Vines

[mom2manyboyz]

For those of you that have vines, do you have any tips on training them to climb a trellis or tying to it? I have Clematis that I inherited when we bought our berm home. It was climbing the trellis well initially, but our strong winds seem to be blowing it down over the years. Should I use something to tie it to the trellis?

[Chris]

No, clematis do not need ties, simply weave the plant itself through the trellis, clematis leaf stems will automatically secure themselves to any thing they touch that they can wrap around.

[mom2manyboyz]

Thanks for the advice. I've been weaving. It's not working. My backyard can be VERY windy. Do you know what I might be doing wrong? Should I be out there weaving it often? I do it several times in the spring.

[Chris]

What is the trellis made from?

A bamboo trellis with .5 inch diameter bamboo, fine.

a 2x6 treater lumber trellis... not vine.

Clematis climbs by wrapping the leaf branches around supports, those are at most 4 inches long, and so anything with a perimeter of greater than 3 inches is going to be a real problem, they won't be able to cling to it.

Once they do cling, wind isn't an issue.

If your trellis is made from things that are too wide, consider adding another layer of narrowed stuff for it to work on.

[mom2manyboyz]

It's fairly wide wood lattice. I think you are on to something. I will put something up that it can cling to better. Thank you so much for the help. I had no idea!

[SageMother]

Most vines can be trained with a combination of ties or weaving through an open surface, and pruning.

[gnandita1]

Vines are very useful.Moreover they are beautiful, with bright flowers,luxuriant foliage,fragnance and interesting stem patterns.So this time I have decided to groom my garden with vines.