Garden Maintenance: How to Keep Vines and Climbing Plants in Order

Vines and climbing plants are often perceived as a nuisance, but cared for correctly they can be a beautiful addition to your garden. Alongside covering up unsightly structures, they can give shade to a seated area when draped over an arbour or trellis.

The Importance of Pruning

Once you have researched the habits of your chosen vine or climbing plant and installed it in your desired location, pruning is vital. If left to their own devices, climbing plants can quickly become overgrown and have been known to strangle trees or even push piping and mortar off of walls. Winter is the optimum time for pruning vines as a rule, but you can do so at any time of the year in order to control an unruly climber.

If your vine is a bloomer, it is best to wait for the flowers to go before cutting it back if you can. Pruning involves removing dead, tangled, and wayward stems that aren't growing in the direction that you would like them to. You can then redirect any parts of the plant that may need it using ties or by tucking them under another stem.

Letting Light Reach the Plant

Pruning is vital if you wish to let light reach every part and have it grow exactly where you desire. Keep in mind, though that pruning encourages growth, so do it as sparingly as possible. Arbours, trellises and wires are just a few of the many ways that you can support your climber. Taking the growth patterns into account when choosing a support is essential as the growing plant can cause an unsuitable support to collapse under its weight.

There are some cases when pruning will not suffice and you may need to completely eradicate to vine. Call a garden maintenance professional to carry out this task, as industrial chemicals are required to ensure that the plant doesn't return.

Source:

A swine of a vine: why you should plant Russian vine at your peril, The Guardian