Climbing hydrangea - how small could I keep it?

[theyellowjumper]

I really want a climbing hydrangea, but I know they grow huge. Realistically could I keep one pruned small enough to fit a fence about 10 feet wide and 6 feet tall?

Yes you can keep them pruned to that size. They do respond to pruning by growing more!
I keep mine restricted, but it does mean that I’m sometimes cutting shoots off in the summer, sadly.

Mine has shot up since I got rid of the ivy which was outcompeting it, I should have a hack. I wonder if trying to prune its roots would inhibit it? Maybe the OP could grow it in a container, would that work?

How quickly do they grow? I have a similar size fence and have earmarked a climbing hydrangea for it. Wilko has a very young one for £3 and I’m wondering how many I would need to cover a 10 feet wide fence in a few years.

Thanks Beebumble2 that sounds great. I was worried it would just look odd & unbalanced if I over-pruned it. I used to have a huge rambling rose on a small wall and it wasn't at all happy being constantly cut down to size, so I didn't want to make the same mistake again. I'm happy to prune a lot as long as the plant is happy too.

Errol I really want to plant it in the ground, but interesting to hear about the ivy as we have a lot of that too, so maybe it will keep the hydrangea in check a bit.

WellTidy according to the RHS they can grow 12+ metres high and 4-8 metres wide, so I'm only planning to get one plant.