Climber Advice

skiTTish

I have a really ugly rear wall on the house and had an idea to attach trellis and train a climber up to disguise it .
Is there such a thing as an evergreen climber that wont cause damage to the wall ?
Not bothered if its winter /summer flowering but has to do well in shade .
Was thinking Wisteria or climbing Hydrangea ? Not sure how invasive or damaging these are though ,obviously want to avoid Ivy but are all ever green climbers as bad ?
thanks

Optimisticpair

There are quite a few which are evergreen and not unruly and some don't need a trellis or wires. Some are hardy and some are a bit tender. It depends if your wall is sunny or not. ie sunny - south or west facing, and if it is sheltered or blasted in winter by cold winds.

I googled Climbers and wall shrubs for sun

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=466

and climbers for shade (North and east facing walls)

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?PID=467

and the RHS pages list more than I could remember the names of.

Kay_Peel

You don't say whether you'll be planting in pots of whether you've got a bed of soil to play with.

I have some soil near my ugly wall (not a lot!) and I've planted it with interesting shrubs ( tall ones, ones that spread their branches flat against the wall, ones with colourful stems, evrgreen ones etc) , and let sweet peas, runner beans and mangetout run through them and up a trellis.

skiTTish

Thanks
Its an east facing garden so morning light only ,we loose the light from about 12 .30 .Will be planting in stone troughs .
Also been told that training plants up the side of the house will encourage damp ,is this true ?

Kay_Peel

Ivy and other creepers cover the wall quickly but damage the brickwork and are reputed to cause damp and dirtiness - they house a lot of wildlife. Russian Vine is a big headache too, unless it's contained and clipped. I'd give ivy and Russain vine a wide berth, but I would be tempted to go for a Boston ivy that turns bright red in Atumn.

A stone trough sounds really lovely.:beer: Pulled a short distance away from the wall, there shouldn't be any problems with damp.

With an east-facing wall (often windy, cold and in shade) I'd go for Jasmines - the winter flowering one blooms yellow and the branches tumble from wires/trellises; the summer flowering ones have a gorgeous scent, a long flowering season and shiny red fruits all through the winter. Both are very good value - but make sure your structure is fixed firmly to the wall.

Good luck!

maypole

I believe both the Russian vine and the Boston ivy grow very quickly and can get into the cracks in walls. Apparently there is a less invasive type, see the link. I also saw this on Gardeners World


http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/climbers/other-climbers/classid.1691/

However reading the above post, the Jasmine sounds nicer.