How to Plant and Train Climbing Plants for Fast Growing Fairytale Garden Displays

Sprawling climbing plant displays littered with bright flowers are staple features of the many ornate cottage gardens we see on television. Despite being decorative and intricate in appearance, an impressive climbing plant stretching across a trellis or up the brickwork of a house isn’t tricky to achieve – why not give it a go?

We’re here to give you a helping hand on your journey towards that climbing plant display you have been yearning for.

Here at YouGarden, we offer a bountiful selection of climbing plants, from Wisteria and Passiflora, to Clematis, Sollya, and of course a range of climbing roses. Whether brightening up a drab or unsightly wall or fence or adding extra interest to an obelisk or support arch in your garden, these varieties can all be used to introduce a spark of nature to even smaller spaces.

When to Plant Climbing Roses and Plants

Pot-grown plants can be planted at any time of the year, unless ground conditions are frozen or waterlogged.

However, to give your climbing plants the best chance to survive and thrive, we recommend planting in spring or autumn, as these are the periods of the year when weather conditions are cool, and plants will find it easier to settle into a new setting.

Varieties of Climbing Plants Available to Buy

The first step is possibly the trickiest – deciding which beautiful variety to grow! Unfortunately, we aren’t able to make this choice much easier, as we think they are all fabulous, and each boast their own key advantages.

Take the classic Star Jasmine Trachelospermum for example, perfect for smothering those walls and fences in fragrant, pure-white, star-shaped flowers throughout the warm summer days. Star Jasmine is evergreen and hardy with rich purple winter foliage that evolves to deep green in the warmer seasons, acting as a bed for months of summer flowers.

Clematis are reliable climbers, with many varieties falling under the umbrella, such as the purple and lime green flowers of ‘Taiga’, and big dazzling, red-striped, purple blooms of ‘Mrs Thompson’.

Plus, how can we not talk about climbing roses? As quintessentially British as an afternoon cup of tea or a big red telephone box, the climbing rose is a garden delight, with rich green foliage that stretches many metres up a display, accented with a flurry of flowers with red, pink, white, or cream petals – to name just a few!

Check out our full range of Climbing Plants here, or our catalogue of Climbing Roses here.

How to Plant and Grow a Climbing Plant

When your potted climbing plant has arrived at your home and you are ready to plant, the first step is to prepare the ground and a planting hole. Aim for a hole that is roughly the same depth as the supplied nursery pot and just slightly wider, this will give ample room for the roots to settle. If your plant is going to climb up a wall, position the planting hole roughly 50cm from the base of the wall.

Using a fork, loosen the sides of the prepared hole and mix the soil removed with some organic matter, such as compost. Now, gently lower the plant, still potted, into the hole to ensure the surface soil is level with where it is in the pot. A cane can be placed across the surface to check the level.

Keep in mind though, large flowering Clematis, need to be planted in a deeper hole. Plant with the crown approximately 5-8cm deep, as this will encourage new shoots to grow from below ground level.

Carefully tease the plant out of its pot, loosening some of the roots if they appear overly busy, as this will help them to stretch out once in the ground. Lower the now exposed rootball into the hole, then fill in the surrounding space with the soil removed, softly firming down as you go. Give the plant a good water to help the soil to settle.

Add a good layer of mulch around the plant to finish, roughly 8cm deep, to retain moisture and deter any weeds from growing. Take care not to allow the mulch to touch the very base of the stem.

Many climbing plants will be supplied with a climbing cane already in the nursery pot. Try to keep this cane spaced similarly to how it is supplied, compared to the plant, leaning it gently towards for support, then tie the two together. Once the stems of the plant have reached the top of the cane, it is then ready to start climbing up a support, such as a wall-mounted trellis.

Caring for Climbing Roses and Plants

Despite your new climbing plant being in the ground and ready to grow, the work does not end there! Be sure to water it regularly, particularly through the first growing season. During prolonged hot and dry weather, watering may be needed as frequently as daily.

Once the shoots start to reach the height of a trellis, tie in the new shoots against the support to keep the display neat and tidy, while also encouraging fresh growth to go upwards! Regularly check the latest growth as any going astray can be damaged by strong or sudden gusts of wind. Tie them against the support using soft garden twine.

Try to space out the stems when you tie them, as this will create a widespread display far quicker than if the stems are kept too close together.

Refresh the mulch layer around the base of the plant on a yearly basis, by either adding a fresh layer in a similar position or removing and replacing the mulch you have already put down.