I need a fail-safe, foolproof climber - any suggestions?

[IHeartKingThistle]

It's to climb a pillar to the side of my front door which has trellis up it.

It sits in a flower bed but the bit just under the pillar is quite shallow due to the foundations for the pillar. I can dig down a foot maybe but that's it. It's sunny there in the afternoon.

Tried more than one clematis. They died. Tried a pyracantha which also promptly died, and I thought they grew anywhere! One year I did manage to keep some sweet peas alive there but I was hoping for something that lasts a bit longer; they were nice though. When I tried them again the following year the snails got them.

Any suggestions?

In such shallow soil your own option really is annual climbers.

Friends have had success with a hardenbergia in shallow soil.

russian vine or honeysuckle?

I’ve got ivy and honeysuckle growing out of concrete

I'm waging war against ivy and honeysuckle. They have both caused damage and are a nightmare to get rid of. Hardy though and don't give a fig about concrete.

Honeysuckle or jasmine, I have both and they’re thriving against a shitty garden wall in crap soil filled with builders rubble from the extension we had years ago.

Ooh thanks! Only just got rid of the Russian vine from the back fence so not keen to reinstall that. Jasmine gives me a headache but I do like honeysuckle, maybe that would be ok if I kept an eye on it. Is it not poisonous? Will google the other suggestions x

My hydrangea doesn't need a lot. My mums wisteria is in a large pot, but is gargantuan. Like a tree trunk.

Honeysuckle will be fine, get an evergreen one.

What do you think about a passion flower?

Did you try a clematis Montana? They’re pretty robust IME (I had one in a pot for years & it always came back - bottom part was all stalk but top part fell down & covered up nicely.

It only died when I had to chop it up to move it - would still be going strong otherwise

Or have a look at solanum? Very vigorous but if well-supported should do fine

I have a Passion Flower that goes mad every year in a very shallow bed.

Virginia creeper

Blimey desdemona! Does it die right back in the winter?

The whole house was covered in Virginia creeper when we moved in but we had to cut it down when we extended. It was only pretty a few weeks of the year though .

Desdemona's passion flower roots might have broken out of the shallow bed into the surrounding ground.

I have this acer which is more than 25 years old, & as you can see is also in a shallow bed! The soil around it is solid with fine roots but I think to survive like this the main roots have gone a lot further so it’s possible the right plant could do the same for you, OP

How about buying a large plastic pot and cutting the bottom off. The roots will be strong by the time they reach down to soil below.

What a beautiful tree lap dance.

I like the pot idea, might try that. I'd really like something evergreen, was so convinced the pyracantha would be fine!

Whatever you use, don't be tempted to get a big plant. Start with a small one and give it an occasional feed and water until it gets established.

The big pot with the bottom cut off is a good idea to increase the amount of soil. I would also dig some compost into the shallow soil to increase the water retention.

Once it is acclimatised to the conditions it is more likely to survive, if you just take a mollycoddled garden centre plant, then shove it in and leave it, it will be too much of a shock.

Honeysuckle is probably a good choice. They have a tendency to be too vigorous, so a tough spot will merely slow it down a bit, and that's probably a good thing. My neighbour has one by his front door that can't be in more than a few centimetres of soil, it is in full sun and I have never seen him water it.

If it is under an overhang it may not get any rain at all. I have some agaves and succulents under the overhang of my house, but nothing else will survive there without being regularly watered. Don't think the rain will blow in, it may not. Even my Agave struggles some years.

Honeysuckle - I have a shallow bed and mine has taken off in only two years

I have an absolutely rampant honeysuckle in about 3inches of very mediocre soil. It's evergreen so covers the miles of grey wall all year and we get lots of lovely bumble bees when the summer comes.

Honeysuckle isn't poisonous and is foolproof.

Have you tried a light pink Montana clematis? You do need to cover the roots well and I always put croc down over the soil around the bottom stems/roots too as they really do like them protected. Ours have always coped in pretty ropey conditions.