Which of these flowering climbers should I plant?
July 7, 2015 2:18 PM Subscribe
I have an arbor that I'd like to have some climbing woody flowering vines or other plants on. I'm in hardiness zone 7a and the plants must be in containers. Jasmine, clematis, honeysuckle, climbing rose?
The arbor is roughly 8 feet deep, 10 feet wide, and 10 feet tall. The containers are tall and narrow aluminum boxes I made to fit our confined urban space.
The trellis has hops growing on it now which is kind of nice, but by mid-summer each of the past two years the hops have been beat up by the heat and sad-looking.
Ideally I'd like to plant something that is flowering, grows fairly quickly (I am prepared to prune), woody (so that once established, it quickly covers the arbor with growth instead of having to re-grow each spring), and fragrant.
My concerns are that the containers get very hot in the summer and cold in the winter, and are of limited volumetric capacity so the plants should tolerate variations in soil moisture.
I'm considering the following:
Jasmine (I like the sound of this one)
Clematis (for example)
European honeysuckle/woodbine (though I worry about the roots getting too hot)
maybe a climbing rose variety?
Also, I despise morning glory as a pesky weed in our nearby vegetable garden.
The arbor is roughly 8 feet deep, 10 feet wide, and 10 feet tall. The containers are tall and narrow aluminum boxes I made to fit our confined urban space.
The trellis has hops growing on it now which is kind of nice, but by mid-summer each of the past two years the hops have been beat up by the heat and sad-looking.
Ideally I'd like to plant something that is flowering, grows fairly quickly (I am prepared to prune), woody (so that once established, it quickly covers the arbor with growth instead of having to re-grow each spring), and fragrant.
My concerns are that the containers get very hot in the summer and cold in the winter, and are of limited volumetric capacity so the plants should tolerate variations in soil moisture.
I'm considering the following:
Jasmine (I like the sound of this one)
Clematis (for example)
European honeysuckle/woodbine (though I worry about the roots getting too hot)
maybe a climbing rose variety?
Also, I despise morning glory as a pesky weed in our nearby vegetable garden.
Best answer: How about Carolina Jessamine? It can handle heat and growing in containers well, including the drying out part, and looks lovely on an arbor.
posted by hydropsyche at 2:44 PM on July 7, 2015
posted by hydropsyche at 2:44 PM on July 7, 2015
Response by poster: The arbor gets good afternoon sunlight, but the sides are up close to the neighbors' walls so the lower sections of the arbor are shaded in the morning and evening. The top is essentially in full sun.
posted by exogenous at 3:08 PM on July 7, 2015
posted by exogenous at 3:08 PM on July 7, 2015
Best answer: It sounds like clematis will do fairly well in the sunlight situation that you have if you can keep the roots in shade -- they like sun up top and cool roots. However, most varieties that I know aren't particularly fast-growing, and a number of the ones I've tried in my local hot, humid 7b climate get a variety of diseases.
On climbing roses, I've heard non-rose people having good luck with Climbing Mister Lincoln. The fragrance (and also the thorns) are no joke. And it's pretty resistant to rose diseases.
Have you considered wisteria? It's a short season of bloom, but what a bloom when they're going! The Chinese kind is vigorous to the point of becoming invasive, especially it gets enough water. However, there is a lovely (non-fragrant) variety that's native to the SE US and that isn't quite so in-the-face.
posted by joyceanmachine at 3:39 PM on July 7, 2015
On climbing roses, I've heard non-rose people having good luck with Climbing Mister Lincoln. The fragrance (and also the thorns) are no joke. And it's pretty resistant to rose diseases.
