A decent pressure treated bit of trellis is cheap and will last many years and I would think that by the time you'd need to replace it you could just trim everything back to wall height, put in new trellis and the mature climbers will smother it in no time.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Many of the plants that don't twine just need support at their early growth, so usually, the stems/branches are still quite light and adaptable. That means you can have a choice of trellis/supports. It's not necessary to have heavy wire, unless it's a really exposed site.The trellis/wires are just loose guides to help it stay in position and hopefully with time, they turn more stiffer and woodier as the plant matures.
Don't tie them tight, use a very loose figure of eight so there is plenty of air gaps to allow for foliage movement. Depending on the height, by the time the plant has its way up to the top of the wall, the lower parts of the shrub will have formed a permanent shape and need very little support longterm.
Zenpmd, I had a quick look at the RHS advice and I think they're explaining the 45cm gap is on the planting base. They're suggesting you plant your shrub/climber around 45cm from the edge of your wall or fence. This makes sense as it's allowing for a possible rain shadow. So, in theory, the taller your wall, the further out you should plant, and the 45cm is their maximum gap to the wall.
They then suggest your first wire or trellis base should start around 30cm upwards. Hope that makes sense.
Not sure what school you went to Pete - 45cm is 18 inches
I think Borderline has got the right answer to the 45cm 'gap'. Haven't looked at the RHS site myself, but perhaps it could be ambiguous. Always worth checking
The advice is usually to put trellis onto a couple of battens (usually the vertical sides) to give extra space for climbers to twine, but I find it makes no difference (certainly with plants which have finer growth) , because they won't readily wind round the timber. You still have to tie them in as they grow, which I think is better than letting them do their own thing. That way you get better coverage of the space too. I often use a wire lower down as well as trellis, as it's better than using canes etc, and again, means you can spread the stems out sideways as they grow.
Last edited: 14 June 2017 19:42:32
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
If you bear in mind that the trellis is about two inches thick, and if you put it onto a couple of battens - about an inch thick - yes, the face of the trellis would be about three inches away from the fence or wall it's on, the back of it will be about two inches away. The gap created will be an inch because of the design of the trellis. It's the plant that should be about 12 to 18 inches away from the fence or wall it's climbing up.
I don't often put the trellis onto battens, as I've already said - I prefer to simply tie in plants as they grow.
Don't overthink it - make sure the support's sturdy and secure, and the plant is appropriately planted and cared for. That's more important in the end
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
zen - here's a pic of some of mine - put in a few years ago. It's about fifteen inches above the raised bed on the right, and about a foot above the higher one to the left
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
A decent pressure treated bit of trellis is cheap and will last many years and I would think that by the time you'd need to replace it you could just trim everything back to wall height, put in new trellis and the mature climbers will smother it in no time.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Many of the plants that don't twine just need support at their early growth, so usually, the stems/branches are still quite light and adaptable. That means you can have a choice of trellis/supports. It's not necessary to have heavy wire, unless it's a really exposed site.The trellis/wires are just loose guides to help it stay in position and hopefully with time, they turn more stiffer and woodier as the plant matures.
Don't tie them tight, use a very loose figure of eight so there is plenty of air gaps to allow for foliage movement. Depending on the height, by the time the plant has its way up to the top of the wall, the lower parts of the shrub will have formed a permanent shape and need very little support longterm.
Last edited: 12 June 2017 18:03:05
Thats great, thanks. RHS says the trellis should be 45cm from the wall. That seems excessive! But is it correct?
Sounds about right - 9" If the trellis were flat against the wall, there'd be no room for stems and shoots to get behind the trellis
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Zenpmd, I had a quick look at the RHS advice and I think they're explaining the 45cm gap is on the planting base. They're suggesting you plant your shrub/climber around 45cm from the edge of your wall or fence. This makes sense as it's allowing for a possible rain shadow. So, in theory, the taller your wall, the further out you should plant, and the 45cm is their maximum gap to the wall.
They then suggest your first wire or trellis base should start around 30cm upwards. Hope that makes sense.
Not sure what school you went to Pete - 45cm is 18 inches
I think Borderline has got the right answer to the 45cm 'gap'. Haven't looked at the RHS site myself, but perhaps it could be ambiguous. Always worth checking
The advice is usually to put trellis onto a couple of battens (usually the vertical sides) to give extra space for climbers to twine, but I find it makes no difference (certainly with plants which have finer growth) , because they won't readily wind round the timber. You still have to tie them in as they grow, which I think is better than letting them do their own thing. That way you get better coverage of the space too. I often use a wire lower down as well as trellis, as it's better than using canes etc, and again, means you can spread the stems out sideways as they grow.
Last edited: 14 June 2017 19:42:32
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thanks. I understand. I will call them today to confirm. In that case, it sounds like a couple of inches will do it?
If you bear in mind that the trellis is about two inches thick, and if you put it onto a couple of battens - about an inch thick - yes, the face of the trellis would be about three inches away from the fence or wall it's on, the back of it will be about two inches away. The gap created will be an inch because of the design of the trellis. It's the plant that should be about 12 to 18 inches away from the fence or wall it's climbing up.
I don't often put the trellis onto battens, as I've already said - I prefer to simply tie in plants as they grow.
Don't overthink it - make sure the support's sturdy and secure, and the plant is appropriately planted and cared for. That's more important in the end
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
zen - here's a pic of some of mine - put in a few years ago. It's about fifteen inches above the raised bed on the right, and about a foot above the higher one to the left
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...