Suggetions for shading a deck...in full, hot sun!

I need some help! I have recently moved and the landscaping has been all but forsaken. Trees half dead, or completely gone and now rotting away (watch your head!) with clay soil to top it all off. There is a wonderful deck area in front with full sun. I want to add lattice to it so that I can have some shade. My worry is the heat. It gets very hot here, but cools down at night. Any flowering vines - or, if not, any particular vine that could cover a large (12' plus) area? I have thought of hops...Will probably have to make large containers to plant them in as the ground is not ready yet.

How about some pics?

What's your orientation to sun and prevailing winds?

Do you know your Hardiness Zone? I mean, for where you live --it's not a personal question!

Do you need "walls", "ceilings" or both?

I framed my deck in at the corners and cross beams. You can see the wooden structure in the back left of this pic.

Then I found old bed framws and hung them across and let clematis grow over them.

I have also set that bamboo fencing/covering that comes in rolls across fro shade. Here is Bell of Wokin and Niobe clinbing up one of the stair posts. Next year it will start climbing across the the top and shade the poarch.

Looks great, mstish! How many of your shading plants are in pots, how many permanently in the ground?

There are many materials and methods for creating shade, and a good plan ought to be multi-year.

Shade "walls" can easily be put in place right away --there's a wide variety of light-guage natural wood roll fencing available at fairly low cost. I've used bamboo as well as willow. Both have a nice look, filter light appealingly, will support a mix of annual climbing vines to quickly fill in seasonally, and will last for several years, though not forever. Trellises and lattice can be used for more permanency, but don't have the immediate shade effect or as natural a look in and of themselves.

Shade "ceilings" are a little trickier --gravity is ultimately the biggest challenge, since the supports across a span of much width have to be strong enough to resist sagging, not just initially but increasingly as the plants on them grow heavier through a season and over the years. As the length of a span increases even a little, tendency to sag gets lots worse.

A pergola-type structure is worth considering, though more work initially. Benefit of a pergola is in its multiple, strong parallel beams --these effectively break up a large, unmanageable span into smaller spans. The initial work (and cost) is in making sure the beams, rather heavy themselves, have adequate permanent support --your corner posts look more than adequate, but pergola beams would require heavier cross-pieces between such posts (parallel to the house) and some sort of reliable anchoring TO the house (perpendicular). Having the beams spaced to reduce the maximum span between them to 3 feet (2 feet better) then allows a number of different approaches to get vines going.

Stringing strong fishing line in crossed-diagonals atop the beams will encourage many vines to grow in quickly there. Permanent vines, such as grape or wisteria, will enjoy that sort of in-between-beam support but don't need them after a year or two --wisteria especially requires LOTS of support as a vine grows, so a pregola-type support structure is absolutely necessary. If you choose annual vines for a quicker effect each year, good fishing line will last for many seasons, and is easy on the eyes even when on its own.

A pergola, with or without fishing line "webbing", can also support natural roll fencing as a shade "ceiling" during any interim period --first couple years, or off season.

Consider a mix of annual and perennial vines, as well a mix of small-pot, large-pot and in-ground plantings. I would also recommend irrigation --this will cover the risk of establishing a beautiful vined environment only to have it zapped in a hot, dry spell or when you're away for a week and your plant-sitter doesn't show.

JP - I used to have lots of pots, but as I have gotten older I have moved to more permanent plants, I still bring out my tropicals in the summers.
On my shaded porch garden I have hostas ands clems planted on the porch. The clems are in half barrows and climb the posts and the hostas are in large pots. I hang begonias and fuchsias for color. I also have a side courtyard that is also mostly shade. I have Japanese Arailia, hostas, old fashioned dicentra and some hardy fuchsias planted in it. All in the ground. Climbing yellow dicentra is very good for covering fences that are all shade. It is a perineal here in zone 8 and loves the shade.

Thunbergia grandiflora may do the trick. A nursery not far from me had it planted out in front right along a 4 lane road. Not a lick of shade in sight.

