Need help selecting a climber

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and have tried searching for an answer to my question, but couldn't find anything. I'm looking to plant a climber against a south facing wall that will climb and cover the wall and hopefully make it look better than bare brick. However, I have a concern with the amount of soil I can plant in. If I dig down there is only about 20cm of soil before I hit the house foundations. I had a California Lilac growing in the same spot and it fell over in the wind, I think because the roots could not go deep enough.

Does anybody know of anything that I can plant in this amount of soil that will climb okay and not blow over in the wind? The roots can spread out about 3 metres horizontally, they just can't go very deep.

Thanks

Simon

 

Hello,

Thanks for the reply. The area I have where I can plant the climber extends out from the wall about 60cms, then there is a concrete path. I don't think the area in which it can grow is too bad, its just the depth I'm concerned about.

Simon

 

Hi Simon,

I've got a pasiflora on a south-west facing wall which was already there when we moved in. It's planted right next to the wall, and doesn't have much room at all but it is rampant! We cut it right back every spring and it just comes back with vigour. Winter temperatures of up to -10ºc don't seem to bother it. It's obviously not evergreen, I don't know if that's what you want. I think the rule about climbers liking their roots in some shade is pretty much true for all of them, so you might want to put some rocks, or other plants around the bottom whatever you decide to plant.
Good luck!

 

Whatever you plant, I think you will need to "train the roots"; a few years ago I planted two climbers in shallow soil. I did the usual breaking up of the roots from the pot before planting but I must have done a better job with the one than the other. One of the plants is still thriving and has spread over the wall as I'd hoped, the other was very "wobbly" and eventually I dug it up and moved it and discovered that the root system was spiralling and almost still in the shape of the original pot. Since then, anything I plant near a wall I give the plant a really good soaking of the roots and spend time spreading the roots really carefully and widely along the ground. I haven't had a wobbly plant since.

 

WELCOME TO GC SIMON

Sorry i carnt help you in this matter but your in the right place to get all the help & Advice you will ever need