I want a wall of green with little floor space taken up. I would like to grow a very hardy, fast growing evergreen vine that can tolerate harsh winter winds and only a few hours of daylight. My balcony is on the 20th floor so even though I'm a zone 6 it feels more like a 5. My space is only 6X12 so I'd rather not use huge pots, but I'd like for the vines to survive the winter. Is this too much to ask for or does someone out there have a clever solution?

Two possibilities: virginia creeper (parthenocissus quinquefolia) will survive, and have great fall foliage, but keep it's tendrils away from your walls, as they can dig in and damage mortar.

American bittersweet (celastrus scandens) should also do pretty well -- you'll have to get a male and a female if you want berries -- and it has decent fall color as well.

Nothing is going to be fully evergreen in your conditions, so instead, cut them back in fall and retrain them in spring; they grow fast, so don't worry slowing them down.

Finally, you can grow annual vines from seed either in the same pots or next to the evergreens for a little summer color.

Good luck!

Jim

Thanks for the great suggestions. Last summer I tried growing morning glories and a moonvine but because I only get 3 hours of direct morning sun they didn't bloom much but they still looked nice. I mixed them with marigolds and a potato vine.