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Climbing Flowers in Clay Soils
Hi everyone,
I have a few questions regarding climbing flowers in clay soils and I'm hoping to get some feedback from this community.
Some background for context:
I have 2 raised flower beds (brick) in my garden that are ~1m apart. They are either side of a few steps that go down to the lower part of the garden (not a big level difference) and the beds are ~1m x 0.5m each.
I have purchased a steel arch to embed into each bed which will then arch over the top of the steps.
My intention is to incorporate climbing flowers on either side that grows and travels along the arch.
However for various reasons I'm very wary of which plants to go for here.
The soil is noticeably clay heavy and I've had 2 young lavenders die in them. I thought it was because lavender does not like to sit in waterlogged soil. Interestingly though, marigolds and 3/4 other varieties of flowers had no problem whatsoever growing in these same clay soils. I put lots of different seeds and small plants in and they thrived all summer long.
Around spring/summer, I've been adding some compost/coco coir/sand to help break the soil down and improve its drainage properties.
Then after some reading it seems I should just go for plants/flowers that are suitable for clay soils to save the time and effort of improving the soil which is a slow process in any case.
I came across this page on the RHS site: https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/for-places/clay-soils
Under Climbers & Wall Shrubs, there are some climbing flower suggestions. I am open to choosing any however these are my questions/observations:
- My arch is only a few metres tall; therefore I don't think I need a variety that has a massive ultimate height/width (10m/5m etc). Is my thinking right or wrong for this?
- The ultimate height/timeframe on RHS for all of these suggests that once these climbing flowers are planted they will grow back every year. Is this the case?
- I am hoping to plant something this spring so that it blooms in the summer. That's obviously a quick turnaround which I've seen is possible for climbing flowers in normal soil; but is there a way to tell whether any of the linked flowers would grow this quickly? The time to ultimate height can be several years or more. Does that mean choosing a taller plant variety will reach 2m height quicker?
- Is it unrealistic to expect the arch to be covered in just a few months? Or is it more common to fill the sides and then every year it slowly covers the whole arch?
- I have issues with foxes digging up flower beds (less of an issue once a plant is getting established, more of an issue if I put seeds in directly); would growing some of these indoors and then transplanting be a problem?
- Is it common or unusual to have 2 different varieties on either side of the arch? Or is it better sticking to one plant for the entirety of the arch?
Ultimately I do not mind which flower it is. Anything with a nice colour that smells nice as you walk under it would be good enough for me, particularly due to the constraints I have.
Unlike other hobbies I have, gardening is more tricky because I could take a stab at it and find the answers to my questions above the hard way but I'd potentially waste a year by doing so! Hence I thought I would get some advice here.
I'd appreciate any feedback on how I can do this successfully.
Thanks!
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Posts
https://www.classicroses.co.uk/roses/climbing-roses/repeat_flowering-5_feet_to_10_feet_1_5m_to_3m-fragrant_1.html
https://www.classicroses.co.uk/roses/rambler-repeat_flowering-fragrant_1-very_fragrant.html
https://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/collections/ideal-for-arches
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
Viticella would be my choice too, or Clematis Bill Mackenzie. All climbers need to form a good strong root system before starting to climb. I would buy plants of a good size. Tiny whips in 9cm pots will either be eaten by slugs or take years to grow to a flowering size.
Often sold but too small to plant directly into the ground.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I'm sure I read recently that you were looking forward to having Acteas @GardenerSuze, because you didn't have the right conditions for them before. I couldn't get my head round that because if it was too wet for clematis, it should be perfect for Acteas.
Amending the soil well, before putting plants in will pay dividends @parypv63005. With clematis, they're often acquired as small plants, rather than mature two or three year old ones, so bear that in mind if you get any from supermarkets or diy stores etc , as they'll benefit from being grown on , and potted on, for another year before planting out
Bone meal, or Blood, Fish and Bone, is often used on planting woodier climbers or shrubs, but if you have foxes getting in, it's better to avoid that. Organic matter, plenty of it, is better, and will suit all climbers, as well as improving the soil. Other feeding may be needed later, depending on the plants you choose. Just be aware that many of the small flowered, early clematis don't like the richer, wetter conditions that the later, larger flowered ones like.
There's a huge range of colours, shapes and sizes of clems and roses, so take your time choosing, so that the end result is what you like. C. Etoile Violette and C. Rouge Cardinal cope with heavier, wetter soil no problem though.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Type 3 clematis are good with roses as you cut back to near ground level in winter, and this also allows you to get to the roses to prune them.
The early ones I have in raised beds are either in among big shrubs, and right against the fence or wall, or they're in very small beds, where there's very little chance of excess water getting in. C. alpina Constance is a good example of that. The bed is around a foot in height, and a few feet long, but only about 6 inches in depth. I can't grow the koreanas for love nor money, even in the best sites I can give them, and even in containers some are quite difficult and can easily get too wet. Even the later, larger ones that are in the ground are among shrubs etc, and I have to be sure the soil and drainage is decent enough.
That's just how it is, and I'm used to it, although I still experiment now and again.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...