This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Covering a Railing
Hi All,
My balcony has a fairly ugly railing around it. I disguise it here and there with plants, but what I thought might be nice would be to grow some sort of climber twined through it, to soften the shape a bit. I'd need something that is happy growing from a pot and then more or less horizontally for at least three or four metres, ideally more, and that wouldn't be too dense, as I want some light to get though. It's also a rented flat, so I don't want anything too hard to remove.
For reference, I already use climbers on the walls. I have a clematis and a honeysuckle and am going to replace my sadly deceased climbing rose and try a passion flower this year.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
0
Posts
Hi ommthree
Which way does the balcony face and how much sun does it get?
Also, how much weight can the balcony take - there are several climbers that are happy in a large pot of loam-based compost - but that would be very heavy.
Multi-purpose compost is lighter, but not as suitable for most plants long-term.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hi Dove!
Ah yes, it faces South West, but sun is a bit limited due to a hill and upstairs. The bit I'm looking at gets five or six hours of sun per day in summer, mainly in the afternoon. The balcony is extremely strong. I have no worries on that score.
Thanks!
You could try Eccremocarpus, providing you are not somewhere really cold. It grows easily from seed, has pretty ferny leaves and colourful flowers. I used to grow it in my cold greenhouse as summer shading, trained over netting pinned to the roof timbers, so I don't think it would mind growing horizontally. It does die back in winter which might be a problem, but grows quickly in spring and the growth is soft and can easily be cut back if necessary. You wouldn't be able to lean on it though as the stems would get damaged.
Or you could have an evergreen clematis such as Jingle Bells that would give you flowers in winter and then a green backdrop for your other flowers the rest of the year.
In another post Ommthree mentions living in Switzerland ... not sure how cold it gets where he/she is, but I've a feeling it might be a little chilly in the winter for Eccremocarpus
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Didn't know that! Probably would be unless they're in the Ticino! Mine was only just above freezing though, can get very cold here, but behaved like an herbaceaous perennial, growing from the base each year. Lots of things in pots might suffer unless well insulated though.
Thank you everyone!
Yes, I'm in Switzerland (sadly not Ticino) and it does get cold. That said, I've had a pretty good record with overwintering things in pots, with careful wrapping.