How to use climbing plants most effectively is easier for some home gardeners than others. Where there are walls that need softening, trellises that require embellishment, or fences to be camouflaged, the problem is simple.
Steep banks and inaccessible areas likewise may be covered effectively with vines of various kinds.
Cedar posts used for accents, old stumps, and large, bare wall surfaces suggest possible settings. Vines are ideal for framing vistas, softening architectural features, and screening unsightly views.
Selecting The Right Plant
It is important to select the right plant for the right location since some are rampant growers, requiring ample space, while others are restrained in their habit and produce flowers that are best enjoyed at close range.
Another factor to consider is the amount of care that a vine will require to keep it within bounds or flowering freely and growing vigorously.
Often in the rush of spring gardening activities, we overlook places where climbing plants are needed to complete a garden picture.
At this time of year, there is an opportunity to study your home grounds carefully because many vines can be planted in the fall and thus become well-established before winter sets in.
The Right Location
When wisteria is in full bloom in late spring, its breathtaking beauty is so appealing that most gardeners promise to plant it as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
However, it is important that the proper setting be chosen.
Wisteria, a rampant grower, sometimes produces an abundance of foliage at the expense of flowers. Then, too, this permanent woody vine needs solid support on which to climb.
Chinese Wisteria
The most familiar kind is the Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis). Its flowers, which appear before the leaves, may be lavender or white.
On the other hand, Japanese wisteria (W. floribunda) is noted for its much longer flower clusters, which usually appear as the foliage develops.
Often some of the beauty of these showy, long clusters is concealed, but skillful pruning can overcome this condition. Few climbing plants can stand as severe pruning as the wisterias.
Climbing Hydrangea
Surprisingly enough, few home gardeners searching for a white flowering vine ever think of the climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris), which clings by aerial roots.
To be sure, it is slow growing until it becomes established, but few vines are better suited to brick or stone surfaces than this attractive climbing plant.
You can use it in the sun or shade, and after the white panicles of bloom fall at the approach of summer, the glossy green foliage provides rich texture throughout the season.
Trumpet Vine
For summer color, consider the showy trumpet vine (Campsis radicans), with its long clusters of rich vermilion flowers, particularly appealing to hummingbirds.
It also clings to surfaces using aerial roots and looks well on fences and trellises, or it can be used to adorn an arbor.
Silver Fleece Vine
Where a rampant and vigorous grower is needed for camouflage effects, few climbers can surpass the Chinese or silver fleece vine (Polygonum aubertii). The plants bloom from late summer to frost and grow rapidly.
The lacy white panicles are particularly decorative. Since bloom is produced on new wood, the plants can be cut back severely each spring without doing any harm.
Honeysuckle
As its name suggests, the ever-blooming honeysuckle (Lonicera heckrottii), with its carmine-yellow flowers, is an ideal subject for porches, trellises, and pergolas where continuous color effects are desired.
The fact that it flowers from early stammer until frost is one of the chief reasons for recommending it. The plants are easy to keep within bounds and soften architectural features that are particularly appealing without detracting from the surfaces they embellish.
Clematis Plants
The many kinds of clematis, species, and hybrids offer gardeners unlimited possibilities. Some are easier to grow than others, and it should be remembered that they prefer sweet soil.
Flowers vary from tiny blooms and clusters, like the sweet autumn clematis (Clematis paniculata), to large, star-shaped flowers, such as the hybrid, The President, illustrated opposite.
In this versatile group of plants, you can find rank-growing kinds like pink anemone clematis (C. montana rubens), illustrated opposite, which may reach 20’ feet or more, or the more restrained pillar types such as the hybrids of Ningpo clematis (C. lanuginosa), a group which includes many of the showy hybrids so much admired wherever they are grown.
Plant with a Purpose
Many of these hybrids are effective when trained on cedar posts as accents in perennial or shrub borders or used in pairs where formal effects are desired.
Since many clematises bloom when roses are at their height, they make ideal companions.
In addition to their superb flowers, which are ideal for cutting and use in arrangements, the various kinds of clematis produce distinctive, fluffy seed pods, which are in great demand for winter bouquets.
Many more outstanding climbing plants fit well in home gardens. Getting acquainted with them is part of the fun of gardening.
Since few gardens can accommodate a large collection of climbing plants, considerable thought must be given when selecting those you plan to grow.
Choose your vines with care, as well as the places where you plant them. Use them as you would draperies indoors.
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