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Vigorous Evergreen climber wanted! Please advise :)

chrisf18458chrisf18458 Posts: 6
in Garden design
Hello, thank you for having me! I am an amateur gardener with little experience of gardening. I bought a home nearly 5 years ago and my home has a detached concrete garage which is dreadfully unappealing to the eye. 

As such, I'd like to plant two climbing evergreen plants on each side of the garage door, attempt to train them vertically up the sides of the door, and then train them horizontally across the top of the door.

I've decided on two kinds of plants, but I seem to be getting conflicting information as to whether they'll likely succeed.

The front of the garage faces North-East, and it receives sunshine from early hours in the summer through to noon. After this, the sun moves around of the back of our house and the garage is in shade. 

With this in mind, I've chosen Clematis (Armandii) or Star Jasmine. 

Furthermore, I'd like the plants to be potted if possible. I could potentially remove part of the driveway to plant them, but I'd like to avoid this if possible. 

I'm hoping for advice from the experience this forum will bring!

Thanks in advance, Chris.
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  • ViewAheadViewAhead Posts: 866
    Hi Chris ... and welcome.  🙂

    So, your climbers are going to get quite large if they are to camouflage your garage.  Because of this, they really will do better in the ground than in a pot.  
  • chrisf18458chrisf18458 Posts: 6
    Thank you :)

    OK, so even if I bought a couple of established plants pre-potted in large pots (say 30-40 cm width/deep), would they struggle to grow to how I envisage?

    Do you think my choice of plants is OK considering the location?
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    Clematis Armandii is a big beast and can easily get to 20ft so not really suited to a pot.

    Star jasmine is not quite so rampant but still large, may be more managable in a big pot. Both would need lots of watering.

    They should both survive in your conditions but it may depend on where you are in the country. 
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    I've always found the C armandii does best against a S facing wall.  If happy, they can grow to quite large plants but I have never grown in a container.
    Have you considered the large leafed variegated Ivy ( sorry can't think of the name offhand ) but like the Clematis, it would need some support and may well soon outgrow a container. 
    May help with other suggestions if you could give a rough idea of your location as that will also have a bearing on the choice of plants.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    30 to 40 cms is really very small.  Think about it.

    You want to cram the roots of an otherwise vigorous plant into a teeny space with minimal nutrients and moisture that will likely freeze in winter and overheat in summer and then expect them to perform well enough to support enough foliage to cover a garage.  It'd be like expecting a top athlete to win gold on a diet of one piece of toast a day.

    Much better to dig a decent planting hole, at least 60cms deep and wide and with no rubble or concrete in the base so what you do plant can get its roots down and seek the nutrients and moisture needed.  You'll also need to amend the soil with plenty of well rotted manure and garden compost before planting and then apply an organic mulch every autumn to keep up the nutrient levels plus a generous handful of slow release fertiliser every spring.

    I would not plant a clematis armandii.   They have a short flowering period and then are very dull all year and can get tatty in winter gales.   Star jasmine needs full sun to do well and is not reliably hardy below -5C in my experience.

    Think about something like a strong climbing rose such as Mme Alfred Carrière which you can train across tensioned wires or some attractive trellis panels on your garage wall. - https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/99741/rosa-madame-alfred-carri-re-(n)/details You'll get a longer flowering period, especially if you trains the stems as horizontally or diagonally as possible.

    Then you can add a few seasonally changing pots along the foot of the garage wall for extra interest - spring bulbs, evergreen shrubs with different flowering times - but do make them a decent size and use the correct compost/planting medium mix.


    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • ViewAheadViewAhead Posts: 866
    chrisf18458 said:
    Thank you :)

    OK, so even if I bought a couple of established plants pre-potted in large pots (say 30-40 cm width/deep), would they struggle to grow to how I envisage?


    The problem with climbers is, if they outgrow the pot, it is devilishly difficult to then put them in the ground due to all the heavy top growth that has settled in position.  You could make a little raised bed with a completely open base, so the roots can continue on downwards, but any raised section will need a lot of watering to prevent drying out, especially placed in the rain shadow by walls. 

    If you are in southern England, a passionflower might do the job.  As long as they get some sun and are pretty sheltered, they romp away, but can only cope down to about minus 5.  They are pretty vigorous, but easily cut back as needed.  The flowering season is long and followed by orange fruits if the weather is warm enough. 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    Star jasmine doesn't need full sun IMO. I've seen it growing successfully in dingy basement terraces and it does well on my N.E. facing fence. Agree re Clematis armandii, it tends to produce a jumble of foliage high up on the plant, with bare stems below. 

    If you can make a big planting hole that would be ideal, however climbers are often quite tolerant of poor soil, and rooting into a small planting pocket in hardcore will be better than in a pot, albeit they might grow a little slower. If you are struggling you could use a bottomless pot. 

    You might consider Solanum crispum 'Glasnevin', it's a bit coarse but very tolerant of poor soil and faster growing than the star jasmine. I think of it as a sun-lover but it will probably be OK if it gets a few hours in the morning, and will have its head in the sun when it reaches the top of the garage. 
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    As well as the container issue, Star jasmine isn't hardy everywhere, so your location is the biggest factor, as well as climate. It wouldn't manage at all here where I am. 
    It's not worth constantly trying to make something grow and thrive if you don't have the right conditions for it. Plants can sometimes do well against the odds, but it's better to choose things that are totally reliable when yoy're starting out, and experiment later on   :)

    If you can give your rough location @chrisf18458, that will help with accurate advice  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    A photo of your garage would help too @chrisf18458. There may be a better alternative than a climber which could potentially damage walls and footings if they are not in good order.
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • chrisf18458chrisf18458 Posts: 6
    Well, thank you all so much. A lot of food for thought.

    in terms of my location, I’m in Harrogate - North Yorkshire.

    the soil in my immediate area seems to be very claggy with lots of clay.

    The garage is a typical prefab concrete structure. It’s bombproof! 
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