Do you want a tree to shade and grow fast or will it shade all your plants too much. If so, a Fruitless Mulberry will be a full on tree in a couple of years but shade can eventually be pretty dense unless you prune off under branches. What about a Wind Sail with outdoor cloth and rivet holes tied over the deck?

How about roses, Carolina jessamine, and coral honeysuckle? I have not grown any roses but the jessamines and corals are native to the Gulf Coast so they have a good tolerance to heat and frost. They do tend to need some water every so often though.

Also Lady Banks roses, grow like weeds, get a large as a huge, huge 12x12 shrub. They are evergreen, take clay, take heat, below freezing temps. They have a new red variety too, not just yellow and white. They bloom once but it so spectacular, it is worth it.

A nursery near me uses hyacinth bean vines to screen a huge stretch along the busy street. It takes the heat from the parking lot without blinking.

Mine stayed leafy through the whole cold winter and are starting to shoot up stalks with some flowers. I thought they were only annuals everywhere?

I would love to know what kind of flowers the big white one is and the purple climbing vine on the rails are please?

I agree with mjsponies, Thungbergia will do the trick, and quickly, while loving the heat. Biggest performer, that will return from freezes is the sunlady (yellow one). It blooms from early spring to early fall.
The Bignonia capreolata Crossvine is also a great cover, and it's in use in my own garden. It is easy to train. It blooms stunningly in spring, and sporadically the rest of the season. The trade off is that it is ever green.

You might find something useful in this blog I wrote a couple years ago. The crossvine is the orange/reddish flowers hanging out of the tree. I hung a decorative chain on a very high tree branch, and the vine grew up the tree. The plan was to create a shade wall/curtain for a tree fern growing below and adjacent. It's worked pretty good. You can let your mind go wild on things you can do, cheaply or with a tidy investment.
http://www.chron.com/commons/persona.html?newspaperUserId=rjudd&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckUserId=rjudd&plckPostId=Blog%3arjuddPost%3a66579024-e1e4-4937-aa41-f1ab82b7c984&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest

There are tons of vines to choose from for our zones, but- a little studying and shopping will lead you to a good choice for your goal. The toughy for us is, "Loves Heat, but takes a freeze". In any case, even in a freeze most vines for our zone will spring back to life quickly.
These are some of my favs
http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/t/rjuddharrison/2950/

Good luck! Rj

Do you have any cross vine seeds by chance. I have it worse in zone 8b, because we really freeze, this year, it was especially cold. Normal is 24 to 34 for about 2 1/2 months in the Winter, but this year, we had a bit lower and longer. Still froze 2 nights ago. Our freeze date is in March. I love anything that goes up. Especially if it is draught tolerant and especially if it is freeze tolerant. Rare. I love my Virginia Creeper too, it goes nuts after a few years. I will have to save your thread to my blog for more vines to try.

I don't- It's given off seed pods, but I've never have been able to get them to sprout.

Oh too bad for me. Like your yard though.

Thankyou- They are fairly inexpensive at the nursery or an online place.

Great ideas RJ. I am going to be getting some cattle panels to replace an arbor that is falling apart and create another idea that I have brewing. I am always looking for new ways to grow my vines.

Thanks- Yes me too, I've tried many things. I have columns made out of wire anchored with cement. Problem with those is that the vine shoots to the top and the blooms are way up.

There was this great thread that I saved with all these pictures of some artist yard, with all these sprayed green cattle panels all over the yard with roses on them. It was gorgeous. The person who's pictures they were, must not have like people posting his pictures so he disabled them. I am so upset. I had them saved all over on different sites in case I lost it again. I wish I could show you.

Oh wow, I wish I could too. I always ask if I can re-post pictures of other folks stuff- That's how I got some of the shaped panel for the blog.
But, we have the idea now! Never thought about painting them...I like it!

This gloriosa daisy it's hooked to a small trellis I bought at big lots. The plant does climb very far, although I've never seen one out of my zone, so it's probable that they grow larger.

Looks great. What about Hyacynth bean vine, in the Winter you will still get sun?

mstish, What a great idea using net on your posts! I wouldn't have thought to do that in a million years! Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures!

Natalie