“If you have seen a Japanese snowball bush forming a white and green curtain against a weathered stone wall, you know how effective a wall shrub can be.
Various flowering and fruiting shrubs submit to this type of training, giving the gardener with limited space a chance to grow more of the things he likes.
The painstaking work that goes into developing a beautifully proportioned wall plant makes it something of an artistic achievement, too.
Some Shrubs Are Trainable Others Need Support
Some shrubs are suitable for training directly against a brick or stone surface and can be held in place using special hooks and other supports designed for vines.
These plants look best when the branches follow their natural inclination as far as confinement to a single plane will permit.
Branches that start at such an angle that they cannot easily be made to conform to the face of the wall should be promptly pruned or pinched off.
Viburnum Tomentosum Plicatum
The Japanese snowball, Viburnum tomentosum plicatum, whose branches readily assume more or less horizontal lines, may be handled in the manner just described.
This is the popular snowball of northern gardens, with all-sterile flowers arranged in globular heads 3” to 4” inches in diameter and healthy foliage happily free of the black aphids that plague the common European snowball.
It has no special soil preferences and thrives in semi-shade or full sun.
Cotoneasters Made To Order For Training
The cotoneasters, whose branches develop their twigs in a flat fan-like arrangement, are made to order for this sort of training.
Cotoneaster Horizontalis
The low-growing, spreading branches of the rock cotoneaster, Cotoneaster horizontalis, are displayed to advantage against house foundations.
It has glassy, dark green leaves and small bright red fruits that last all Winter. In the North, where it has proved less hardy than many of its kind, it does well in an eastern exposure with full access to the morning sun.
Cotoneaster Divaricata
Cotoneaster divaricata features the same curious twig formation but makes a more imposing specimen, reaching a mature height of 6’ feet or so. Its older branches are liberally decorated in the season with elongated red fruits.
Other species adapted to wall training include the upright-growing:
- Cotoneaster simonsii
- Cotoneaster Lucida
- Cotoneaster acutifolius
The last two are black-fruited. All cotoneasters need loamy, well-drained soil. The smaller nursery-grown specimens available stand transplanting best.
Training Up Trellises
When allowed only a few main branches for training up trellises, some shrubs become vine-like and may attain a height of 10’ feet or more. There is material, too, for the gardener to whom formal espalier patterns appeal.
But he must be prepared for the frequent tying to their supporting wires or lattice framework that the symmetrically paired branches require and the prompt removal of growths that would mar the design.
Jasminum Nudiflorum
The venturesome Winter jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum, ready to open its yellow flowers at the first hint of spring, is none too hardy in the New York area, and it is grateful for a sheltered wall with a sunny southern exposure.
It will obligingly cover a trellis 10’ feet high and may be grown espalier-style. In the North, a rather dry-natured soil, conducive to proper maturing of the wood in Autumn, is a further safeguard against Winter injury.
The plant should not be allowed to suffer from lack of moisture during periods of drought, however.
Weeping Forsythia
The long, pliable branches of the weeping forsythia, Forsythia suspensa, may be trained as a wall cover. Reduced in number, they will provide high-reaching adornment for a trellis or an arch.
Like other forsythias, the golden bell flowers of this are a reassuring sight on chilly spring days. It is tolerant of partial shade.
Japanese Flowering Quince
The Japanese-flowering quince makes a handsome trellis climber. Those who do not care for the very insistent scarlet of the old-time variety’s blossoms may enjoy one of the modern hybrids such as Enchantress, shell-pink, or Rosemary, deep rose. All are among the earliest spring-blooming shrubs.
Pyracantha Coccinea Lalandei
The hardiest of the firethorns, Pyracantha coccinea lalandei, develops very long, slender branches and is easily trained on walls in any of the ways described above. It thrives in a warm, sunny situation and well-drained, sandy soil and stands considerable dryness.
Its shining oval leaves are attractive throughout the season. Modest white flowers appear in the spring and yield masses of brilliant orange-scarlet fruit, which appear at their best when contrasted with a background of white-painted wood, gray stone, or light-colored brick.
Striking effects can be achieved by training the branches to frame a window or doorway.”
50032 by RL Spain