vertical ceanothus - how to train it to climb in tiny garden

I have a postage stamp of a garden. I bought a vertical ceanothus as I love it, but rather than buy a very bushy one (which I had in my previous garden). I bought a vertical one without thinking too much. I did not expect such quick growth in one season (now 4 feet) and I now want to train it to keep to the wall which it is just in front of (by 18 to 24 inches). I am not a gardener, know nothing about training or pruning. Please can you help (nontechnical jargon) about what to do. Can I simply tie it to fence (bending it in the process) and hoping it will correct it's vertical growth - or what? It is Ceanothus Pugets Blue

 

Morning medindexer

I like Pudget Blue.....along with Concha it is a favourite.

A picture would help to show its shape but it would make a good wall plant and will enjoy the extra warmth esp over winter.

Pruning and shaping is not complicated. Yes, gently incline it towards the wall....is it a fence or a wall?.....and loosely tie it in using soft string. I would prune back the growing tip lightly to encourage lower shoots....you could do that now. Aim to spread lateral branches wide and low and tie them in. Dont worry if they arent apparent yet; they will be next year. In spring and early summer continue to bend towards the wall and to lower branches and tie in. During the summer these branches will be more pliable and aim for well spaced attractive fans.

Check ties every year to ensure they are not constricting the plant but in time you can remove all of them

After flowering prune the flowered stems back to fresh buds.

Nothing too technical really. Enjoy your plant

 

I've tied mine to a stick in the hope that it will grow straight.

G.

 

Thank you for your replies. I enclose a photo. It's about a foot from the gray brock wall and 18" from the fence. What do you mean by prune back the the growing tip lightly? I can see one central stem (woody) with one tip, and lots of other branches below.
The longest side-branches seem not quite long enough to tie-in
(I presume tie in mean tie gently to fence supports. Do please presume I am a dummy. My last garden I did all the slashing and burning and mowing and weeding - nothing about growing (my ex did that). Thanks

 

The pot is a little small medindexer......can you plant it in the garden soil there? Ceanothus are not really pot plants...they have vigorous spreading roots to support a fast growing system.

The photo clarifies it now. I had envisioned a plant like Jack Sparrow has in his picture above. Yours is a much more bushy plant so simply incline slightly towards the fence and tie in the stems lightly. A couple of galvanised wires on the fence would be ideal to tie into.

You dont want to prune too heavily at any stage.....after flowering remove flowered stems and any stems growing away from the fence and into it. Really, you want to aim for branches as flat to the fence as possible......you can more easily do this during the growing season.