This problem appears often: the sight of beautifully arranged and manicured flower beds, trees and shrubs spoils the house, which is stuck among the greenery like a foreign body.A simple and attractive solution is to cover the walls with climbing plants, which not only have decorative qualities, but also occupy a small part of the garden area.
High walls of a house with three or more storeys are best planted with climbers.They stick to vertical surfaces by means of adherent roots and rebates, therefore they do not need any supporting structures. The most frequently used representatives of this group are plants with decorative leaves: ivy and virginia (popularly called wild wine). In their case, however, it is necessary to be very careful and cautious, because poorly used vines can easily damage the facade of the house.
A climber is also a beautifully flowering climbing hydrangea and American milin. However, these species will need support in the form of horizontal slats, rods or wires, as sticking roots of these species will only grow when the shoots come into contact with a rough surface. In addition, they are weaker and may not maintain large, heavy shoots after a few years.All vines covering walls around doors and windows should be regularly trimmed. You should also remember about the gutters.Climbers that reach the roof during their journey up the wall must be trimmed to avoid overgrowing the gutters.
Walls with small surfaces are best entwined with twining vines, which have limited expansion possibilities.To climb up, their flexible shoots necessarily need vertical supports. Attractive plants from this group are, among othersactinidia ,Kokornak ,HoneysuckleiHopsWisteria ) grows very strongly, so it should be supported on massive, stable supports.For her wonderful blue flower clusters to thrive every year, it is worth spending some time cutting the shoots regularly after flowering.
Completely small areas, for example a narrow strip between windows or a wall between the house and the garage, will wonderfully decorate climbing roses or clematis with their flowers. The shoots of the vines can be easily given the desired direction by guiding them along the horizontal or vertical elements of the supporting structure. The parts of the shoots that extend beyond the rectangle of the wall can be cut, if necessary.
In the case of climbing roses, remember to divide them into two main groups: the most frequently repeated flowering of the Klimberia (maximum height 4 m) and the more magnificent ramblers, usually blooming once a season (shoots 8-10 m long). The shoots of all climbing roses should in principle be tied to bars or horizontal wooden laths so that they do not bend and hang under the weight of the flowers.
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Clematis flowers from the close (Photo: Fotolia.com) |
Climbing clematis
Clematis varieties with shorter shoots are perfect for covering and decorating the wall next to the terrace, as well as the frame of the front door to the house.The best are the forms that bloom in May and June, and then a second time in August and September, growing very well both in the bed and in large containers.Beautiful specimens with such advantages are e.g. the cultivars 'Lasurstern' and 'Multiblue' with blue flowers, as well as red-flowering 'Jessica' and 'Cuba'.
They are two or three meters high, so there aren't any major problems with cutting off shoots that grow out of measure.Clematis are best suited to a location near the west or east wall, where they have enough sun and are not exposed to the hottest heat in the midday hours of the day.
The position of the wall in relation to the directions of the world is of great importance when choosing plants. Warmth-loving vines, such as actinidia and milinas, are best suited for covering southern walls that are not shaded all day long. In such conditions, clematis and climbing roses will only survive if they are grown in a sufficiently moist substrate and their root area is shaded by other plants. Close to the northern walls, shade-loving vines, such as climbing hydrangea, ivy and arboriculture, find very good vegetation conditions.
The eastern and western walls, which are sunlit for part of the day, can be climbed by virtually all climbers, with the exception of actinidia and milinas, who like sunbathing. When planting vines near a wall, fence or gazebo, their roots should be directed in the opposite direction, and the base of the plant should be approximately 30 cm from the wall.
Problems with creepers
The joy of the beautiful view of the house facade covered with green vines quickly fades when we notice damage caused by plants. The biggest problems are posed by strongly growing self-adhesive ivy and virginia crests. Their sticky roots and rebates stick very tightly to the wall, making use of every smallest unevenness.
If the wall of our house is covered with plaster with various damages, cracks or scratches, we should rather not plant these vines near the facade.Adherent roots easily grow into cracks in the plaster, and in a damp and dark environment they turn into normal roots.
Over the years, the roots become longer and thicker, they enlarge the cracks and cause the plaster sheets to detach from the wall.Ivy and virgin ivy are also dangerous to delicate plasters and external, sensitive parts of the building, such as cornices, gutters, roofing tiles and slate tiles, window sills, roller shutter boxes and wooden wall cladding.
Vertical pipes, draining rainwater from the gutters, are unlikely to be harmed by creepers with rather thin, twisting shoots, such as eg Honeysuckle, Honeysuckle and Hops.On the other hand, strong plants, such as wisteria or choke, are very dangerous, whose shoots with serpentine strands can easily crush thin tin pipes.
When selecting climbers to cover walls, pay attention to the length of their shoots. Self-adhesive species should be used where they have no chance of reaching sensitive parts of the building.
