How to Plant Climbing Plants

Climbing plants can provide some of the most stunning aspects of your landscaping. Bare walls and fences can be quickly beautified and transformed by planting fast-growing vines alongside them and providing supports for the plants to grow on. Here's how to plant climbers to add beauty and fragrance to your home.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Select your location. For planting next to a solid wall, the plants and soil you use will depend on the way your wall faces. A north-facing wall will require plants that can thrive in damp soil and a lack of sunshine. Growing conditions on west-facing walls are preferable, and you can successfully plant a variety of climbers against them.

2. Choose your plants. If you want a fast grower, Russian vine can grow up to 16 feet in one season. Clematis Montana is one of the easiest to grow of all the clematis. Honeysuckle is fragrant, hardy and a vigorous grower.

3. Attach a support to the wall. The wire fencing material that you use should be 12 inches from the surface of the soil, and 2 inches out from the wall. It should be as wide and tall as the area that you want your climber to cover.

4. Dig a hole. The hole should be 18 inches from the wall. Use a garden fork to loosen the soil at the base of the hole, and then add soil mix.

5. Position the plant in the hole. After soaking the root ball thoroughly, place it in the hole and point it at a 45 degree angle toward the wall. Spread the root system out away from the wall.

6. Cover the roots. Fill in the hole around the roots, gently firming down the soil around them. Make sure that there are no air pockets around the roots, and level the surface to ground level.

7. Support the stems. Choose 4 or 5 strong shoots to spread out and tie to the lowest wire of your support framework. Each one should be supported with its own stake, pointing at the angle that the shoot is tied. Each stake should also be tied to the framework.

8. Trim away unused stems. Any stem that is weak or damaged should not be used, and can be trimmed away with pruners. Excess stems should also be removed. This will encourage vigorous growth of the tied stems.

9. Water thoroughly. Soak the soil surrounding the plant thoroughly, and then mulch the area to retain moisture and keep weeds down. The need for fertilizer will depend on the plant you have chosen.