Climber for north facing corner.

[Susie]

I would like to get a climber for the north corner of my house. It is in a fairly sheltered position but I don't expect it to get a great deal of direct sunlight during the year.

I am sure you WABbers will be able to suggest some interesting climbers for me to choose from. Ideally I would like it to have a long flowering period, interesting foliage and provide nectar for insects.

And yes, I have already considered Ivy.

Many thanks,

Susie x

[svenrufus]

on the ivy issue, just a word of caution - we had ivy growing against garden and house walls and it took the render right off. hell of a job to put right, very expensive . don't know what kind of walls/render you have, but it can be quite destructive if left to it's own devices.

can't offer anything more constructive for your corner at the moment, will have a think about it though.

[Jennywrenny]

Thanks for starting this thread, Susie.

We are actually thinking of doing the same thing so it will be interesting to see the suggestions.

We have also thought of ivy - my dad has ivy on the side of his house and you should hear the noise that the sparrows make when they all get huddled together in there! He also has honeysuckle which smells nice and is still in flower (or was when he last mentioned it a couple of weeks ago).

We were also thinking of a climber that will fill out nicely and maybe hide one or two nest boxes too.

We'll keep an eye on this thread and will try to do a bit of investigating ourselves.

Jenny

[nightshade]

There are Pyracantha that will grow tall enough 12ft small white flowers
in June red or orange berries in the Autumn good for bees and birds semi
evergreen about 6 varieties or of course some of the cotoneasters

[buzfuz8149]

We have a Clematis Armandii it's hardy, mingled with honey suckle - you are met with not only a beautiful sight but the scent - well what can I say.

Carol.

[Seajay]

[quote=Susie;96518]I would like to get a climber for the north corner of my house. It is in a fairly sheltered position but I don't expect it to get a great deal of direct sunlight during the year.

How about a rose? Rosa Zepherin Drouhin (Climbing) is a beauty and grows very well on a sheltered, North facing wall. Lovely pink flowers in two main flushes (odd ones during year too) and can even have a flower in November! The scent is exquisite! My first one of the year I always give to my wife. It can be a little troubled by black spot or is in my garden but I just pick the leaves off as control and also greenfly on the new growth which I rub of with my fingers or let the Tits do it (I don't particularly like spraying). Highly recommended, a good doer, easy to control and no thorns!

[Susie]

Thanks for the warning, Svenrufus.

I am glad this thread is proving useful to more than just me, Jennywrenny.

Thank you for all your suggestions, WABbers, you've got some really interesting ones there.

I think I will do a combination of several suggestions and plant pyracantha underneath the front room windows and keep it clipped and on the northern corner plant both Seajay's rose AND either Buzfuz's clematis or honeysuckle to go with it.

Problem solved.

Many thanks!

[Gill Catton]

I was going to suggest hops, they prefwr full sun but will grow in the shade (just not as big which isn't actually that much a of a problem, only insects love them especially later in the season when the leaves get covered in a sticky honeydew type substance, plus you would get some hops............ 'Hic'.....!

[Gill Catton]

ahhhh scrap that, I have just read that although it will grow in shade, you'd only get hops in the sun.... boooooo

[wyevilla]

Another couple of suggestions - virginia creeper is excellant as a wall cover and you do get some fantastic autumn shades.

The other is passion flower which produces flowers and fruit in an otherwise very dark northeast corner where wall meets house. Although not a fantastic climber on its own, you can thread it in with honeysuckle, ivy and clematis to get a multilayered effect. It was behind this mixed wall covering that our wrens have nested over last 2 years.

[smartie]

Winter jasmine might be another good one to add to the mix. It doesn't mind the shade.

I'd second the warnings about ivy. We had some on our back wall and it did quite a bit of damage and was a devil to remove.

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

ahhhh scrap that, I have just read that although it will grow in shade, you'd only get hops in the sun.... boooooo

You also have to make sure you have a female plant for hops, as male + female flowers are on different plants! Obviously there'll have to be a male around somewhere for pollen.

[jennyb]

Originally Posted by nightshade

There are Pyracantha that will grow tall enough 12ft small white flowers
in June red or orange berries in the Autumn good for bees and birds semi
evergreen about 6 varieties or of course some of the cotoneasters

I agree about the pyracantha - we have one on our north facing wall and it really brightens up the autumn and winter with the bright orange berries.

Jenny

[Tursiops2]

Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris) does well and will flower on a north-facing wall. To encourage nesting birds, train the plant up trellis panels fixed to the wall on 10cm battens. Tuck one or two open-fronted nestboxes between the trellis and the wall for robins, wrens, blackbirds etc. This space between trellis and wall will also create somewhere for insects to hibernate.

NB. Climbers grown up walls or fences should be planted at least 18" out from the base of the structure to avoid being in the rain-shadow

Tursiops