Author Topic: advice needed on climbing plants  (Read 9147 times)

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Offline AuntPol

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advice needed on climbing plants
« on: December 27, 2012, 11:55:23 AM »
Hi folks,

Hope you all had a good christmas.  Now that its over with I'm turning my thoughts to my garden - just can't wait for spring!

My garden is new to me and I want some advise on climbing plants if anyone can give it.  I am looking for flowering climbers to cover ..
 
(a) an archway (sunny position)
 
(b) trellis (sunny position) that stands in front of the shed to hide the shed from view - this is a raised brick built bed with garden wire trellis attached and am willing to change for solid wooden trellis if need be
 
(c) a 20ft long fence (doesn't get much sun)

I've looked at honeysuckle from parkers http://www.jparkers.co.uk/plant-1004890-bb-1/fragrant-honeysuckle-collection/ for b and c but I am worried because someone said that honeysuckle can be poisonous and I have 5 small grandchildren, all of whom seem to enjoy eating plants!  Above all I am looking for climbers that are safe for my plant devouring grandchildren!

I already have 6 clematis in the garden covering 3 other trellis' (planted last year but right now look as dead as dodo's and i don't know if I will have to take them out yet)

Any advice will be greatfully recieved
I will also post this in the other gardening forum that I visit

Offline Palustris

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2012, 01:32:07 PM »
First of all, there are huge numbers of plants which are poisonous, though not 'harmful' in the sense that the amount needed to be ingested is so great that it would take a very determined person to do any more than give themselves indigestion.
Secondly we raised 5 children with a garden full of these soi-dit poisonous plants and never managed to kill one, or our grandchildren either. Mind we did teach them all that they should not eat anything out of the garden without asking first.
Thirdly, at this time of year all but a few Clematis look like dead twigs, but just wait until spring and watch them shoot. If they are late flowering ones, then you should be looking at pruning them back in early February in any case.
Now, Climbers. There are dozens. My favourites are Akebia quinata, the Chocolate Vine, evergreen but very robust. Lonicera alseuosmoides, evergreen, not spectacular in flower, but a bee magnet with a vengeance. Trachelium which definitely needs a warm fence and finaly Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris which is deciduous but has lovely bark and likes a shady position.

Online ideasguy

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #2 on: January 01, 2013, 12:38:56 PM »
Thanks for posting this Eric. Some very interesting and unusual suggestions there.

By chance, I discovered that Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald 'n' Gold' can work as a climber!
I planted one beside my greenhouse and it legged its way up the left corner. It grew to a height of 6ft (I stopped its upward growth at that height) and believe me it looked beautiful. It was easy to keep neat and tidy at the base, and I allowed it to grow up and clothe the greenhouse. Better look and see if I can find a photo.

Offline Palustris

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2013, 10:58:17 AM »
I always forget about Euonymus fortunei as a climber. We have one up a fence near the tunnel, never gets any maintenance either so ideal for us.

Online ideasguy

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2013, 09:50:19 PM »
One of the best evergreens as well Eric, so it has a lot going for it.
Nice to see its already recognised for that growing habit :)

Offline JohnB

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2013, 03:07:40 AM »
Hi George, Happy New Year,

I know you mentioned you have a few clematis, but didn't say you had the clematis armandi which is nicely evergreen. The one I have, 'Apple Blossom' is very fragrant. The new foliage is also nice, a bronzy sort of cast to it.



- john

Online ideasguy

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2013, 12:03:07 AM »
And a Happy New year to you and to our friends in Seattle!

That's a fine looking specimen John 8)
Do you prune it or are you training it right over that structure?
There must be quite a waft of fragrance from that beauty  :)

It was actually Eric who suggested the Clematis - he has a much better collection than I have. I have a new fence and am undecided about growing much up it. Ive limited it so far to three Clematis. In my case, I prefer if they are deciduous, so I can see if the fence needs maintenance :)

Offline trishs

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2013, 12:57:40 AM »
Hi, I'm new here :)  I'd like to suggest you buy a packet of Eccremocarpus scaber seed.  It's dead easy to get going and once you have a few plants they tend to self seed without becoming a nuisance as they are easy to pull out.  I let them scramble over conifers and through clematis etc as they just drop off at the end of the season, but they work fine on trellis too, in sunshine.

