Climbers

Growing climbers

Apart from clematis, there exists a large group of climbing vines worth popularising. Climbers take up little space in the garden all the while giving a spectacular display owing to the mass of greenery they produce: Silvervine Fleeceflower (Fallopia), Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia), Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus), Trumpet Creeper (Campsis), Vitis, Parthenocissus, Monks Hood Vine (Ampelopsis), Actinidia, beautiful flowers: Wisteria, Trumpet Creeper (Campsis), Honeysuckle (Lonicera) and ornamental fruit: Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus), Nightshade (Solanum), Ampelopsis, as well as edible fruit: Actinidia, Magnolia Vine (Schisandra) and Akebia. The majority of climbers climb by twining spirally round the support, while others, owing to the presence aerial rootlets e.g. Ivies (Hedera), Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris), Trumpet Vine (Campsis), Japanese Hydrangea Vine (Schizophragma hydrangeoides) and Wintercreeper Euonymus (Euonymus fortunei), or adhesive tendril tips, e.g. Japanese Creeper (Parthenocissus), are self-clinging and can scale a flat wall, without added support.

Climbers are particularly useful for covering outer walls of buildings. Apart from their decorative aspect, they also act as insulation during winter, and retain a pleasant coolness inside the house during hot summer days. They also help keep the walls dry by shielding them from the rain, and draining excess water away from the foundations. Creepers are best suited to this end, but you can equally well use ivies or Trumpet Vine, or any other climber on condition that a suitable support is provided.

Climbers can cover unsightly buildings, sheds, warehouses, rubbish sheds, etc. hiding them quickly from view. If you want to have the effect in just one year, you should try Silvervine Fleeceflower (Fallopia aubertii), Hop (Humulus), on clematis belonging to the Tangutica Group e.g. 'Bill MacKenzie' or ‘Lambton Park’ or alternatively, Clematis'Paul Farges' of the Vitalba Group. If you can wait 2-3 years, you can use any climbing vine described in this section.

Climbers can grow up various kinds of fences (np. siatki) (e.g. wire meshes). They will not only provide decoration, but will also screen us from nosy people's eyes and protect us against winter and dust. The following plants are excellent for this purpose: Common Ivy (Hedera helix), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera acuminata), clematis of the Atragene Group (especially 'Pamela Jackman'), the Tangutica Group (especially 'Lambton Park'), the Viticella Group (especially 'Etoile Violette' and 'Polish Spirit') and the Vitalba Group (especially 'Paul Farges'), Monks Hood Vine (Ampelopsis aconitifolia), Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) and Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata).

The majority of climbers don’t require any special soil conditions, but since they produce a large mass of greenery, they don’t like very dry and poor soils. Heat-loving species, such as actinidias (Actinidia), wisterias (Wisteria) and trumpet creepers (Campsis), prefer warm, sheltered and sunny sites, while Common Ivy (Hedera), Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris), Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia), Schizophragma (Schizophragma), Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei), Akebia (Akebia), Hop (Humulus) and some honeysuckles (Lonicera) will feel better in a cooler, shaded and moist site.

When planting climbers dig a hole of 50x50x50 cm and fill it with fertile soil. Depending on the species, put the plant 0-10 cm deeper than it used to grow in a pot, at least 30-50 cm away from the wall and 50-100 cm away from the trees. Well chosen and correctly planted climbers can grow for many years, decorating your garden all year round and providing excellent shelter for birds.

If you look for a robust, summer-flowering climber to plant in a sunny spot, trumpet creeper called also cow itch vine or hummingbird vine is definitely worth your interest. Campsis is a woody vine of the the Bignoniaceae – Trumpet Creeper family.

Campsisradicans - trumpet creeper

It is native to northern America and was brought to Europe in 17^th century. It's very vigorous and attains the height of 6-10 m, climbing by means of aerial roots and slightly windy stems.

Campsis radicans 'Gabor' - photo Sz. Marczynski

Campsis radicans - an old, matured stem - photo Sz. Marczynski

Campsis radicans 'Gabor' - photo Sz. Marczynski

Young shoots are green and turn pale brown when they get woody. The stems that are more than one year old are covered with pale brown, peeling bark. Old specimens can have even as many as over a dozen centimetres in diameter at the base.

Trumpet creepers start late its growing season in spring, which works to their advantage as it reduces the risk of damage caused by frost. At the end of May they start growing very vigorously to form a thick greenery in early July. The leaves are opposite, pinnately compound, and reach up to 40 cm in length.

'Campsis radicans 'Gabor' - fruit - photo Sz. Marczynski

They are composed of 7-11 coarsely toothed leaflets, 3-10 cm long. Leaves are green in spring and summer, then, in autumn, turn yellow and fall.

The main attraction of the plant are its flared trumpet flowers that, depending on the variety, can be orange, red or yellow. They reach 6-10 cm in length and 3-5 cm across. The flowers appear from July to September in clusters of 4-12 blossoms at the tips of this year’s horizontal shoots. The fruits are long (10-20 cm) pods, which split open when ripe releasing winged seed. Since the fruits are not very attractive it's best to remove them as soon as they are set. This will also enhance longer and more prolific flowering- till the end of autumn. In the USA trumpet creeper is recommended to all hummingbird lovers, as these small birds are fond of its nectar and will fly in to the plant from the entire region.

