Can you help me plant some climbers ?!

[notabingthing]

I’ve gone and bought some wisteria, clematis and climbing roses (new dawn) and I had no idea where to start… I’m not very green fingered but we’ve recently moved into our new home with a huge garden already full of mature shrubs etc but I really love climbing plants ! The garden faces west if that’s relevant.
Firstly, do I put the climbers in pots or the ground ?!

Ground if at all possible. Climbing roses in particular often need big, tall containers, and a lot of watering. You say your garden faces west, but which way do the walls or fences you would be growing the climbers on face? And you should make sure you’ve got supports in place for them to grow up, unless they’re self-supporting climbers.

The ground is always better. What are you going to grow them up? The wisteria will need to be against a wall or a very sturdy metal frame.

I normally go with putting in horizontal wires and then tying the plant onto the wires and checking and retying once or twice a year.

They will also need pruning once or twice a year once they have grown bigger. you might get away with not bothering with the clematis.

You might want to ask for this to be moved to the gardening section. There will be more folks on there who can help

Definitely in the ground. Dont worry if you dont get many flowers in the first two seasons. Many climber need a long time to establish a strong root system to support growth.

So we’ve got a paddock fence at the bottom of the garden and I was hoping to plant them along that so they climb the fence and pretty it up, it faces west. Only problem is though there is no flowers beds there… is that an issue ?! Can I just plant them anyway?

Is it grass at the moment?

How big are the plants at the moment and what variety are they’. The more vigorous the l climber the larger root space they require. Clematis usually do well in pots but won’t be a vigorous as those planted in the ground.

Yes, covered in rotten apples from the tree 😳

I’m still waiting for them to arrive but I’ll add some pictures of what I’ve bought

These

Those are both thugs. Beautiful but will need to be kept in check. Whats your fence like? They could pull it over.

Do be prepared for your wisteria not to flower. It’s always best to buy one that has buds on it as some never flower. But look out for how to prune it in winter and summer to encourage flowers. Have you check how much sunlight the areas get. If you have bought full sun plants they will need alot
of sun.

Dig the grass up to make some beds to plant them in.

Also yes. A sturdy frame as someone else says. The wisteria always looks like it has small stems when young. But they grow really big and need something firmly fixed to grow on.

Also check what ur doing with the clematis. They love their faces in the sun but there roots shaded. I have plant three in my time and they have died within a few years. Must be my soil. But my wisterias have grown really quickly.

Long term neither of those are really fence climbers, more wall/building climbers. In a fight with the fence the fence will lose!
Honestly I think I'd try and re-think. Can they go on the house or is there a garden wall? I think your fence needs something gentler and less potentially brutal. Sorry...

Wisteria may not flower for several years. It needs sun to flower well. It also grows seriously thick and heavy stems over time so if the fence is not super strong, there’s a risk it destroys the fence. It is usually seen on walls…

The clematis will be less high maintenance although will grow fast. I think a fence would probably stand up ok if it’s sturdy.

What’s the style of the fence? Neither of these climbers have suckers so they do need something they can twine around. An overlapping type fence won’t work, you’d need to add some wires or trellis.

Would it grow up an apple tree ?! I’ve got two massive ones 50+ years old

In the ground. Also think about getting evergreens - e.g. Pandora Jasminoides which flowers from about August to January - it's brilliant. And I got several different clematis that flower at different times of the year so the colour carried on.

I would grow the clematis up the apple tree. New Dawn is more rambling than climbing,we have one over an arch. Our garden is divided into "rooms" with arches..I love the idea of roses climbing up apple trees,you need to make sure you have an area clear of grass around them.. wisteria is in a pot, pergola on the patio, picked a dwarf variety.i also have a rose rambler Banksii pale yellow scented, repeat flowering,up another arch..

This is the kind of fence I’m on about, exactly the same style but definitely not as strong and new as that 😆

Rambling Rector white very scented rose,tiny flowers, fabulous up an apple tree.

We found this in an old shed, which I went to paint and use for one of the climbers, could it work ?

That clematis is Montana which flowers in May. when it finishes flowering cut it right back to the base shoots. If you don’t weather proof the steps they are likely to rot.

You're going to have to string wire up the uprights and along the horizontals to train anything you're growing on it on.

I have been gardening for 60 years and buy lots of plants from reputable nurseries. If you are looking to ccver an area quickly and cheaply, I find Aldi, Lidl , £1shops and B&m bargains excellent. Look for a good root system rather than the top of the plants. They will be coming into the shops over the next three months.