Hi! Can anyone recommend a small climber for a new project I've got going here?
I've got an old chain link gate - about 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide that I'd like to use as a little trellis with vines to provide some wind protection for another plant. I'm 5b and it will be in full sun. I'd love a perennial on it but I think they may get too big over time. Blooms would be nice but not a deal breaker, just foliage would work fine.
I did morning glories last year - never again - they just grew too big and out of control and were a HUGE pain to remove at the end of the season (really cool looking during the summer though - those babies were healthy!). Maybe sweet pea? Is it hard to remove once it's dead?
I'm just stumped on this one. Thanks!!! -Christie
Need help!
carolina jasmine can be pruned if need be. jessimine too.
I don't think thats hardy in zone 5
asarina?
cardinal climber?
also
since its chainlink and metal.....you could burn the old stuff off....
or just trim it and let the next years vine use it to climb on
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PTLK/1727.html
has a list of vines that do good in colorado.
What about a clematis?
Hi Christie!!......what I did a few back.....same thing .....on a ole chain-link gate,painted it an antique white and mounted to a 4x4 post.....set it out by its lonesome in the middle of a bed......planted Manettia,luteo-rubra(Candy Corn vine)....reasonably-priced here.....think it was less than four dollars for a four inch pot of it......grows bout six feet a season but is an annual here.....(glossy tubular flowers that are red-orange with yellow tips that resembles candy corn,smooth light greenleaves on twining climbing stems in spring and summer,full to part sun)......oh! and the hummers love it,too!!hope this heps ya....Greenup......
I have a clematis growing on my gate, does great! I am in 5 also. Mikey
Wow! Thanks guys!
I've finally found a few minutes to sit so I'm going to look some of the suggestions up on PlantFiles.
I thought about burning, but I was aftraid the radiant heat might damage surrounding plants - wanted to take the whole thing down but I couldn't even get the trellis out of the ground with those roots!!!
I do grow Clematis here, and really like it - mine are pretty sparse in the winter and I wanted something with a bit more wind-blocking potential for winter - maybe on the gate it would be better, I'm going to see maybe if I can find a "thicker" one.
But, I am going to check out the other suggestions now. Thanks!! - Christie
Mikey - do you have to prune your Clematis back?
Several of mine are outgrowing their trellises so I've had to move the whole kit-n-daboodle next to new supports so they can keep growing up -Christie
Hi Christie, I've never planted annual sweet peas but I've had a very nasty encounter with perennial ones. I don't know if they would grow differently in your area but they are terribly invasive here. I started out with a beautiful vine on my fence for about 3 years. Then it started popping up next to the house. I filled 3 30 gallon garbage cans with vines and they still kept coming back. I still have some shoots that come up through mulch, newspaper and a potted plant. They are now growing in the back of the house. They are really hard to clean up in the fall too.
Hi all, thought I'd update you guys.
elsie (I LOVE your name!) - I've heard about those perennial sweet peas, too :-)
My youngest daughter was with me when I was picking up some more seeds to start and was just enchanted with the packs of annual sweet peas - so I've started some.
I'm going to put the gate in a location (not in my beds) where it should be "fairly" easy to rip the whole thing out if necessary to drag it over to the driveway to burn off.
Decided against Clematis because I'm afraid I'll just have to move it in a couple of years.
I think all of my possible perennial choices would just get too big for the gate. Thanks again - Christie