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Wall pyracantha
joe.shimmin
Posts: 214
in Plants
Hi,
I would like to grow this pyracantha up my wall so that it is about a foot thick and up against the wall. However, the branches seem to want to grow outwards mostly. What should I do?
I thought about cutting them back but worry that that might encourage more growth. So I could cut the sides back and hope that helps? Or do I need to put in wires and train the shoots that are coming out to the front by bending them so they go to the sides? Any advice would be appreciated.
I would like to grow this pyracantha up my wall so that it is about a foot thick and up against the wall. However, the branches seem to want to grow outwards mostly. What should I do?
I thought about cutting them back but worry that that might encourage more growth. So I could cut the sides back and hope that helps? Or do I need to put in wires and train the shoots that are coming out to the front by bending them so they go to the sides? Any advice would be appreciated.
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The same with ones growing above the window ledge. In my experience this encourages the plant to grow the way you want it to, but you do have to keep an eye on it and obviously if you cut back the whole thing too far you risk losing the berries.
I don't use wires on the pyracantha shrubs that l have against walls in the front garden, but others may do.
This is just my personal experience, others may say differently
Here's a lovely photo from York Gate Garden in Leeds, to show you what can be achieved with Pyracantha, although I appreciate this isn't what you are trying to do.
This one is 8 ft high, and 2 ft deep. It was a gawky, sprawling scab-ridden thing when we came here thirty years ago, barely flowered, so we trained it like this. It's been cut back very hard once since, to reduce the depth, and needs doing again really. It was tied to the wall somehow, I can't remember how, and if I sense a wobble on it I tie it back to the wall. There's a gap between the top and the guttering.
With hindsight I wish we'd replaced it with something else as it is cruelly thorny to work on, but the birds like to nest in it. Pied wagtails once nested on the top, but it's usually blackbirds or dunnocks. The dead leaves seem to stay underneath it forever so every so often I remove them (cyclamen hederifolium grow at the foot, and smaller- growing geraniums. )
The new growth at the top grows thicker so I use secateurs to do that (ouch!) and hedge trimmer on the rest.
It needs trimming three times a year. Not my favourite job!
If you are only letting it grow below window sill height then I doubt you'd need wires. The branches become quite rigid and it should be fine.
Maybe keep an eye on the watering this season and see how it does?
I wonder if putting more pots in front of it, if there's enough space, might keep the roots a bit cooler in summer?
Number 1:
Number 2:
I’ll take a bit more off the top of this one.
I’m going for the sort of thing that you have Woodgreen - that looks amazing! And I love the example from York Gate garden but I’m going simpler than that.
Thanks again.
Do you need access to those cables going through the wall? It might be best to try to protect them with some sort of trunking in case the pyracantha stems get behind them. Think about how you'd replace them if necessary. The thickening branches might damage them.
Also, as it looks as though the other shrub is going to grow higher, I would suggest some vine eyes and wires. Good stout vine eyes, so that you can tie the odd branch to the eyes themselves if need be.