Actinidia kolomicta

Donal Coyne asked 16 years ago
Hi Gerry, Hope you can help with query re above; I want to cover a sun facing brick wall of approx 6ft high x 70ft long – and liked the look of this climber. I have a few questions which hopefully you can help me with; Do you think it would be suitable for the Irish/Meath climate Will it only suit a sun facing wall. Is it very vigorous – i.e. will it grow feet out from the wall ! even with pruning etc. I have only been able to source it from an online UK nursery which proves expensive when you factor in shipping etc – any suggestions for locating it here in Ireland. Finally ! – is there anything in particular you would suggest when planting to give it a good start and should one plant every 10 ft or so suffice. Many thanks in anticipation. Rgds, Dec1.

1 Answers

Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
 I want to cover a sun facing brick wall of approx 6ft high x 70ft long – and liked the look of Actinidia kolomikta.

I have a few questions which hopefully you can help me with;

Do you think it would be suitable for the Irish/Meath climate: Yes it is but it needs good shelter.

Will it only suit a sun facing wall: It actually likes some shade for part of the day.

Is it very vigorous – will it grow feet out from the wall ! even with pruning: It is not very vigorous and needs little pruning.

I have only been able to source it from an online UK nursery which proves expensive when you factor in shipping etc – any suggestions for locating it here in Ireland: It is available in garden centres here, not constnatly but from time to time.

Finally ! – is there anything in particular you would suggest when planting to give it a good start and should one plant every 10 ft or so suffice: It would be best not to plant more than a couple of these because it is deciduous and a row of them would look too much and unchanging for much of the year.

You would be better advised to select several kinds of climbers .. clematis, roses, ivy, crimson glory vine, honeysuckle and potato vine, for instance, to have different things coming and going. Also it is always best not to cver the entire wall but to leave some of it , perhaps 50%  or more uncovered. You can plant some shrubs at the base of the wall in a few groups to break the line of the wall. If it is a free-standing wall, you could plant a couple of trees nearby to break the line of the wall top.

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