How to choose the best climbers for your garden
Added at 20:17 on 09 March 2023
There is lots of information on the internet and in books on climbers and specific species of climbers on how to plant and care for them. The aim here to provide a brief over view of climbers , from my experiences in the gardening industry , to help you decide which type of climbers are most suitable for your garden, your functional needs and to appreciate their beauty whilst understanding what we know on how they benefit wildlife.
Choice will often be determined on the type of vertical space you are looking to exploit; walls, trellis, arch, fence, tree or shrub and the aspect (predominant sun or shade) in which they are to be placed. When planting one should be able to dig a deep and large enough hole to accommodate the root ball and the soil medium returned should ideally be of decent quality. Adding fertiliser is not important because as ecologically considerate gardeners we would add some home made compost or leaf mould from our garden around the basal crown of the plant at soil level and if planting during the growing season (as opposed to the dormant winter months) we would be keeping our plants well watered till they established; normally identified by them starting to put on growth.
Honeysuckle and clematis species are probably the two most familiar and common species bought. Ivy although native and common gets a mixed reaction from garden owners. Many see it as a ‘weed’ plant, smothering everything in its path once it gets a hold. Others see it’s wonderful value of being evergreen, shade tolerant and softening the hard surface of walls with attractive leaf shapes and variegated colour forms with masses of noticeable but often unappreciated flowers from late summer to autumn. At least often unappreciated by us. For wildlife it is unsurpassed by any other climber by providing an abundance of nectar for pollinators, habitat and food for many invertebrate species and nesting materials and space for birds.
There are a number of other desirable climbing genuses including Wisteria, Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus spp) and Jasmine and others which can be a more acquired taste such as Bramble and Hop ( Humulus lupulus ‘ Aureus’ to consider. I will focus on honeysuckle and clematis.
My favourite climber both professionally and for wildlife value is honeysuckle. Professionally because they are robust and in my experience easier and fairly quick to establish compared to clematis species. They offer both flowers in the summer months and berries in the autumn and come in numerous species and cultivars, most are deciduous although there are evergreen species. Many are labelled as scented but the scent is often not detectable during the day. It is considered that this is because their primary function is to attract night flying pollinators especially moths so the scent is most noticeable in the evening and at night. I often plant scented honeysuckle species on arches or climbing up trees near corners at paths where their scent can be appreciated in the evening. In my own garden I have a sheltered seating area where I can relax during nice summer evenings and enjoy the perfume of honeysuckle and Daphne species around me. The common name ‘honeysuckle’ is derived from the ability to suck nectar from the base of picked flowers.The wildlife garden forum (www.wlgf.org) has recorded 78 different species of invertebrates feeding on honeysuckle.
Ok , I’ve made a strong point for honeysuckle. There are numerous clematis species all also offering wildlife food, home building materials and shelter as well as a wide variety of shapes and colours in their flowers for us to enjoy. I tend to plant them with honey suckle or climbing roses (discussed next) as although they have undeniably beautiful flowers they can be slow to establish. There are hundred of clematis species and cultivars and they can be placed into one of 12 cultivation groups such as Alpina, Macropetalas, Viticella etc. All the clematis’s in these cultivation groups can be placed into one of three pruning groups which is much easier to follow. Which pruning group they are placed into is decided on when and how they flower, after which they can be pruned. Pruning Group 1 includes the familiar C.montana and C. alpina species and being the earliest s[ring flowers they are often left unpruned and through time will completed swamp wherever they grow. They can become top heavy, growing through guttering, weighing down fences and smothering small trees and shrubs. I prefer to use , especially in ordinary garden size the other two groups. Group 2 are essentially repeat flowering varieties and Group 3 are late summer to autumn flowering varieties. Although longer to establish (in my experience) they can be grown through trees, shrubs and hedges to give extra flowering interest to the space they occupy. These later two groups can but cut back, after a couple of years from establishment to around 40 cm each year in early spring to prevent them getting out of hand and to allow shrub and hedge pruning. Clematises mainly are cultivars of species originating in Asiatic regions but at this point I will plug our UK native Clematis vitilaba, commonly known as Travellers Joy or Old Man’s Beard, the later derived from the fluffy overwintering seed heads It attracts bees and hoverflies during the day and moths at night. Although one can buy books specifically on Clematis spp, I have two, there is a lovely website that explains them well.www.garden path.com/clematis.
Climbing roses make excellent associations with other climbers. I often plant them with Clematis because through time they make excellent supportive companions. As the roses climb high and produce less flowers at the base, Group 2 and 3 clematis will provide cover and flowers lower down.
There are numerous climbing roses and ramblers. The difference between them seems to be that climbers produce stronger thicker branches and can repeat flower whilst ramblers produce weaker growth and only produce one flush of flowers in the year. Although one can source cheap roses at most garden centres I prefer to buy from David Austin (www.davidaustinroses.co.uk) or Peter Beatles Roses Ltd (www.classicroses.co.uk) which some say do better in Scotland….?). On both their websites they have a wonderful range of colours and types to choose from. My personal main criteria excluding preferred flower colour are I try to go for disease resistant, repeat flowering and above all scented species or cultivars. When ordering from these growers , not only do they come in impressive packaging but also with planting and care instructions.
My only other tip from experience with roses is to avoid planting them in exposed locations as they tend to look badly weathered over the winter months with lots of dead wood from constant wind desiccation.
I hope the above little insight provides a useful a bit of guidance to help direct the reader before they delve into the mysterious world of climbers.