IN THE Up, up and away

Pair a climber with a bare wall, tree or structure, and they can inject colour and interest... but only if you get the location right

Climbers can be a great asset in your garden, but you do need to match the plant to the plot. Problems arise when people put climbers and wall-trained shrubs in sites that don’t suit them, or they fail to prepare the site properly. For best results it’s vital to get the groundwork right.

WALL CLIMBERS

The soil at the foot of a wall is usually dry and poor due to the presence of foundations and the umbrella effect caused by the wall deflecting rain away from the building.

Common side-effects of this are stunted growth, poor flowering and regular outbreaks of mildew. So before planting any climber or wall shrub, dig a large hole and work in lots of well-rotted organic matter. If you are planting an especially large or greedy climber such as a rose, wisteria, grapevine or a fan or espalier-trained fruit tree, excavate a good-sized trench along the base of the wall and fill it with compost to provide a nutrient-rich rooting area.

Position wall nails, trellis or netting to attach the plant to. But avoid planting climbers such as Virginia creeper or ivy against house walls, since they hold on using suckers, tendrils or aerial roots which can ruin mortar and cause damp.

‘‘ An ivy’s tendrils can ruin mortar on a house wall and cause damp

TREE CLIMBERS

Many large, vigorous climbers, as well as some tamer ones, look very effective when allowed to scramble through trees or shrubs. As a bonus there’s then no need to prune plants such as rambler roses and wisteria – just leave them to spread.

But don’t plant large climbers through slowgrowing or small trees, as a strong climber can