Plant Doctor Archive

Evergreen climbers in tubs

Please can you give me some suggestions as to what climbers to plant in big tubs outside — they have to be evergreen.

There are a huge number of climbers available for the home garden and what you choose depends largely on where you live. A good idea is to visit your local garden centre and see what they have on offer, which should reflect what will grow in your area. I can give you a few suggestions, based on your desire for an evergreen climber which will grow in a container.

For warmer areas I strongly recommend the native Tecomanthe speciosa. This species has wonderful creamy flowers and glossy green leaves. Another plant for warm areas is the Brazilian flame vine (Pyrostegia venusta), which is very vigorous and rewards the gardener with masses of bright orange flowers.

Plants that will cope with slightly cooler conditions include Gelsemium (green leaves and yellow trumpet-shaped flowers) and Bougainvillea. Bougainvillea needs to be protected from frosts and can be semi-deciduous in cooler conditions, but there are a wide variety of cultivars available, and if put in the right spot can be very rewarding. If in containers you will need to prune very hard to keep it under control.

Other possibilities include Pandorea, passionfruit (ornamental or fruiting) or one of the non-invasive jasmines, some of which are frost-hardy.

Advice by Dr Dan Blanchon from Unitec's Diploma in Sustainable Horticulture and Bachelor of Resource Management.

Reproduced with permission from NZOOM Home and Garden content, from the previous website of  The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH   HOME AND GARDEN   Plant Doctor Archives Main Page