine-covered wedding arbor, you’ll need to do some vine training. Once a week, starting soon after you plant your flowers, go over your plants and guide vines laterally back and forth across the sides. Otherwise, they may end up very bushy at the top of the arbor, and spindly and leafless at the bottom. Once the lower half of your wedding arbor is well covered, you can let the vines start growing towards the top. Once they reach the top, you can start guiding them back towards the lower half of the arbor to ensure full coverage. 
• Pinch back the growing tips when the plants are young to encourage bushier growth. You can pinch back until they’ve bushed out enough to fill in the desired space well.

Here are our top 3 picks for vining plants with tropical flowers for wedding arbors. 

Mandevilla

Mandevilla is one of the best tropical vines for just about any surface. It’s a perennial in Florida and blooms from early summer right through the fall. It features large, stunning, trumpet-shaped flowers in a variety of vibrant colors. Mandevilla grows fast when it’s hot, and it can grow up to 20’ long. This makes it an excellent option for a wedding arbor. Depending on the size of your structure, you’ll want at least two plants, one for each side. If the arbor is quite wide, you may need four plants, one at each corner, to ensure it covers well. If your arbor is permanent, you can plant your Mandevilla in the ground. Otherwise, you can plant it in pots placed at the base.

You will need to do a little training to ensure Mandevilla covers your whole wedding arbor well. When the plant is young, pinch back growing tips until it bushes out enough to cover the space nicely. Then, as the vines start to climb, you’ll want to train them to grow back and forth across the trellis a few times to make sure it fills in well. Then you can let the vines grow towards the top. When they reach the top, you can train them back down the same side to fill in gaps, or train them over the top and down the opposite side. On hot days, when it’s growing fast, you’ll want to check every day to make sure it’s following your desired path.

Water your Mandevilla regularly, check the soil daily during hot weather, and feed every two weeks with organic fertilizer.

Passion Vine

Passion Vine is a perennial Florida native that features large, exotic-looking flowers. This fast grower will cover a wedding arbor quite quickly. It will fill in and spread, so make sure it has lots of room. You should only need two Passion Vines, one for each side of your structure, to ensure it covers well. Passion Vine is significantly more drought-tolerant than Mandevilla, though it will still need regular watering, and should also be fertilized regularly as well through the growing season. 

Passion Vines flowers only last about a day each, but they bloom from summer all the way through to fall. The most common colors available are a rich red, and vibrant purple. Passion Vines will also benefit from training, and because they grow so fast, you’ll want to check every day to make sure they’re growing where you want them to. 

Hibiscus

Hibiscus is not a vining plant, but in pots, the shrub or dwarf tree versions can make a beautiful complement at the sides of a wedding arbor covered in Mandevilla or Passion Vine. Hibiscus is available in a wide variety of bright, gorgeous colors, including our multi-colored braided hibiscus tree. You should have no trouble finding one to coordinate with the color palette for your big day! 

To carry the tropical theme through all your wedding decor, consider using some of the flowers from your vine, or your hibiscus, in centerpieces, wedding aisle decor, or even in your bouquet. Be careful with Mandevilla vines, as the sap can be a skin irritant, so make sure to wear gloves when handling cuttings and wrap the stems if you include any in your bouquet. Check out our trellis shopping guide to explore our full selection of vibrant and romantic climbing vines!