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Introduction
Thinking
of Vines & Other Climbers.
If you mention Vines or Climbers to most amateur gardeners they
don’t immediately appreciate the range of plants that are available
to buy from any garden centre. I didn’t realise how many different
climbers of one sort or another that I am growing myself. Obviously
there are Sweet Peas on my allotment and Nasturtiums tumbling around
my hanging baskets and tubs, but there are also a couple of Jasmines
in the garden. I have just put up a piece of trellis to support a
lovely variegated one so that it can grow up and hide a large
downspout from the bathroom. Wisterias are another very popular,
spectacular, but slow growing climber usually found on the fronts of
old cottages. Of course Climbing Roses have also been grown against
house walls for centuries and although we haven’t got one we have
got a Rambling Rose. Again we haven’t got any Climbing Hydrangea,
Clematis or Honey Suckle – apart from the Honey Berry that is a
fruiting family member and has a more compact growing habit.
Some vines are grown more for their foliage rather than flowers and
are often used to cover unsightly walls or even buildings such as
garages. Ivies come in a variety of leaf shapes and colours, but there
are some much quicker growing plants such as the “Mile A Minute,”
or Polygonum, Virginia Creeper and a hybridised Convolvulous. Another
quick climbing plant from our history is the Hop. Traditionally, these
were grown in the South of the country for the beer industry, but
there is an ornamental and very attractive Golden variety.
The list of well-known plants goes on and on when you start to think
of them and the range is still being added to with things like Passion
Flowers that are becoming more popular. Years ago we had an enormous
one by our fishpond, but unfortunately none of the varieties are
particularly hardy, and although that was the toughest, it still
succumbed on a very frosty night when the trunk split. We have
recently put a small Passion Flower in a tub at the front of the
house, by the porch, but it will be years before it grows to the size
of the old one and produces fruits. The fruits are only edible though,
on one variety called Edulis and that is far too delicate to grow
anywhere other than a very warm greenhouse.
As far as fruiting vines are concerned most people will only think of
Grape Vines and even then most gardeners think they can only be grown
in a greenhouse. However, with global warming and the increased range
of varieties on offer, there is plenty of scope to grow them outside.
When the allotments were set up the chairman joked that with the
allotments being on a south facing hillside we would be able to grow
grape vines and mine are growing nicely up there! I have just tied the
row of young plants onto posts and cut off the excess side shoots
ready for training next year. At home there are some great looking
little bunches of grapes developing on two bigger vines clinging to
some wires on the wall at the back of the garage.
Grape vines aren’t the only fruiting vines available these days.
Several varieties of Kiwis have been sold in the garden centres for
years and although they are not very popular, supermarkets now sell
lots of imported Kiwi fruit, so maybe more people will start growing
them at home as time passes. They are quite tough plants as regards
the cold, but you have to be careful with selecting suitable plants,
as some varieties need a male and female plant to produce fruit
whereas others are self-fertile. I have just put up some trellis on a
south-facing wall for a big Kiwi that had been moved from the garage
wall. It hasn’t fruited yet and didn’t like being moved, but I am
hopeful for the future. In fact I like the idea of growing my own
Kiwis so much that I have recently planted a new “Mini,” fruiting
variety and put up training wires through some Vine Eyes for it by the
back door.
Goji Berries are yet another exotic, but not tropical fruit that will
happily grow in the UK. Strictly speaking they are not Vines, but they
are a climber or rambler and will stand just about anything with
regards temperature and drought. From a very large plant at home I
have taken cuttings and there are now two Gojis growing nicely on my
allotment up tripods made from 8 foot canes. The cuttings were only
taken the other year and have just started to flower, so again I am
hopeful for future years. I am hoping that by planting them out in the
open they will get the air round the plants as they seem to be
susceptible to Mildew. Grapes can suffer as well so it always a good
idea to leave a gap between the wall and any vines that are planted
against it.
Not only can vines be grown to produce fruit, but also a few
vegetables. Obviously there are many types of Beans that can be grown
and Peas are a Climber, or Scrambler, as they produce tendrils to
cling on with. However, there are one or two more exotic species
becoming available such as Sweet Potatoes, which are, believe it or
not, a member of the Convolvulous family. Another exotic sounding
vine, which I haven’t actually tried growing yet, is the Cinamon
Vine. This is said to produce a very large edible tuber after a couple
of year’s growth.
I know the modern trend is not to plant climbers up house walls these
days, but I think people are missing out on so much opportunity to
grow such a wide range of plants, both flowering and fruiting that are
ideal to take the drabness and uniformity off modern housing estates.
For those that don’t want to grow climbers on the outside of the
house there is also the opportunity these days to grow a more tender
and exotic specimen up the walls and around the inside of a
conservatory.
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