The life of green walls

autor: Jordan Karakolev, Landscaping Architect
A garden without climbers is hard to imagine. They are unsurpassed in their excellent qualities to add a touch of exotic flavour or romanticism to an open space, to make a green nook look even cozier or scramble over an unsightly wall or fence. The huge array of climbers includes plants of all sorts of botanical families that have nothing in common. There are annual and perennial plants, shrubs and small trees, warmth lovers and hardy ones. The common feature among them is the peculiar type of their stems, which cannot stand straight up on their own without a support of some kind.
Climbers are grouped in several major types depending on the way they affix themselves to a surface.
Twining plants use a thickening at the end of their tendrils or special aerated tiny roots. These plants do not need any other support, but a vertical surface. This could be a brick wall, stone masonry or other brittle plane. Coming in contact with such a surface, the plants grasp it and can reach impressive heights. Climbing lianas are deciduous perennial plants that grow rather fast and do not need much special care.The most popular ones in this group are the English ivy (Hedera), the Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus) and the cape honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis).
The twining lianas scramble over the support they have reached while they grow. They need thin vertical or slanting supports such as wooden or metal lattice, pergolas or trellises. If the stems do not reach a support, they remain on the ground and shrink, slowing down their growth. These include the Clematis, Vistaria, some sorts of Lonicera and Phaseolus, the Cypress vine (Ipomea), the bindweed (Convolvulus), the Black-Eyed Susan or Orange Clock (Thunbergia), the California Lilac (Calistegia) and many more.

The climbers affix themselves to the substrate with small roots (tendrils), which are modified stems, leaves or leaf stems. They grasp strongly any surface they get hold of. Among theses climbers are the Clematis, the Ampelopsis and the Lathyrus, the Kobaea and others.

The leaning climbers are sometimes called semi-climbers, because they do not affix themselves to the supporting surface but only lean on it. These plants have long elastic but week shoots that cannot stand straight on their own and need to lean. If you deprive them of their support, they become ground-creepers or common bushes. The most popular of these are the rose, the raspberry and the cassis.

Vertical landscaping is very functional especially when it comes to decorating small areas, as it takes almost no space. Such green walls are an excellent example of garden adornment and give the feeling of rich luscious foliage. Climbers and creepers are suitable for any landscaping design and therefore are among the most favourite tools of landscaping architects. Twining plants scramble very well any defects in a wall, cover an unsightly industrial building, disguise fences and barren walls in a perfect way. Supports for these plants can be a huge array of garden elements – arches, pergolas, trellises, pavilions, and pillars, any lighting devises, etc.

Annual climbers make the right impression in a short period of time. Every year they can be used for arranging beautiful settings, combining the plants in a different way. Most of the annual plants have rich scented flowers and beautiful large leaves. Some of them also have interesting fruits. Usually these plants would love a lot of light. Fast-growing types are the Kobaea, the Cucurbita, the Ipomea, and the Lathyrus.

Climbers can be very useful as well. Green fences can be very good windscreens and protect you from the sun and curious eyes. The lower the dust and noise levels. They are an additional hurdle for the blowing winds and thus the gusts are felt softer. Furthermore, some of them have tasty and healthy fruits.

The idea that climbers destroy facades is simply wrong as vertical landscaping can damage a wall only if the choice of plants is wrong. Problems usually occur when unsuitable plants are grown and not enough care and maintenance are provided.

Therefore, picking the right climbing plant for a wall is a very important choice. On the one hand, plants prolong the life of a building by protecting facades from sharp temperature fluctuations and the changes of air humidity throughout the day.

If the outside wall is covered with thermal insulation or a facing material, it should be additionally strengthen, as it may not endure the weight of the climber. It should also be kept in mind that taking a climbing plant off a façade is not a simple task and there may well be some marks left that are not easy to fix.

Perennial climbers can grow for 20-25 years and produce a huge crown. Because of their fast growth rate, sometimes there may be problems with gutters or snow on the roof that cannot drop easily, stopped by the intertwined twigs. For this reason, growth should be monitored and the plant trimmed early every spring. Some types of plants can be aggressing enough to penetrate wooden elements of joinery for instance, which may eventually lead to their destruction.
Here are some simple rules to follow when growing climbers:

– The choice of the right plant is very important, depending on its purpose (temporary or permanent) and the place you intend to plant it (sunny or shady)
– Most climbers prefer fertile low-acid soil and a sunny, wind-protected place to grow
– Never plant a climber too close to the wall or the fence. Very often due to draining systems used in the underground, the soil right next to a wall is very dry.
– The supporting surface should be strong enough to withhold the plant in windy weather or when  heavy with snow.
–  Climbers and creepers will be most beautiful if trimmed correctly when very young.
For annual plants, it is the timely trimming (cutting off the plant’s tip, usually of the top couple of leaves), due to which the plant becomes fuller with rich blossoms and covers a maximum area.

For the perennial plants, it is of crucial importance to cut and trim them in due time. In order to keep the plant blossoming, the dried blossoms should be picked and the dying leaves and twigs as well.

And always remember that for a more audacious design the best thing to do is to seek an expert’s opinion.

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