Around the Island

Gardening with Galligan: A weakness for vines

CAROL GALLIGAN PHOTO | Carefree ivy, indifferent to blights and pests, climbing happily up a fence.

I’m very fond of vines for a number of reasons. For the most part, they are hardy and  undemanding and take up little space.

You can plant a vine behind almost anything. But you do need to give some thought to what you want your vine to climb upon; providing appropriate support is key to the vine’s future well-being. Climbers have at their disposal a number of methods to reach the top of vertical surfaces; some need a trellis, some will cling to a wall or tree, but whatever their method, it will be up to the gardener to give them what they need.

Climbers that twine, such as clematis and honeysuckle, are at their best on a trellis, although we have all observed honeysuckle, growing wild and sprawling in all directions at once. If you do use a trellis on a fence or wall, think about nailing some vertical slats and fastening the trellis to them, thereby creating some airspace behind the trellis. This will facilitate the vine’s twists and turns. Wisteria becomes very heavy over time, so needs a trellis plus. (There is a huge one in the now forsaken garden shop on St. Mary’s Road, continuing in good health despite its lack of care. The plant, however, is in better health than the trellis.)

Some vines are self-clinging, ivy, of course, being the best example. These vines do need supervision, however. Unless they are cut back, especially if they are growing over a house, they can do actual damage. In decades gone by, gardeners were advised never to plant ivy on brick walls. But that’s because lime was used in the cement holding the bricks together and indeed, the ivy would leach the lime out of the bricks and cause crumbling. Nowadays, with new products, lime is no longer used; nonetheless care is advised.

Sometimes growth is very rapid and the vine, at the risk of being anthropomorphic, makes mistakes; it turns back and instead of twining around the trellis, twines around itself, as in, strangling. It’s a good idea during the rapid growth phase in early spring to do a daily check. Clematis in particular is very difficult to “untwine” without breaking stems.

Climbing roses will simply sprawl unless tied up carefully. To their credit, it should be noted that they have no objection at all to other vines using them to climb upon. White Flower Farm in Ridgefield, Connecticut offers pairs, a rose and a clematis, that will bloom together. I did take advantage of this in a former garden, and it really worked very well; I no longer have enough sun but remember that combination fondly. Do take care when tying stems to leave room for growth; as the plant gets older, the stems will thicken substantially.

I distinctly remember reading years ago that whether vines twined clockwise or counterclockwise depended upon their location; north of the equator, or south of the equator would be the determining factor. The reason I remember this so clearly is that this is the kind of garden fact that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It now seems, however, that that is not the case. Australian researchers have found that 92 percent of vines twist counter-clockwise, regardless of their location. The finding was announced at the L’Oréal Fellowships for

Women in Science ceremony in Melbourne. I’m not sure whether I’m glad or sorry to have learned that.

Tip of the week: Check out those bright red blooms in the traffic circle, courtesy of the Shelter Island Garden Club. That’s crocosmia, a plant worth having and usually blooming later in the summer. Perhaps it’s all the rain we have had or a slightly different variety.