What is your concept of "invasive" in this instance? Spreading all over the yard and into the woods, like ivy, or merely growing larger than a small space?

You didn't mention whether it had to be evergreen so I would suggest a climbing hydrangea - Hydrangea anomala var. petiolaris. It's a deciduous vine that's hardy to zone 4.

This is a difficult situation if you are eliminating any vinca or ivy from consideration. You might still research ivies to see if there might be any that would be more restrained in growth.

I have a vinca infestation in the lower part of my yard and it's a terrible nightmare. We just got the house and I've spent hours already digging the vine out. I finally put an ad up on craigslist and some guy came by and dug up half of it and is coming back for more. My neighbors have ivy in their yard and it's starting to creep into mine. I don't want any vine that will be difficult to kill if I ever see fit, and one that won't grow like crazy and try to pull my deck down.

I'll look into both Akebia quinata and Hydrangea anomala var. petiolaris. It doesn't have to be evergreen, but it would be a plus. I'd take less-invasive deciduous over more invasive evergreen. I'm located in the Bothell area north of Seattle, so I'm right in the convergence zone and we get kind of extreme weather.

Vinca minor isn't really a vine. It's classified as a trailing subshrub that roots along the internodes. No soil = no rooting and the shoots then stop elongating. It won't actually climb as it has no vining or twining mechanism for attachment. While I hear about it being problematic in some gardens, I've grown it for years myself without any problems - it's actually very well behaved. But I am growing a variegated form that is perhaps not as vigorous or rampant as the straight green.

Climbing hydrangea is similar to the vinca in that it doesn't have any vining or twining mechanisms to support its upward growth. It attaches itself by root hairs and needs a wide and somewhat textured surface to do so, like a tree trunk or fence. Depending on how your privacy screen is constructed, you may need to tie the stems of the plant to the screen to keep it upright and direct its growth. And this becomes a much bigger plant in time than most vines and will get heavy. You will need a strong support system.

Clematis armandii is evergreen and is very shade tolerant. I've got one on the north side of my house and it thrives in that location. Too heavy shade will reduce flowering though, but that's common to most flowering vines. A number of other selections of clematis are also quite shade tolerant. Annette's suggestion of Akebia is a nice choice as well.

What about Stauntonia hexahylla, Hoboellia coriacea, or Schizandra chinensis? Does anyone have local experience with them? I read they're evergreen in zones 7-8-9 and the UK, but don't know how well they perform around here (I'm in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle). I'm also seeking a shade-tolerant, fast-growing vine to train along a fence top. Preferably with flowers or fragrance or fruits for added interest. Akebia is high on my list. Hydrangeas are too slow and too heavy for the fence. I'm not fond of the shaggy, droopy leaf look of C. armandii in summer and by mid-winter, it looks awful. Does anyone know if other evergreen vines (including Akebia) look any better in winter?

Akebia is capable of growing quite large.

Schisandra is deciduous, at least the species commonly found around here. And at best, Stauntonia, Holboelia and Akebia are only semi-evergreen in this climate, unless grown in quite a protected location. In general, they all look pretty sparse and bedraggled throughout winter. And after this winter, I'd expect them to be suffering from a lot of cold damage.

I guess it's a matter of personal taste regarding the clematis, but mine looks great year round. And especially in spring when it is virtually covered in fragrant blooms.

weedtree, if you're in Ballard, you are a zone 8b :-)

Neighbors years ago planted some kind of wisteria that went berserk. Was in an extremely swampy area and not pruned for at least 10 years. Wow, it was gorgeous! and rampant. Unfortunately the new folks who moved in hate plants and are busy trying to do away with it.

My clematis armandii is quite ragged and brown from all the ice and snow. Hope it recovers. It's flowers are sweet and prolific but it isn't the most beautiful of vines imho. Have lots of clematis that's deciduous. Have trumpet vine which if left unpruned for years will get wild. Have lots of honeysuckle which is evergreen. Honeysuckle grows fairly quickly and is easy to prune. You can keep it shaped to your liking.

Personally, ivy is my favorite -- miniature ivies that come in so many colors and shapes. Mine are growing quite slowly. I'm looking for lots of starts to plant throughout my beds and yard and along east fence. Can't find anybody who sells it.

Miniature ivies can handle cold and heat, shade, sun, swamps and drought after establishment. Not hard to prune. Will climb without one having to twine to vertical surface.

Also planted euonymous fortunei that's miniature, supposed to be able to climb up cement walls, but it's so slow, ridiculously slow. 3 years and grown 1 foot so far.

The small wintercreeper is 'Kewensis'.

I know it is early but does anybody know of a method of keeping the dreaded "black fly" aphids off nasturtiums? They are such wonderful summer fillers until the aphids arive.

Pachysandra is pretty cool and unlike Ivy, it won't climb the trees, but a 'groundcover' and non- invasive are almost contraditions in terms. To cover the ground assumes a degree of spreading.
They aren't well behaved specimen plants.

I love Viginia Creeper.

Jim

I so agree with Jim about Virginia Creeper. Love it and its display every fall is breathtaking.

I have clematis ternifolia around my front door which is deep shade and it's done quite well. It blooms late summer/early fall here, masses of small white blooms and is quite pretty. I also have armandii up a deer fence and it does get a little tatty-looking off-season, browned leaves, etc. but is otherwise an old faithful.

Looking for a non invasive vine for zone 3. It has a chainlink fence to grow on but do not wish to kill off the beautiful lilac hedge on the other side

Try posting here in the Vines forum. This forum is intended for Pacific Northwest gardeners and any recommendations received here will be unlikely to thrive in your significantly colder zone. Also, this thread is almost 10 years old and inactive. Always better to start your own posting for the best responses, rather than piggy-backing onto a very stale thread.