Climbers & Scramblers

My good friend Jackie was wondering about some vertical plants. One of my favorites are Clematis with their with different bloom times and many colors. They can take awhile to get going, so I suggest trying to start w/at least a 1/2 gallon size. There used to be a poem about their growth; "the first year they sleep, the 2nd yr. they creep, and the 3rd year they leap." They like 'cool' feet, so planting perennials at their base is a good idea. NOT annuals, as you don't want to be digging into the clematis root system every year. By selecting different bloom times, and growing 2 or more entwined together you can get double duty out of your trellis, which you will need of course. Often times when plants are small, you may need to secure twine from the trellis to the plant to get it started. Bamboo sticks or small branches can be used as well to guide them to the trellis. There are other vines like bittersweet, with their orange fall pods. Not very attractive in the summer, and can be 25ft. when mature, so need a very sturdy structure. They will also invade your shingles if too close to your house, beware! Bittersweet plants are dioceous, meaning....they are either male or female plants. So the trick is, you need to get one of each to have pods produced. Engleman Ivy is one of my favorites for a nice green vine with beautiful fall color. Very few Wisterias are hardy here, always make sure they are for zone 4 or 3. I had the Wisteria variety 'Aunt Dee' survive 3 or 4 winters, but not the tornado. The vine that resembles grape vines that you see scrambling everywhere and up telephone poles is 'Virginia Creeper.' It has a real red fall color, but can be invasive. I am growing 'Porcelin Vine' in my field. It survived the first winter. It has a mottled/varigated foliage of green and white, with very cool berries. Plan to cut the stem for bouquets. I tried climbing hydrangeas one year, but they died out. That may have been a location issue. I'll do a separate entry on roses, lotsa info to share on them.