Have you considered wisteria? It's a short season of bloom, but what a bloom when they're going! The Chinese kind is vigorous to the point of becoming invasive, especially it gets enough water. However, there is a lovely (non-fragrant) variety that's native to the SE US and that isn't quite so in-the-face.
posted by joyceanmachine at 3:39 PM on July 7, 2015
Best answer: Clematis would be a lovely choice -- some of them bloom twice, and some are more fragrant than others. Can you paint the aluminum containers white? It would help reflect light keeping the soil inside cooler.
posted by missmary6 at 4:04 PM on July 7, 2015
posted by missmary6 at 4:04 PM on July 7, 2015
How about hops? Some varieties are practically unstoppable.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 6:25 PM on July 7, 2015
posted by ZenMasterThis at 6:25 PM on July 7, 2015
Response by poster: I've got Cascades hops in there now (which grow like weeds) but last year they were in really sad shape by the end of summer. This year they're doing a little better (I thinned out the overly planted rhizomes and improved the soil) but are still struggling to fill in the arbor after a strong start earlier. The south-facing backyards in our rowhouses here get really hot which I think is part of the problem.
posted by exogenous at 7:47 PM on July 7, 2015
posted by exogenous at 7:47 PM on July 7, 2015
Best answer: Creeping fig won't have flowers, but it's a bulletproof plant.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:09 PM on July 7, 2015
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:09 PM on July 7, 2015
Best answer: I've never had much luck with Clematis in pots--the flowers are beautiful, but I only get a few blooms each year.
I'm also learning the lesson of pesky Morning glory, after foolishly planting it a few years ago. I planted red honeysuckle and Carolina Jessamine late last fall, and both are growing pretty fast, but no blooms, yet. One thing I didn't know when I planted it, is that the Carolina Jessamine is toxic to honeybees. I was assured by a beekeeper that I shouldn't feel guilty--my one plant is not a big deal, but if I had known, I wouldn't have chosen it.
posted by feste at 11:12 AM on July 8, 2015
I'm also learning the lesson of pesky Morning glory, after foolishly planting it a few years ago. I planted red honeysuckle and Carolina Jessamine late last fall, and both are growing pretty fast, but no blooms, yet. One thing I didn't know when I planted it, is that the Carolina Jessamine is toxic to honeybees. I was assured by a beekeeper that I shouldn't feel guilty--my one plant is not a big deal, but if I had known, I wouldn't have chosen it.
posted by feste at 11:12 AM on July 8, 2015
The poisonous to honeybees thing appears to be an urban (rural?) legend without data to support it. Honeybees don't seem to like it particularly, which was likely the source of the legend, but lots of butterflies and other bees do, including bumblebees, which can't fit inside of the flowers so they eat their way through from the outside. Carolina Jessamine is totally poisonous to vertebrates (all parts contain strychnine), though, so it may not be appropriate in a yard with small children or pets.
posted by hydropsyche at 1:21 PM on July 8, 2015
posted by hydropsyche at 1:21 PM on July 8, 2015
Best answer: At work we let clematis grow on our roses - this extends the bloom season.
Clematis I've really enjoyed in the past year tend toward the ones that have small blooms.
Clematis Rooguchi is awfully nice and has down facing dark purple bells.
Clematis montana 'Mayleen' is a nice spring blooming, dark foliaged clematis.
On the showier side of clematis, is C. sieboldii.
I'm not a big rose person, so I'll leave that part to others to advise.
I do like Schizophragama hydrangeoides, but there's no fragrance.
Another fun vine is cardinal climber - which has great foliage and red red red flowers. This is an annual and I don't remember having problems with it getting feisty like morning glories (in the same family). Also not fragrant (so far as I remember).
If you end up lured by the idea of a trumpet vine, Campsis grandiflora 'Morning Calm' is really excellent with huge happy orange flowers. (ours is blooming right now and it is just so happy-making)
posted by sciencegeek at 1:42 PM on July 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Clematis I've really enjoyed in the past year tend toward the ones that have small blooms.
Clematis Rooguchi is awfully nice and has down facing dark purple bells.
Clematis montana 'Mayleen' is a nice spring blooming, dark foliaged clematis.
On the showier side of clematis, is C. sieboldii.
I'm not a big rose person, so I'll leave that part to others to advise.
I do like Schizophragama hydrangeoides, but there's no fragrance.
Another fun vine is cardinal climber - which has great foliage and red red red flowers. This is an annual and I don't remember having problems with it getting feisty like morning glories (in the same family). Also not fragrant (so far as I remember).
If you end up lured by the idea of a trumpet vine, Campsis grandiflora 'Morning Calm' is really excellent with huge happy orange flowers. (ours is blooming right now and it is just so happy-making)
posted by sciencegeek at 1:42 PM on July 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by cecic at 2:33 PM on July 7, 2015