Best vine to cover roof

I need to cover 600 squared meters of a wall and roof structure  with an ornamental, evergreen, perennial, climbing vine. The native species here all have seasonal cycles and after some experiments they all died, even if provided regular water and good soil. Im trying to be very cautious bringing in a foreign species that ends up being very invasive since our land is also a natural reserve containing a very unique ecosystem: tropical dry forest, and don’t want to disturb unnecessarily the protected zone 5.

The roof will have a hemp rope mesh so the climber has a fixed structure to attach to and would be exposed directly to the sun. The average temperature is 28 degrees Celsius and can rise over 45 degrees during the dry seasons. The roof is also now protected by a thick tree wind barrier and as they continue to grow it will be less of an issue.

We considered buganvillia but it’s preferable to avoid thorny plants for maintenance concerns and since the local varieties can grow very thick woody stems in time can put too much weight pressure on the structure.

Online searching led me to Japanese and Boston ivy, they both effectively grow in a bit colder places near us and have a peculiarity that new seeds wouldn’t germinate outside of a fridge. Do you think they could be viable?

What other species would you consider?

Thanks!

Bouganvilla is really pretty though I don't know about it living in Zone 5.

Here is an article on vines for Zone 6 though it does mention some for Zone 4 and 5:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/gardening-by-zone/zone-6/zone-6-evergreen-vines.htm

Thanks Anne!

I think this will require more experimenting. Ive ordered seeds from various species, including a couple from the link you shared that are closer to my conditions. I still have around six months til the structure and potting system is ready to be planted. Will cover up a little shed structure with these and the best one/s will climb the big one :)

I did a search on tropical vines on pfaf.org  and got these results. You could filter by height to narrow it down further. I don't know if any of these would be of use.  Maybe some hardier vines would survive your temperatures too (Akebia is one that sprng to mind)

I live in southern Mexico in a seasonally dry mountainous area.  What about a creeping succulent?  They don't really climb--but drape, so you need to plant them on the roof and train them down from there, rather than planting in the ground to train up the roof. The good news is they don't need much dirt, with just a mid-sized flower pot in each corner you can get something covering the whole roof eventually. You can also mix several varieties together to a beautiful effect.
Here are some options: https://succulentplantcare.com/12-eye-catching-cacti-and-succulents-that-hang-or-trail/
Here are some photos: https://www.pinterest.com.mx/planetdesert1/succulent-roofs/

Here's an article from UNAM about some green roof research they did, using mostly succulents https://www.gaceta.unam.mx/azoteas-verdes-sistemas-que-refrescan-las-grandes-urbes/

Andrés Bernal wrote:I think this will require more experimenting. Ive ordered seeds from various species, including a couple from the link you shared that are closer to my conditions. I still have around six months til the structure and potting system is ready to be planted. Will cover up a little shed structure with these and the best one/s will climb the big one :)

This is exactly what I love about the forum.

Learning about plants that are new to me and experimenting with them.

Some have turned out to be wonderful and some have turned out to be loved by the deer, etc.

I am looking forward to how these all turn out.

Akebia that Nancy mentioned is one I saw being recommended every place I looked.

Any progress to show here, Andres?

Beau Davidson wrote:Any progress to show here, Andres?

Planted a few seeds at our well which has a small structure and two species thrived: Pyrostegia venusta and Hydrangea anomala .  At the moment we are building the big pot system and went for a matted bamboo trellis to create a separation between the roof and the vine, required a way to cool off during the mid day scourging heat while it grows so the airflow will allow that. Hopefully I’ll be planting them in a couple of months and will share pics of the process