Name (also garden vines, wall vines, trellis vines, fence vines) for mostly very vigorous lianas of the Vitaceae family (grapevine family), which are mainly used to embellish house walls or walls and are grown on trellises. Enjoyment of the fruit is not the main focus, but may be a pleasant side effect. The most important criteria for ornamental vines are beautifully shaped large leaves with attractive colouring in autumn, as well as actively twining tendrils that hold the spreading leaf shoots. European vines (Vitis vinifera) are not very suitable because of their susceptibility to fungus and phylloxera. The Asian species Vitis coignetiae (Japanese vine) and fungus-resistant varieties of various American vines such as Vitis californica, Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia and Vitis rupestris are popular.
Ornamental vines from the genus Parthenocissus and Ampelopsis are also included, as houseplants also the genus Cissus. These purely ornamental vines are usually dioecious (as opposed to wine grapes), so grapes cannot develop if planted singly without fertilisation. If fruit is desired, table grapes can also be used as ornamental vines, which are then grown as house vines on a trellis or in a pergola. Varieties often used for this purpose in the past were Alphonse Lavallée, Blauer Portugieser, Canadice, Chasselas, Frühroter Veltliner, Goosefoot, Isabella, Luglienga Bianca (Yellow Silk Grape), Muscat, Queen of the Vineyards, Madeleine Royale and Schiava Grossa. Today, fungus-resistant new varieties are used such as Angela, Birstaler Muskat, Calastra, Campbell Early, Decora, Fanny, Felicia, Ferdinand de Lesseps, Hecker, Ignea, Mitschurinski, Muscat Bleu, Nero, Osella, Rosa, Rosetta and Terez. See also under Vine.
