Gardening section.qxp_Layout 1 17/06/2021 13:52 Page 46
MENDIP TIMES
Coping with cunning climbers
Plants that climb have so many uses in the garden. Concealing unsightly fences, adding height to borders when climbing through obelisks, adding a different season of interest to a rather ordinary shrub that has finished flowering, clambering into trees, adding interest to walls and all that With MARY as well as adding beauty, colour and often PAYNE MBE scent to your garden. However, before rushing out to the garden centre it is important that you understand how climbers climb so the right support can be provided for them. Plants have evolved some pretty ingenious methods of getting where they want to and that is usually to the top. their sole aim is to grow up to get whatever light is available. Even bindweed has that one aim in mind. Clematis, the queen of climbers, is deservedly the top choice for many, with an abundance of flowers and sometimes followed by attractive fluffy seed heads for winter interest. there is a clematis to suit every situation. they “climb” by twisting their leaf stalks around whatever they touch and therefore need a trellis or netting to cling on to. they are unable to scale a wall or fence without additional support. It is vital to choose a clematis that is of an appropriate vigour for your chosen site. Clematis montana is a rampant climber and can easily smother a 30 feet high tree. too often it resembles a gigantic bird’s nest of dead wood, but it can be pruned quite drastically, immediately after flowering, without affecting the next season’s flower. For enhancing a shrub to add another season of interest, choose a clematis indicated on the label to be in the Group 3 or Hard Prune type. this group are pruned hard in late February and will grow again and flower on current season’s growth. the purple leaved smoke bush looks great combined with the pink flowered C. ‘Hagley Hybrid’ or perhaps a flowering currant draped in C. ‘Venosa Violacea’. always plant the clematis on the north side of the shrub and on the outer edge. By doing this the clematis will get rain and will want to grow towards the south side. the same thing applies if planting a clematis to grow into an established tree. Plant on the outer edge of the tree canopy and train the clematis on a cane into the head of the tree. Make sure your clematis is not too vigorous for your tree. I use clematis to conceal down pipes by wrapping an appropriately coloured piece of clematis netting around the pipe for the leaf stalks to grab. Group 3 clematis also make striking partners for climbing roses up pillars. the clematis uses the stems of the rose as support while the rose needs to be tied into the pillar. Hard pruning in late February enables the rose also to be pruned. two useful shade tolerant climbers ideal for north facing walls are the climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea annomala susbp. petiolaris) flowering in late spring and Pileostegia viburnoides, performing in late summer. the latter has the added advantage of being evergreen. Both of these climb by forming aerial roots which are able to cling onto walls and are often described as self-clinging climbers. these aerial roots are not feeding roots and will not penetrate the surface, but it is best to ensure the wall surface is sound. Both these climbers are slow to get started so PAGE 46 • MENDIP TIMES • JULY 2021
Clematis Miss Bateman
patience is required but worth the wait. Ivy uses the same method. sweet peas, cucumbers, vines and many climbers have tendrils, often modifications of a leaf or a stem that allow them to twist around any suitable support. Ideally the stems of sweet peas should be tied in and all the tendrils removed as they are prone to grab any nearby flower bud. Virginia creeper and Boston ivy valued for their rich autumnal foliage tints have evolved their tendrils to have suckers at their tips enabling them to cling to virtually any surface, but beware they leave their suckers behind even when dead! Many climbers twine by spiralling their stems around any suitable support. those familiar with the songs of Flanders and swann will recall the “right-handed bindweed and the left-handed honeysuckle”. It is easier to think of them as twining clockwise or anticlockwise when viewed from above. I am sure you have tried to persuade your runner beans to climb the pole only for them to decide to go the other way. they prefer to spiral anti-clockwise. Each plant keeps to its own direction of spiral with the vast majority being clockwise and unlike the direction of spiral of the water going down the plughole in your bath plants stay the same regardless of which hemisphere they are growing in. However, the two main species of wisteria spiral in opposite directions. the Chinese wisteria spirals anticlockwise and the Japanese clockwise! Climbing roses are not climbers at all, but slightly stronger growing forms of bush roses and require total support. Rambling roses, on the other hand, are very vigorous with a desire to get to the top of their world. to achieve this, they have evolved downward pointing thorns. these cling onto rough surfaces such as tree bark very effectively, like a cat climbing a tree. Particularly good at going up, but not so elegant at coming down as you will find if trying to pull down on a rose branch. always plant the rose outside the canopy of the tree, as described above for a clematis. select your climber with care paying attention to the vigour, aspect of its location regarding sun or shade, length of flowering season, ease of training and hardiness. look for plants with good growth from the base. It is the roots of the plant you are paying for. Water well for its first growing season and you will be rewarded with flowers, foliage, screening, and accommodation for wildlife.