Campsis radicans 'Flava' - photo Sz. Marczynski

Campsis radicans - photo Sz. Marczynski

ph art0505 campsis radicans ursynow blok

Campsis radicans 'Ursynów'
growing on a wall of a block of flats - photo Sz. Marczynski

Once it’s taken root and formed a sturdy base, which takes about 2-3 years, it will tolerate drying soil and seasonal changes in soil salinity and moisture levels.

Campsis radicans 'Ursynów' - on a wall - photo Sz. Marczynski

The plants obtained by vegetative reproduction normally start blooming in the 2^nd-3^rdyear after planting. When grown from seeds, the plants will take longer, even up to 5-8 years, to start flowering.

It's best to plant denoted varieties of trumpet creeper, so that you know what to expect.
I especially recommend:

'Flamenco'- large, intensely red flowers from July to September
'Flava'- yellow flowers in July-August. Less robust than the rest of the cultivars. It starts flowering 1-2 years later than the rest of trumpet creepers.
'Gabor' - dark red flowers, borne abundantly and for a long time, from July to September. Selected in Hungary by the professor Gabor Schmidt, it was named by Szczepan Marczynski and introduced to the market in 2004.

Campsis radicans 'Flamenco' - photo Sz. Marczynski

'Judy' - striking yellow flowers, the inside of the trumpet is orange. It flowers from July to September. The cultivar was selected in the USA.
'Ursynów' - vividly orange flowers borne in profusion from July to September, large leaves. It starts blooming already in the 1st-2nd year after planting. Quite frost hardy. Selected in the Warsaw district Ursynów by Szczepan Marczynski and introduced to the market in 1997.

Campsis x tagliabuana

A hybrid species resulted from a cross between Campsis grandiflora and Campsis radicans. It’s less vigorous than Campsis radicans, attains the height of 4 m (1-2 m of new growth a year), but its flowers are more attractive, bigger and have more flared coronas. It has similar soil requirements, pruning method and applications to Campsis radicans. Although less frost hardy than Campsis radicans, it will grow and flower almost everywhere in Poland. 'Mme Galen' – large, salmon-pink-red flowers. It starts flowering very profusely in the 2nd-3rd year after planting.

Campsis radicans - support for a young plant - photo Sz. Marczynski

Requirements

Trumpet creeper is quite undemanding when it comes to soil conditions but it requires a lot of heat and light. It grows and flowers best in full sun and in well drained soil that is moderately rich, neutral, slightly acid or slightly alkaline (pH 5,5 - 7,5). The stems can freeze during harsh winters, but in spring new shoots sprout from the base of the plant, and quickly cover the supports. I've seen flowering specimens of Trumpet creeper even in Suwalki region, which is the polish cold pole. Trumpet creeper is disease and pest resistant: there are no specific diseases or pests that affect the plant. In certain conditions it may be prone to the powdery mildew attack (white coating on the upper side of the leaves), as well as to aphids and spiders.

Application

Trumpet creepers are best suited for covering walls, but you can also grow them over a fence, a pergola, an arbour or any other kind of support. It may also climb up a tree trunk as long as it is in full sun. It will bloom very abundantly when grown over a small building and over a roof that faces south, as roofs store up well the solar heat.

Campsis radicans - pruning - photo Sz. Marczynski

Trumpet creepercan also be used in sunny urban open spaces. It can efficiently mask unsightly constructions, creating screens, covering noise barriers, piles of stones, concrete constructions. Suitable for land rehabilitation.

Maintenance

During the first two years after planting, until it’s has spread out and strengthened, it's good to provide a support and, in winter, to protect the base of the plant against the cold. Straight after planting, all shoots should be cut at about 15 cm from the ground to encourage branching. Train the new, strong shoots to the sides and tie to the wiring or poles so that they cover the desired space. Weak shoots should be removed. After creating a robust frame, every year trim young shoots above the 2^nd-3^rd node (a pair of buds) over the leading shoot. Side shoots that are weak or damaged should be either removed or only one bud should be left.

ph art0505 campsis radicans korzenie czepne

Campsis radicans - adventitious roots- photo Sz. Marczynski

Basic pruning is best carried out in spring - late March or early April. In summer, if necessary, you should thin out all the excessive growth. Hard pruning hinders growth and encourages flowering. What’s more, after a few years of such pruning you can get a flowering plant with stems so thick that they won’t need any support.

Trumpet creeper produces root suckers, especially if it's hard pruned or when the root system has been damaged, so you must control the spreading of the plant to the sides. You should only choose plants propagated from stem cuttings (with their own root system), and not propagated by grafting, producing "wild" root suckers from the base.

All the parts of the plant are slightly toxic and its juice can cause skin irritation in people allergic to it. The pollen may also cause an allergic response.