Post category: Climbing Plants

 

Climbing plants can be labour-intensive but some kinds are easy. Climbing plants and other wall plants can be used to decorate walls and fences and turn empty wall space to good advantage. Some climbing plants can creep up walls and fences by means of suckers and aerial roots but most, such as the clematis shown, need some support to cling onto, or to be tied onto. Choosing the ones that creep by their own means, such as ivy and virginia creeper, avoids the need for tying-in.

 

Hedges

 

Regular tying-in of wall plants can be very time-consuming, and the easiest way to approach the task is to wire the whole wall first, or at least that part of it where plants are to grow. It is by no means necessary, or even desirable, to cover an entire wall with climbing plants, but the aim should be to wire the area which the climber will fill.

Wires can be placed in horizontal lines about 30 centimetres apart, from about 60 centimetres off the ground right to the top of the wall. Galvanised steel wire is best, attached to brass screws at about 40 centimetre centres along each length. If a wall needs painting, these screws can be removed and the plants taken down.