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Climber for Conifer
Hi, any suggestions for a flowering climber to grow up a conifer (not sure what type but the branches are quite upright and its quite narrow and about 7/8ft tall). Something spring/summer or repeat flowering and not too vigorous. Fast growing if possible. The area gets full sun morning / early afternoon. I'm not keen on the conifer but it would leave a big gap which I don't want.
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When the climber isn’t in flower which will probably be 10 months of the year, I think it looks a mess.
But it is bite the bullet and put something nicer in or at least you can try a little something then you will know if it drives you nuts or not
What kind of soil do you have and can you plant in reasonable soil, or a very big pot of something enriched? Bearing in mind that it would have to be reasonably stable or fixed so it won't fall over.
As long as the conifer in question is stiff and does not sway too much in the wind a pot might be the answer if you can't improve the soil a bit.
What kind of maintenance are you willing to do?
There are some smaller "patio" rose climbers and ramblers that repeat that might fit the bill, as your conifer is a short one.
"Summertime" is a yellow one that has not gone much over 6 ft in a pot here, though it has been a bit neglected. Also a bit thorny. but has a bud on right now and has flowered into winter here in past years. The label quoted seven to eight feet.
There are many others. Look online at rose growers under Container pot or patio roses.
Some annual climbers might be okay, the stems might be a little messy but would soon disappear, or you could tidy them. That would be a summer thing though not winter or spring.
Also some later viticella clematis are easy to manage as the stems can be cut in late autumn /winter, and most of those easily pull away to "tidy" the main dead bits, then can be cut back harder in spring. Any odd finer bits seem to melt away like fine straw over winter.
Group two clematis have many shorter cultivars, but they all need good feeding and water to do well.
Just a few suggestions to kick off.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I currently have Clematis 'Duchesse of Albany' at the base, with some training and support... here is a photo just taken so you can see the new shoots just appearing above ground... I cut it all down in November so the conifer looks nice for the winter..
Roses are ok too but I would recommend a thornless or low thorn one.. and good soil preparation is necessary..plus tying in as it grows of course.. sorry I don't have better photos than these rather paltry specimens... best of luck...