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Which tall perennials work best in a tight space ?

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  • tlchimeratlchimera Posts: 51
    Ah got it! Thank you! ♥️
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    The geum looks really good.

    Most tall things will lean away from the fence, unfortunately... Verbena certainly will. Agapanthus might be interesting; the flowers will loom away from the fence but that's OK, that's what they do. Verbascum chaixii might be worth considering. Calamagrostis Karl Foerster would stay nice and upright but I think it would feel wrong to push it so close against the fence.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    ooo a giant mullein could be amazing.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Hollyhocks?
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • Loxley said:
    The geum looks really good.

    Most tall things will lean away from the fence, unfortunately... Verbena certainly will. Agapanthus might be interesting; the flowers will loom away from the fence but that's OK, that's what they do. Verbascum chaixii might be worth considering. Calamagrostis Karl Foerster would stay nice and upright but I think it would feel wrong to push it so close against the fence.
    Thanks
    We liked the Guem which was there a lot but probably a wrong place .The Fire opal leaves were quite heavy for the space. 
    We have plenty of Verbena and Agapanthus in other parts of the garden .Verbascum looks liked a great option and looking them up now :)
    Any idea though on the mullein caterpillars , are they easy to get rid of ? I took me a 2 years to get rid of the ones in the box ball next to the where the guems were ...

  • FoxwillowFoxwillow Posts: 50
    Some things that spring to mind as being tallish and thinnish and I’ve left to be self supporting, albeit in a wider border:

    Crocosmia Lucifer or Paniculata
    Rudbeckia Maxima (leaves will spill onto the paving)
    Libertia Grandiflora gets to about a metre tall
    Dierama - there are very tall ones but they might prefer a bit more space
    Cephalaria Gigantea
    Cirsium Rivulare

    Have you discounted climbers with short plants?  I used to have a Humulus Lupulus Aureus which would get to the top of a 6ft fence easily every year once it had settled in.  It was perennial so easy to do maintenance over winter if necessary.



  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    Most perennials tend to expand from the rootbase, making them ideal for dividing and increasing stocks.  That space looks very tight for any perennial to survive happily for more than a couple of seasons.  I'd be tempted to grow sweet peas in that bed - you can grow then as single stemmed cordons, encouraging straight tall stems without too much foliage and lots of attractive, scented flowers.  It's a bit late to sow sweet peas now but you can buy small plugs or young plants online and in garden centres.  You''ll get lots of bee visitors too! 
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    I agree with others who suggest it is far too narrow to grow many perennials, I would go for annuals.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I guess it depends what's happening on the other side of the fence. Maybe the roots can expand under the patio and under next door. I've seen verbena bon. do fine in a space that small. Worth a shot, I'd say. See what happens.
  • Foxwillow said:
    Some things that spring to mind as being tallish and thinnish and I’ve left to be self supporting, albeit in a wider border:

    Crocosmia Lucifer or Paniculata
    Rudbeckia Maxima (leaves will spill onto the paving)
    Libertia Grandiflora gets to about a metre tall
    Dierama - there are very tall ones but they might prefer a bit more space
    Cephalaria Gigantea
    Cirsium Rivulare

    Have you discounted climbers with short plants?  I used to have a Humulus Lupulus Aureus which would get to the top of a 6ft fence easily every year once it had settled in.  It was perennial so easy to do maintenance over winter if necessary.

    Thanks for the excellent suggestions . Cirsium and Rudbeckia would work . I think crocosmia would need a another year to settle and may need more space for the clump to form and I have them in another part of the garden . 
     Yes discounting climbers for now . 


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