Evergreen climber - not English ivy?
alabamanicole
16 years ago
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alabamanicole
16 years agoRelated Discussions
English Ivy Replacement?
Comments (10)Lady Banks rose does want to be VERY large, so would need a fair bit of pruning. It doesn't twine, so would need to be tied in to the trellis. But then, most anything that you want will need tieing in or training, to some degree, so it grows as you want, to cover the trellis. Carolina Jessamine would do, with pruning, since it wants to grow at least to 15 feet. It has scented yellow flowers in late winter/spring. If you combine an evergreen climber with another vine, you could extend the flowering season. You may run into problems, however, if they have different pruning needs. The native scarlet honeysuckle might combine nicely, as it flowers all summer, and has small red berries, but grows no more than 10-12'. With shade at the base of the trellis, one of the vining clematis might be very showy, but pick one that doesn't require much pruning. If you are willing to prune and train it, a pyracantha can be trained to grow over a trellis, as an espallier, and can be trained to be as closely or as widely spaced as you want it to be, even into a shape such as a heart, square or letters. You get flowers in summer and berries, in red, orange or yellow, through the winter. It does have thorns....See MoreEnglish Ivy (or other evergreen vine?) question
Comments (17)My climbing hydrangea was slow to establish and it does go totally naked in the winter, so no privacy factor there. Mine's on a 9' high solid timber retaining wall so has plenty of surface to grab onto, not sure how it would do on open, wrought iron lattice. Again, not sure about your zone - and too lazy to look it up! - what about five leaf akebia (aka chocolate vine)? It's semi-evergreen, grows very fast and is most talented at twining itself up and all over w/little guidance. I have one plant on each east and west walls of a wood fence (4' solid slat topped w/1' of lattice) - each plant now spans about 15-20 linear feet in each direction from the base. It has climbed up bird feeder supports so now they're in leafy grottos and I do have to watch that it doesn't hitchhike on to overhanging tree limbs - small maintenance price to pay for a great vine! If hardy in your zone, this might be worth a look....See MoreReplacement for english ivy covering concrete wall
Comments (3)They say miniature ivy cultivars are not invasive. They are slower growing. But Botann says they may revert to English Ivy. Euonymus fortunei is, I've heard, the only other evergreen that will grow up concrete walls. I've planted some Kewensis and it is much slower than the miniature ivies I have planted. After 2 years 7 months the Euonymus fortunei Kewensis is starting to grow up the MANY cottage stone retaining walls and become visible. Very pretty. Slow to establish but worth it. I have vinca minor and creeping jenny cascading down concrete walls with the ivies competing to grow up. Also have labrador violets going bonkers and seeding and sprouting everywhere, very pretty. Had a lot of little ground covers which have mostly died. The ivy is tough and resilient and can handle the slugs, squirrels, and thousands of birds. Have tried several cultivars of miniature ivies and really love them all. They do well in shade, sun, moist and dry areas, but seem to prefer ample water. I will be planting many more varieties. Some have spectacular color variations and interesting shapes. The vinca minor is ridiculously aggressive and invasive but easy to snip and control with pruning. Have some variegated which are nice. Flowers periwinkle and deep violet which exactly matches our house trim....See MoreAnyone successfully plant English Ivy?
Comments (8)Hi SimbaSue, I'm afraid I can't be any help when it comes to installing a sprinkler system. My knowledge is all aimed at the fun end of gardening, the PLANTS! I do know that underground sprinkler systems are VERY expensive, so are you sure you don't want to forgo that luxury for now? Also, I checked out the Irrigation Forum, and it looks to me like a lot of people have a lot of problems with their systems. There's a system in here at the house I bought last year, and I don't even use it in the back yard. I water by hand with sprinklers. I do use it in the front yard, but I turn it on manually only when I think it needs it. However you decide to water don't make the mistake a lot of people do and water for 10 minutes every couple days! That's the worst thing you can do for grass and almost everything else! When established, most plants will need about an inch of water a week. When you do water, water slowly and thoroughly. Water at least an inch (get a rain guage--they're cheap!). If you're watering a slope and it's running off (as it probably will do with our clay), turn off the water, wait 20 or 30 minutes and turn it back on and repeat until you've got an inch. What this does is waters the ROOTS, rather that just watering the FOLIAGE. Watering the foliage makes the humans happy---but not the plants! By watering deeply and not too often (once a week should be enough for established grass or perennials), as the surface of the soil dries, the roots grow deeper looking for the moisture that's still in the soil. This establishes large, healthy root systems which almost always means healthy, good looking plants above ground too. There are also a whole lot of Xeric perennials that will require very little supplemental watering after they are well established--usually after about the first year. Paulino's and Timberline have great Xeric Perennial sections. If you stop by Paulino's, be sure to ask for one of their perennial catalogs. It lists everything by Latin name only, but you can start to look up some of the Xeric ones in books and online and see what a great selection there is. If you want to get a really good basic perennial book (and Paulino's should carry them again this year), get the Heritage Perennials, Perennial Gardening Guide by John M. Valleau. It has lots of pictures and brief, simple descriptions with information that is unusually accurate for our high plains conditions. It's about $15. If you can't find it, ask John at the front desk for it! The reason I suggested the things I did is because of our current drought! Since you've got a blank slate to work with, if you start with a lot of xeric perennials (and consider the ornamental grasses too--they're great!), in a couple years you won't need to be using or spending a lot of money on water. For the things you want that aren't drought tolerant, group them together in beds that you'll water more frequently. If you mix the xeric and non-xeric, you'll need to water everything more! Since I'm sure you'll be putting grass in somewhere, you might want to put the non-xeric stuff near the grass areas where they can be watered along with the grass--how about a big perennial bed right in the middle of the grass?!! Don't be afraid to experiment! Half the fun of perennial gardening is the trial and error of it. Some things work--and some don't. There's always next summer! And there's always all winter to be looking at books and catalogs and planning and dreaming. I do definitely recommend using some kind of mulch around whatever you plant. I prefer small bark mulch around perennials, and I found you can get the big bags fairly cheaply at Lowes. If you prefer rock mulch, that works too (but it sure is a lot heavier to work with!). Whatever you use, you need something to help conserve the moisture and to keep the soil surface soft so the water soaks in rather than running off. And certainly don't be embarrased to be "50 and moving into your first house"!!! Just be glad that now you can "get down and dirty!" After all, some people live in apartments or condos their whole life. I'm considerably older than you, and the older I get, the more fun it is to learn new things! Oh, how I wish I had a lot as big as yours! Start looking in books and actually getting out to look at plants, and before long you'll want one or ten of each! A lot of things can be grown from seed, which can save you a lot of money, but it will take a lot longer to get a large plant. But you get to watch them while they're growing! I love to grow things from seed. It's incredible what you can get from a tiny, little seed! For this year at least you might want to consider putting in some annuals for color and to help that bare look you're going to have at a new house. Even just a few large planters or whisky barrels overflowing with annuals will help (and would be easy to water). I'm not a big annual person, but they are great for a lot of color. Have fun learning and deciding what you're gonna do, and happy gardening, Skybird...See Moresundog7
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