Can I ask you about Russian vines please?

[Flightattendant4]

I planted one a few months ago at the front of our flat - to try and get a bit of window cover and make it look nicer as it's an old neglected building.

I planted it into the earth under the tarmac (did a bit of vandalism to the drive!) and although the top layer was very sandy, lower down just seemed like earth.

the place gets a lot of rainwater, full sun half the day - it thrived for about 2 months but now it just seems kind of droopy and hasn't had any new leaves for a few weeks - the flowers have also fallen off.

Now can anyone tell me, is this just a thick question (autumn - plants are supposed to do this!) or should it be a bit more lively all year really?

I would hate for it to die

Thanks

My Russian vine was deciduous.
It was far too vigorous though - threatened to take over the world. Got rid of it in the end.

There may be deciduous and evergreen varieties though?

They are very hardy plants. But yes they are deciduous and do look dead in winter.

They do look depressing in winter. Where I am from, the name given to it was "Mile a Minute" so do be prepared for it to shoot up in the spring!

And keep a close eye on the tarmac next year - if the roots and stem get very thick, you may find the tarmac starts to crack!

I would personally hope it dies and find something that isn't bent on world domination! They are very very invasive. Beleive me.

Lol Orm!

Thankyou everyone. I feel better now...

I know it's a bugger of a plant but that's exactly why I got it - we have a ground floor flat, and huge front windows onto an unedifyingly nasty driveway filled with other people's cars right outside our bedroom window. The whole front of the house is depressingly mucky and old and unpainted, despite the inside (our flat anyway!) being lovely, so I wanted something to put green between us and the outside world iyswim. I hope it will do so - but am a bit sad if it's going to look ghastly in winter!

maybe I need another fast growing, evergreen thing instead - any ideas? I don't want to have to cut back as it's going to get huge hopefully! Whatever it is...

Virginia creeper is another fast grower and looks lovely in winter when the leaves turn red.

Have you got window boxes? Window boxes filled with bulbs, pansies or cyclamen, ivy and small shrubs (euonymus, skimmia, hebe etc) would give you some colour outside your bedroom window and a little bit more privacy.

Thanks, I will look into Virginia creeper...that would be nicer really.

The sills slope so no boxes - not to say I couldn't attach brackets and have them anyway. It'd look nice, but takes a bit of faffing to make sure they look nice - no?

Have got hanging baskets by door, which is at the side so nobody sees them from the front.

Window boxes aren't that much of a faff if you plant (say) some small shrubs in them which can stay there all year round and then just top up with seasonal stuff. Some bulbs (such as narcissus) last for several years in tubs and window boxes but others (like tulips) probably would need to be replaced every year.

Is there space outside your window for a large tub or trough? The larger the tub, the easier it is to do some permanent planting of taller plants for privacy (and the less likely that it would be nicked, if that is an issue in your area). Some of gardening catalogues offer tubs with attached trellis like this one (although I have seen bigger ones) which would give you additional privacy, but would maybe cost you some light.

Thankyou Bocca, that's really helpful. There is spme space, but I was originally going to put a tub there and nothing was big enough, everything I saw would have looked tiny and out of scale with the house. It's one of these massive, spreading old Georgian mansions with a bay window that's about 10ft high and 10 ft wide. I think I'll stick with the planting and then maybe some boxes on brackets. I hadn't thought of that before, thanks

I like those wooden troughs - might try and come up with a bigger version if I can find something.

You're welcome! That was the first trough with trellis I spotted but I'm sure I've seen some which are even more substantial.

Actually that same website seems to have some big ones, very good prices!

I'll just go and measure the front, see what it would look like.

I would agree, and get rid of the Russian Vine.
We inherited one in our front garden and it had grown about 50 ft tall, all through the Sycamore tree which it was choking and the roots had spread everywhere.
Evergreen clematis armandii is much nicer, with good looking leaves and lovely scented white flowers in spring. It is quite fast growing too and is ok in sun and shade as long as the roots are shaded.
Also think window boxes are a good way to create some greenery/privacy. You could use eg ivy and winter pansies which are both easy and non demanding in terms of watering/aspect.

Thankyou Panna, I like that Clematis too.
I am off to nursery tomorrow - I love it there, always buy too much!
Will ask them for a rapid climber that is evergreen and doesn't mind it being a bit wet.

Mind you I think landlord is coming to dig up that bit over the weekend as the stopcocks are leaking, so might not plant it till it's all finished!

I'll let you know what we come back with...