Climbers

Gone Fishin

Dear All,

I'm very much a novice gardener and have just spent the last few weekends cleaning the garden up. I removed all of the overgrown ivy which was just taking over everything. However, my walls look pretty bare. So I'm looking for your help in selecting some nice climbing plants for my trellis. I need something that is easy enough to manage, something that flowers (preferably) and if it was scented, that would be a bonus! Any suggestions? My garden is southwest facing and the soil is well draining and I have just added compost into it.

Thanks in advance.

johno2

If you want to get the ivy back it should be easy enough to re-root the cuttings you took off the wall. If you left the roots of the ivy it will quickly re-establish itself. If you want some suggestions for a replacement, try climbing roses, one of the climbing varieties of clematis, or maybe some morning glory. They're all nice looking, and all easy enough to manage, but try to get a climbing rose without vicious thorns. Every garden center should have someone who knows a bit about the plants there, so ask someone at the local place what they have that would suit you.

johno

bmaxi

If you want any sort of climber to do well, get rid of the ivy. If you have just cut it down and not dug it out, wait until it starts to reshoot and treat with Roundup. It may take more than one treatment and remember, Roundup will kill anything green it touches so be careful not to get it on any other plants. Golden Showers (yellow), New Dawn (pink) Climbing Iceberg (white) and Zepherin Drouhin (red/pink) are all good and easy climbing roses, Zepherin is almost thornless with a lovely scent and the added advantage of doing well on a north facing wall. As with all roses, preparation of the soil before planting is important, dig in plenty of organic matter, feed twice a year and they'll be fine. Clematis, "The President" (dark blue, summer) and one the Clematis montanas (white/pink) will also do well and are not as susceptible to the wilt. You could also try Jasmine.

zipzoc

Will any climbers grow up above the trellis or do they all pretty much stop at the top? I'd like to get a bit of extra height if that's possible.

kylith

zipzoc wrote: »

Will any climbers grow up above the trellis or do they all pretty much stop at the top? I'd like to get a bit of extra height if that's possible.

I think that pretty much all climbers will just keep growing and growing as long as they have something to climb up. The hard part is usually getting them to stay at the height you want.

cltt97

sorry to butt in, are any of the suggested climbers evergreen? I also have some unsightly garden walls I'd like to cover - they're rather shady, so need a plant that does not need a lot of light...

jezko

cltt97 wrote: »

sorry to butt in, are any of the suggested climbers evergreen? I also have some unsightly garden walls I'd like to cover - they're rather shady, so need a plant that does not need a lot of light...

Look up Ivy, Hedera sp.. Most Variegated forms need at least partial shade,

http://www.fibrex.co.uk/hederas/


Maybe

Clematis armandii

http://www.johnstowngardencentre.ie/clematis-armandii/clematis_snowdriftpd.aspx.

And for the record you can get this plant at half this price of you wanted.

See if you can find the cultivar
Clematis armandii 'Apple Blossom'. Scented, Spring flowering and as the name implies has a Colour of Apple Blossom

kylith

cltt97 wrote: »

sorry to butt in, are any of the suggested climbers evergreen? I also have some unsightly garden walls I'd like to cover - they're rather shady, so need a plant that does not need a lot of light...

I'd recommend an evergreen clematis. Ivy is good for coverage, but is very vigerous and takes a lot of keeping on top of. I'm driven demented with my neighbour's ivy.