Gardening: Expert advises on growing climbing plants
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When it comes to covering fences and walls or pergolas, arbours and obelisks we tend to choose climbers purely for their gorgeous flowers, but some offer fantastic foliage which is just as beautiful as the flowers. Also, many climbers with stunning foliage will give interest for a lot longer period throughout the year.
I get asked a lot ‘what can I grow on a north-facing wall, or ‘I have an east-facing fence that only gets sun in the morning’. Just like any plant in the garden there is a right plant for the right place. A little research online or reading through gardening books will broaden your knowledge and every time you come across a climber that is prized for its foliage make a note of it as well as its growing conditions. The good news, however, is that there are climbers for north, east, west and south facing aspects.
Gardeners often forget that greenery, texture or the slight hint of colour grown vertically acts as a great backdrop to many other flowering plants in the garden.
You can also grow other flowering climbers through the foliage to add another dimension, but just remember that the pruning for a flowering climber, such as a clematis, might be different for a more permanent foliage climber, so make sure you have access to the flowering plant should you need to cut it down to the ground, without it affecting the remaining plant.
Most climbers will need a good support, even those like ivy and climbing hydrangea that self-cling to a wall or fence will need something to climb up in the early stages of its life. There are also wall shrubs that be grown against and trained up a wall or fence. Those climbers that need tying in will require trelliswork or horizontal galvanized wires fixed in place with eyes.
Great climbers with an array of coloured foliage for east- and west-facing walls are ivies. Hedera helix ‘Goldchild’ only gets to 3 metres in both height and spread and has small, lustrous, three- to five-lobed, grey-green leaves with bold yellow margins.
It’s also evergreen and will grow in full sun or partial shade. A vigorous ivy is Hedera Hibernica (Irish ivy), which is evergreen with big glossy ovate or triangular leaves. Although a climber it also makes a great groundcover plant, stabilising slopes and providing year-round interest. The insignificant flowers on ivy are loved by pollinators and the black berries are loved by birds and wildlife.
The Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica ‘Aureoreticulata’, although having scented, white tubular flowers, has the most interesting foliage for an east- or west-facing aspect. The leaves have a green undertone and are speckled with yellow, which highlights the veins and structure of the leaves.
Finally, the virginia creeper or Parthenocissus quinquefolia is unrivalled for its autumn colour. It is vigorous, reaching 15 metres in height, but the five-pointed, mid-green leaves turn shades of crimson in autumn. A real showstopper of a climber.
For a north-facing fence or wall how about a climbing hydrangea, but one with variegated leaves. Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris ‘Silver Lining’ has beautiful silver-green leaves with a cream edge, and although it flowers the leaves alone will brighten up any space.
It produces aerial roots along the stems so it will self-cling. Hedera helix ‘Buttercup’ has large, five-lobed pale green to buttercup yellow leaves and only grows to 2.5 metres in height and spread. For something a little different the annual Ipomoea Treasure Island ‘Makatea’ boasts attractive yellow-lime green, edible foliage and will provide interest to a pergola or trellis.
In a sunny, south-facing garden you cannot go wrong with Actinidia kolomikta or the kolomikta vine. It isn’t evergreen, but it’s grown for its stunning heart-shaped leaves which have splashes of pink and white on the tips and gently turn the entire leaf a pale pink.
It looks like the tips have been dipped in pink paint. The leaves overlap each other, but you’ll need some patience as it will not give you a great display until a couple of years, but it’s worth the wait. Ivy will also grow in a partial sunny position and Hedera algeriensis ‘Gloire de Marengo’ or the Canary Island ivy has evergreen, light silver-green leaves with a clear creamy-white margin and reaches a lofty six metres in height.
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Also, the Chinese virginia creeper Parthenocissus henryana is a popular relative of the Virginia Creeper with velvety dark green leaves with prominent white and pink veins during the spring and summer. This will reach 10 metres in height. For additional red tones why not try the crimson glory grape vine Vitis coignetiae with heart-shaped, three-to five-lobed, dark green leaves, with a thick brown felt underneath, that turn bright red in autumn. This is a gorgeous ornamental climber. For something completely different try growing the maidenhair vine or Muehlenbeckia complexa with wiry stems and small dark green leaves. It creates a light and airy feel. But, for a sunny, south garden you cannot beat Lonicera henryi ‘Copper Beauty’ with new evergreen foliage with a distinctive bronze colour that fades to green. Its yellow flowers contrast beautifully with the foliage.
Also, when it comes to foliage you can tie in shrubby plants to trellis and wire, such as the winged spindle or fire bush, Euonymus alatus, which has dark green leaves that turn brilliant shades of strawberry-red in autumn. It is deciduous, but once all the leaves have fallen it reveals the purple and red fruits that split open to reveal a bright orange seed inside. For an evergreen shrub that can be treated as a climber try the silk-tassel bush, Garrya elliptica ‘James Roof’. This comes to life in winter when long, silvery catkins up to 20 centimetres in length glow among the glossy, wavy-edged green leaves.
Plant contrasting or complementary flowering plants in front of these wonderful foliage climbing wonders and you’ll have a garden that will be the envy of the neighbourhood.
Mark Lane, @MarkLaneTV – www.marklanedesigns.com/www.marklane.tv
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