Covering a wall.

[robmarston]

Hi all. Can anyone recommend a good evergreen wall covering that does not damage like ivy and has no thorns? I want to cover a few walls and don't mind trimming and pruning. I'm currently thinking evergreen cotoneaster but not sure how densely it will cover, how high it will grow or if roots under the building might be a problem. All suggestions appreciated 😀


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[george356]

Russian Vine - but plant only if you can contain it somehow

Fallopia baldschuanica, aka Russian vine, aka mile-a-minute, is a devil of a climber. Traditionally people have lobbed one into the ground when they want to rapidly obliterate a view of an ugly shed or border fence. Only when it's too late - this plant being virtually unkillable - do people realise what they've unleashed. I've spotted huge ribbons of it - some 50m long - festooning back gardens on my train journey into London. It's a relative of Japanese knotweed, so it's easy to see why it's so tough and virulent.

Wisteria
RHS Plant Selector Wisteria sinensis / RHS Gardening

Chinese wisteria
Family

Papilionaceae

Wisteria are vigorous woody climbers with twining stems bearing pinnate leaves and long pendulous racemes of fragrant pea-like flowers in spring and early summer

W. sinensis is a large deciduous climber with twining stems, dark green, pinnate leaves and drooping racemes to 30cm in length, of fragrant, mauve or lilac-coloured flowers opening before the leaves
Other common names

Chinese kidney bean

Suppliers

Also, see this link
RHS Plant Selector Results / RHS Gardening

Lots of options, depending on your situation.

Edit - oh, by the way, Welcome

[WendyC]

Euonymus will grow as a wall shrub if planted against a wall. You can clip it quite closely. There are different varieties ranging from all green to yellow and green variegation or white and green variegation.

[bearded bloke]

Or maybe you could do alternating plantings of summer & winter jasmine,continual green stems & foliage with yellow flowers showing in the appropriate season

[Glutton4...]

Ivy is really only detrimental to the structure of the wall if left untended. If the leaves are trimmed off with a hedge trimmer, every year once established, the plant puts it effort into growing more leaves instead of roots.

[chris]

I'd severely advise against Russian vine ... You can't contain it- it's unbelievable!


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[Glutton4...]

Virginia Creeper is attractive, as is Boston Ivy, and both are easy to hack back and add to your compost!

Personally, for year-round appeal, I'd stick with a variegated Ivy, and a set of hedge trimmers.

Feel free to ignore me, though!

[rhonsal]

If you have supports (wires or trellis) then you could consider an evergreen clematis - I have on called "freckles" that grows quickly and is flowering now so gives some winter interest and colour.

[robmarston]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I actually have wisteria on one wall, a cotoneaster on half another, along with a flowering quince on the other half. I have Virginia creeper growing up the garden fence (I'm rather greedy and want everything!) The only wall left is the front of the house and I'd like something evergreen so it always looks good on approach. My partner likes ivy, but I'm dead against it, although the information here may make me reconsider. I'm certainly going to look into Euonymus as that's more my style. I like clematis, and know freckles I have considered it but I have quite a few clematis in the garden already! I think I'm going to like it here, and thanks for all the ideas.

[Glutton4...]

D'oh! Don't know why I didn't think of Clematis - you could have a mixture of different colours and flowering times. Or Clematis and climbing Roses. Fab!

I know what you mean about being 'greedy' I had dozens of climbers in my old garden.

[Martin H]

Which direction does the front of the house face?

If it's north then my favourite would be the climbing hydrangea, H. petiolaris. It clings in the same way Ivy does but it has lovely lacecap flowers too.

Like Ivy it won't damage sound brickwork if you keep it under control and trim it back after flowering.

[Vince G]

Kiwi plants, big leaves, nice flowers and a bit of fruit. Needs a trellis though.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Pub...mber/kiwiExtra

[Bill HH]

Cotoneasters can cover an entire house up to the roof, they need to be attached to the wall occasionaly or they fall away. They are evergreen and have a wonderful display of berries. Slow growing which means less trimming but a longer wait to reach the height you want.
Ivy doesnt seem to harm my walls, in fact in some places it is the only thing holding the wall together. There are some stunning varigated varieties.
Wysteria and clematis need more manegment, both can slip into your roof space before you realise it and lift tiles up etc. But Wysteria is so beautiful it is worth the effort. Not sure if it flowers on a North facing wall though.

[Nicos]

Cotoneasters can't cope with very cold winters.
Our neighbour lost a whole wall of it about 5 years ago and it was very well established.

Honeysuckle ( a mixture of evergreen and flowering) and clematis ( either alpina or montana)plus summer and winter flowering jasmine covered one of our very long fences and you couldn't see the fence!
Just needed trimming back once a year.
It was a bit of a windsail but up against the house a selection of any of those would look lovely.

[Nicos]

Wysteria and clematis need more manegment, both can slip into your roof space before you realise it and lift tiles up etc..

yup- look out for that..ivy will do the same too.
As will passion flower- but that will be knocked back by cold winters.