Gardeners value evergreen and deciduous climbing plants for their ability to cover walls, tree stumps, or buildings, or to grow through the branches of robust trees or shrubs. Many can be used as a groundcover or as living ornamental screens. Climbers provide diverse attractions of flowers, fruits, and foliage, and there is an ample choice of annuals, perennials, and woody plants.
What are climbers?
Climbing plants may be self-clinging or twining, or scandent, scrambling, or trailing. Self-clinging plants use aerial roots or terminal adhesive pads to attach themselves to any surface that offers support, such as rock faces, tree trunks, or walls, and need only initial guidance. Twining climbers twine their stems, coil their tendrils, or use modified leaf stalks to wind through trees, shrubs, or a trellis. They will thread their way through shrubs and trees without additional support, but require wires or a trellis if wall-trained. If used as a groundcover, they need to be pinned down so that they root at the nodes. Scandent, scrambling, and trailing plants have long stems that attach themselves loosely, if at all, to their support. To climb, they must be tied in to their support, or they can be allowed to tumble over walls or banks.
Garden uses
Evergreens, such as Hedera helix and its variegated cultivars, provide handsome foliage all year round. Deciduous climbers can display attractive foliage from their first bright new spring growth through to autumn, when many, such as Parthenocissus tricuspidata, provide brilliant autumn color. Actinidia kolomikta has decorative green foliage splashed pink and white.
Many climbers, including clematis, honeysuckle (Lonicera), and jasmine (Jasminum), are cultivated for their colorful or fragrant flowers. Some produce ornamental fruits: the silky seed heads of clematis often remain decorative for some time after the flowers have gone; many honey-suckles follow their blooms with red berries. Climbers grown mainly for their fruits include Celastrus, whose fruits split open in autumn, revealing brightly colored seeds.
Vigorous climbers, such as Fallopia baldschuanica or Wisteria, can be used to hide unsightly out-buildings. To cover low objects, such as old tree stumps, and for use as groundcover, choose self-clinging plants, such as ivies (Hedera), Hydrangea petiolaris, and Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus), which require no training or support. Climbers can also be trained to form attractive screening between various parts of a garden. For example, a trellis can be used to support a screen of fragrant annuals or can be covered with both climbing roses and honeysuckle.
Many climbers will easily twine through the branches of a tree, complementing the host tree’s own features and extending its period of interest. Self-clinging climbers planted at the base of a tree will establish themselves against the trunk; twining or tendril climbers will need to be trained into the lower branches. Clematis Montana and C. armandii, as well has honeysuckles, Hydrangea petiolaris, ivies, Vitis coignetiae, and Wisteria, can all be grown this way. Shade-loving honeysuckles flower beneath the foliage of the tree, while sun-loving clematis will flower only at the sunlit top of the canopy.
Pergolas and pillars are idea for supporting climbers, since they can be admired from all sides. These structures also provide strong vertical elements in garden design.
Short-term climbers
Climbing annuals, and perennials grown as annuals (such as Eccremocarpus scaber), are useful for providing temporary screens, for short-term cover on arches or a trellis until permanent plantings are established, or for providing shade curing summber. The fragrant sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is ideal for a cottage-style garden, with attractive flowers suitable for cutting. Slender perennial climbers, such as species of Codonopsis, can be used to twine through subshrubs. Herbaceous species, for example. Tropaeolum speciosum, Lathyrus grandiflorus, and L. latifolius, will scramble through robust shrubs. All die back in autumn, thereby avoiding problems with pruning among the host plants.
Choosing a climber
Consider the exposure of the intended site before choosing a climber. Many climbers, including Actinidia, Clerodendru, and passionflowers (Passiflora), need a sunny wall to thrive, as does any climber grown at the limits of its climatic tolerance. Akebia quinata, Jasminum officinale, Stauntonia hexaphylla, and Wisteria tolerate a shaded wall, but flower and fruit more reliably in full sun. A few, like Hydrangea petiolaris and Virginia creeper, thrive in sun or shade. Parthenocissus henryana will color better in shade. For shaded walls, use a robust ivy or Pileostegia viburnoides, Schizophragma hydrangeoides, or S. integrifolium.
Take care to match the vigor of the chosen climber to the size and strength of the host tree or the scale of the building to be covered. Very vigorous climbers, such as Fallopia baldschuanica, or rampant ramblers, such as Roasa wichurana and R. filipes ‘Kiftsgate’, may cause an elderly or a small tree to topple, or may rapidly overwhelm a small structure.
Types of support
Choose a support that will accommodate the eventual height, spread, and vigor of the chosen climber. The main types are wooden or plastic trellis panels, wire or plastic mesh, and wires (usually plastic-covered) stretched between vine eyes. A trellis is the most reliable support for twining climbers; use wire or mesh for tendril climbers, and a trellis or wire framework for scandent or scrambling climbers.
Specifically built structures, such as pergolas and pillars, must be strong and durable to support plants throughout their life span.
Cultivation
When planting climbers against a wall or fence, position the plant at least 18in (45cm) from the base of the support. This allows the roots to receive sufficient rainwater, once established. After planting, water and apply mulch 2-3in (5-8cm) deep to a radius of about 24in (60cm) around the plant. Top-dress climbers in spring during their first two seasons, using 2-3oz (50-85g) of a balanced fertilizer, and apply a mulch each spring. Apply a slow-release fertilizer annually.
In hot, dry periods, water weekly. Deadhead plants regularly, unless fruits are desired. Tie in new shoots, and cut back overgrown plants. Protect tender climbers grown outdoors in cold weather.
Where not hardy, climbers such as the tropical Bougainvillea, Hoya, Mandevilla, and Pandorea may be grown in a greenhouse or conservatory; some are suitable as houseplants. Climbers grown permanently under glass will outgrow their allotted space, so early restrictive pruning is essential. Small climbers grown in containers with free-standing supports, such as stake tripods or trellis panels, can be moved outside during summer and returned under glass before autumn frosts. Plant vigorous species in large containers or in a greenhouse border. If they are allowed to grow very large, they may need to be replaced, since few respond to hard renovation pruning. Climbers in containers have to be repotted and fed regularly.
Climbing plants can be propagated by seed, by stem or root cuttings, or by layering. For species, seed is the most practical method, particularly for annuals and herbaceous species, although woody plants take some time to establish. Cultivars and hybrids do not come true from seed; take cuttings or layer.
-Information accredited to The American Horticultural Society of A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Page 36-37.