Online ideasguy

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2013, 11:32:10 AM »
And you are very welcome Trish!

Ive tried many things from seed, but Ive never tried (or grown) Eccremocarpus scaber
Here's a link to a page with details and a photo on the reliable RHS site:-
http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=681

A good recommendation for Annie (AuntPol). I'd like to hear from other members who have grown this one.

Offline trishs

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2013, 12:35:18 PM »
I tried to put that very same link in but it came out a bit messy.  Not quite sure how to use this board properly yet .  I also wanted to add a picture on another post but they were all to big and I'm not sure if it's possible to resize?

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #10 on: February 28, 2013, 02:06:47 PM »
Welcome to the Forum Trish.

I created a topic a while ago which addresses the procedure for posting photos.

If you click on this link - Posting a Photo on the Forum it should help you.

Let us know if you still have any problems.

It's always a pleasure to have new members (and old ones for that matter  ;) ) participating in the Forum and helping to keep it 'alive', so it's particularly important that we make the stay as easy and pleasant as possible for our newest members  :)

Laurie.

P.S.  I love your Profile pic Trish, a very cute little apple  :D
« Last Edit: February 28, 2013, 02:08:20 PM by Kathy & Laurie »

Offline trishs

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #11 on: March 01, 2013, 01:23:30 AM »
Thank you Laurie, I'll have a go at that... eventually!  I've yet to get going past the installation stage so it could take me a while to have time to figure everything out.  Considering that when I first began learning my letters at school we wrote on slates all this new technology can be a bit overwhelming.  I'll just keep sticking pics on the facebook page in the meantime as that's easy lol.  Or I might try via photobucket when time permits as I think that might work according to what I quickly read.

Oh and the apple was amongst a huge crop a few years ago and I instantly bonded with it as I feel it sums up my wonky face quite nicely as I only have one real eye left.  They're quite tasty apples too, not quite sure of the variety atm but once I have logged all my info from notebooks and invoices and scraps of paper from the last forty years into the genie I should be able to tell you ;)

Offline trishs

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #12 on: March 04, 2013, 01:32:31 AM »
I found this pic from a few years ago on photobucket!  The variety is Howgate Wonder



and hurray the pic works!

NightHawk

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #13 on: March 04, 2013, 08:08:09 AM »
Well done with the photo Trish  8)

Do you currently grow your own apples?

I'm sure your garden size and plant layout scheme would be of great interest to us, when you get the chance to tell us of course  ;)  (Plus more photos!)


Offline trishs

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #14 on: March 05, 2013, 12:56:35 AM »
Going back to the subject of climbers, I'd also advise putting in some proper support system, and maintaining itI  We had two temporary 'disasters' in one year a short while ago.  I think I already have suitably sized pics available on photobucket which I can show as I used to use that for posting pictures to Livejournal before I joined facebook, and in those days the pictures were automatically resized.

In both instances the wooden trellis just broke away from the wall, and in this picture, down came the wisteria and red climbing (and very prickly) rose.


another view from the kitchen window



here's what it looked like before the fall

Also in 2011.... down came my Robinia Hispida.  Iirc  it may have just got too top heavy, and it is rather a brittle plant.



Offline trishs

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #15 on: March 05, 2013, 01:15:02 AM »
More climbers close to the house, from 2011, rose, honeysuckle and clematis next to the potting shed

and the red prickly rose


and further down the garden, camellias.  The pink one is Juno, bought because we had a dog by the same name, and is very lax in growth so some of it is tied to the trellis, the other is Jury's Yellow.

and another view of Jury's Yellow,which of course isn't really a climber and has crowded out the Alchemist rose which was originally on that trellis.

NightHawk

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Re: advice needed on climbing plants
« Reply #16 on: March 05, 2013, 10:03:05 AM »
Great set of photos Trish.

It's a real shame you had that disaster with your climbers.

Before we moved to Hampshire, we had a honeysuckle against our old house front wall, tied to some plastic trellis.  Little did we know then how big and heavy the honeysuckle would get and it pulled the fittings out of the wall.

We learnt from that mistake the hard way  ::)