A beautiful plant cover
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Actinidia ‘Arctic Beauty’ is a hardy kiwi with beautiful foliage. Although sterile, it can nevertheless be used to pollinate female plants that will produce delicious fruit in late summer.
Some myths die hard. Climbing plants will not damage the walls of your home. Obviously, if the brick joints are in a state of disrepair, you would be better off making the necessary repairs. In reality, climbing plants are a benefit for your home and the environment, explains Anne-Marie Bernier in the document Climbing plants, a refreshing solutionpublished by the Montreal Urban Ecology Centre. The publication dates back to 2011, but remains more relevant than ever, particularly because of our increasingly hot summers. In addition to their undeniable aesthetic value, climbing plants will protect your walls from bad weather and the sun. While those that can climb walls are few in number, several species also offer us a host of interesting variations due to their fragrant and colourful flowers or even, in the case of the kiwi, their ability to produce an abundance of delicious little fruits. All you need is a support to indulge in their favourite sport: mountaineering.
Consult the document by Anne-Marie Bernier
Most popular
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Climbing honeysuckle produces pretty trumpet-shaped flowers of varying colors depending on the variety.
Virginia creeper, Boston ivy : Widespread in the wild, Virginia creeper excels at climbing walls thanks to small suction cups. Very hardy, sun or partial shade, the foliage turns purple in autumn and produces blue fruits that birds love. Its cousin Boston ivy also turns red in autumn, but is more fragile.
Hop : twining, very easy to grow, but rather invasive if not controlled. Flowers form decorative cones. Requires a trellis. Can reach over 7 m in a single summer. Several cultivars available for beer making. The aerial part of the plant dies in the fall.
Glycine : produces large clusters of deliciously fragrant, sweet-smelling flowers in spring and sometimes during summer. Very twining. Requires a trellis or pergola to establish itself.
Kiwi : very voluble, easy to grow in the sun on a pergola, the hardy kiwi produces small, deliciously scented flowers in spring and fruits the size of a large cherry in late summer with a taste identical to that of kiwis sold at the grocery store. Some cultivars are self-fertile, but it is better to plant male and female plants side by side. The foliage of the male cultivar “Arctic Beauty” is magnificent.
Climbing honeysuckle : twining plant, grows on trellises, long flowering, abundant tubular flowers in various colors depending on the variety, fragrant at the end of the day. Rapid growth.
Clematis : there are dozens of varieties of clematis with flowers that are more spectacular than the others. They climb trellises and can reach 3 or 4 m in height if given the opportunity.
Visit the Québec-horticole website
Incompatibility with conifers
PHOTO PIERRE MCCANN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
A climbing plant that invades a conifer can be very damaging to the conifer, which may then permanently lose the needles covered by the leaves of the invader.
The motto of the Virginia creeper? Always higher. It is that the Parthenocissus quinquefolia loves to practice mountaineering. Over time, it will be able to cling to the highest branches of trees, always looking for light. It will eventually climb 15 or 20 m. While deciduous trees accommodate squatters quite well, this is not the case for conifers. In fact, any proximity can be very damaging to your spruces, firs, thujas and other conifers. While the pretty purple color of the vine during the fall attracts attention, the entire part of the conifer covered by the leaves of the vine will lose its needles permanently more or less quickly, sometimes in a few months. Deprived of light, the needles (which are only modified leaves) will die and will not renew themselves, which risks considerably affecting the elegance of your tree. We also do not install a climber on a trellis located two steps from a conifer, such as a thuja, for the same reason. He would be offended!
Attention! Beetles in sight
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
An essential ingredient in beer, hops are also very decorative climbers due to their pretty female cones. They grow very quickly, but are sometimes attacked by the Japanese beetle.
The Japanese beetle enjoys the leaves and flowers of 300 to 400 species of plants. Unfortunately, Virginia creeper is often at the top of the menu. But Boston ivy, hops and even wisteria are not immune either. Usually, it is mainly the upper part that is damaged and only the veins of the leaves remain after the insect has passed. In the case of wisteria, flowering fortunately occurs well before the monster arrives in July. On the other hand, at my place, the few flowers that often appear in midsummer are quickly devoured along with part of the foliage. While the aesthetic effect of the beetle can sometimes demoralize us, the damage does not harm the plant much.