Hello, I hope I'm posting this on the right thread.
We live in Long Island, zone 7. We have a large cement wall that is away from our actual house (so I'm not worried about invasive species) that I'd like to cover with vines. The wall gets decent light throughout the day. The biggest challenge is that the soil is in a bed above the wall.
I'd appreciate any thoughts on what vines I can plant that will fall down the wall. Also, I am brand new to gardening, and to this house! Do I buy seeds, seedlings, plants, how best to get this going? The wall is about 12 feet high. Can I plant vines this time of year or do I need to wait until spring time?
Thank you so much
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BewilderedGreenyO.o
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A couple more suggestions would be..
Wisteria for some reason every single time I think of cascading vine this vine comes to mind. It is absolutely gorgeous but it gets pretty big and would most likely cover your whole wall and then some ;p
Or If you are looking for something with a lot of color and large blooms you could go with Clematis the variety in these is huge and they can also get pretty large.
Of course you will need to look these vines up individually and do a bit of research on them to be sure they would grow in the area you live
As I'm no expert but just wanted to give you a couple more options to look at
Oh and it depends if you want quick results whether or not you grow them from seed or from the store. What you may want to do is go to your local gardening center and take a look at what vines they have there, maybe the gardeners there can guide you in the right direction as far as what vine to put there.
Wisteria for some reason every single time I think of cascading vine this vine comes to mind. It is absolutely gorgeous but it gets pretty big and would most likely cover your whole wall and then some ;p
Or If you are looking for something with a lot of color and large blooms you could go with Clematis the variety in these is huge and they can also get pretty large.
Of course you will need to look these vines up individually and do a bit of research on them to be sure they would grow in the area you live
As I'm no expert but just wanted to give you a couple more options to look at Oh and it depends if you want quick results whether or not you grow them from seed or from the store. What you may want to do is go to your local gardening center and take a look at what vines they have there, maybe the gardeners there can guide you in the right direction as far as what vine to put there.
Thanks Marlin.Marlingardener wrote:Vines usually don't grow down, they grow up. If you can plant them at the base of the wall about one foot away from the wall, and attach wires or lattice to the wall so the vines can climb, that will work.
You said you weren't worried about "invasive species" but I think you mean you aren't worried about plants that spread and take up a large amount of room. Invasive species proliferate and take over space previously used by native plants, eventually eradicating the natives. Bad guys!
If you want to plant just one plant, get a (one, singular) Lady Banksia rose. One can easily cover 40' of wall in a few seasons. It blooms once in the spring, and is evergreen. Trumpet vine is also a possiblity, but get the yellow one, I believe it is called Galen, which is not invasive (meaning you won't be pulling vines out of your yard, driveway, and the neighbor's lawn). Virginia creeper is nice, but it attaches by little hair-like clingers, and eventually will pit, discolor, and erode your cement wall. My favorite vine of all time is Crossvine. It comes in tangerine or yellow, is not invasive, almost evergreen, blossoms heavily in the spring and off and on during the summer, and is a hummingbird magnet.
I'm sure others will have great suggestions also. Since it is so late in the season, you'll have all winter to research and decide what to put on your wall.
To clarify, the wall is in front of our house but not close to the house so I wouldn't mind if the species was invasive, meaning can do damage, as it's too far from our home to reach. Second, I should have said that we look at this ugly wall every day of the year, so I like your idea about Crossvine - it is indeed gorgeous (I just googled some pics).
The only question I have, is can I grow it so that it will cascade? Do you happen to know when I could plant this, will it survive ok in Zone 7. Finally, do I buy seeds or try to order some in planters?
thanks so much!
Thanks Bewildered, I love Clematis! Am very excited to get some going out here but this wall is very big so I'm thinking some vines will be better. Do you happen to know if Clematis will grow down, rather than up?BewilderedGreenyO.o wrote:A couple more suggestions would be..
Wisteria for some reason every single time I think of cascading vine this vine comes to mind. It is absolutely gorgeous but it gets pretty big and would most likely cover your whole wall and then some ;p
Or If you are looking for something with a lot of color and large blooms you could go with Clematis the variety in these is huge and they can also get pretty large.
Of course you will need to look these vines up individually and do a bit of research on them to be sure they would grow in the area you live
Oh and it depends if you want quick results whether or not you grow them from seed or from the store. What you may want to do is go to your local gardening center and take a look at what vines they have there, maybe the gardeners there can guide you in the right direction as far as what vine to put there.
We have lots of old wisteria on the property but they don't seem to flower. Is that because they haven't been taken care of? Anything I can do to help them along?
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lorax
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Vinca is another good choice - sort of viney looking, but with a trailing growth habit that makes it perfect for this sort of application. Vinca minor 'variegata' is a particularly pretty cultivar.
[img]https://farm2.static.flickr.com/1349/5102872953_121c4d2a79.jpg[/img]
However, since I'm such an edibles freak, I'd probably put in Actinidia (hardy Kiwis, like Kiwi 'Issai') - there are some really stunning ones out there, and you also benefit from tasty fruits. Hops are another intriguing bine (not true vines) that will do the dropping-down thing handily. These attract pollinators.
[img]https://farm2.static.flickr.com/1349/5102872953_121c4d2a79.jpg[/img]
However, since I'm such an edibles freak, I'd probably put in Actinidia (hardy Kiwis, like Kiwi 'Issai') - there are some really stunning ones out there, and you also benefit from tasty fruits. Hops are another intriguing bine (not true vines) that will do the dropping-down thing handily. These attract pollinators.
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microcollie
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I have found that most vines will grow downward if given no other direction to go. They will, however, take some training, as they're going to want to constantly change direction and go in their natural direction (toward the sun).
They're also going to need good support. If they can't gain purchase to the wall or some other structure, the weight of the plant itself will probably either pull the roots out or break the vines.
I have a trumpet vine that has grown up the side of an eight foot arbor, across the top, and down the other side. The downward side is doing fine, but needs help to keep it heading in the right direction.
They're also going to need good support. If they can't gain purchase to the wall or some other structure, the weight of the plant itself will probably either pull the roots out or break the vines.
I have a trumpet vine that has grown up the side of an eight foot arbor, across the top, and down the other side. The downward side is doing fine, but needs help to keep it heading in the right direction.