Conservatory Climbing Plants

Hi everyone

We have a quite a large north-west facing conservatory and we'd like to add some vertical climbing vines/plants (preferably evergreen) - can anyone recommend anything that might be suitable?

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum @Jack72 !

I don't have a conservatory and they are not common over here but lots in the forum have them and will be happy to share their thoughts on what would work for you

 

The one that comes to my mind immediately is scindapsus. They come of many varieties and don't require much of light. It's in case conservatory is warm.

 

Hello Jack72, welcome to GC . You don't say whether the conservatory is heated in winter, or whereabouts in UK you are, and both those factors would have a bearing on which plants will thrive. Assuming it's frost-free, though, Passiflora mollissima is a very pretty passion flower vine. Hardenbergia is also worth a look. Dregea sinensis is a lovely climber with heavily-scented flowers, but only semi-evergreen. Hoya? Lapageria? Jasmine sambac?....the list is endless

 

Yes to passiflora!!!
They are divine and if the conservatory is heated you can also grow edible ones.
Besides that I would suggest "Ipomoea alba" aka Moonflower or Moonvine. They have a really opulent scent, bloom with giant white Flowers every day from dusk till dawn (yes they are nightbloomers) and grow as fast and high as you let them.

 

Ipomaea alba is an annual, so while it is beautiful, it needs to be grown from seed each year. Ipomaea indica is truly perennial and evergreen. Not scented, but lovely, deep blue/purple flowers

 

@noisette47
Actually, you are wrong at that. It only grows as an annual if the temperature drops below 3°C or so. If you keep it inside and warm all around the year it will continue to grow for a loooong time. Below 10°C it will start loosing its leaves and go into hibernation mode until the temperature starts rising again.

But for ease of care and because lots of people want to grow them outside (I heard they can grow as tall as 10m in optimal conditions) they are planted or sown anew every year.

 

Plumbago, some passiflora, stephanotis, lapageria and sollya come to mind, even facing NW you might be alright with bougainvillea, but an epiphyllum adds something different. I'd love to say solandra, but you'd be pruning it every day

 

That wasn't my experience of growing it in a heated conservatory in the UK, but perhaps yours is different? Quite a few plants that are classed as annuals have perennial roots, but the second-year performance isn't up to much. Runner beans and Cobaea spring to mind. But we digress...I wonder whether Jack72 has found anything suitable?

 

I think finding a suitable climber for a conservatory is very difficult.
Finding something that is reasonably compact and not going to go crazy is not easy.
I'll be interested if we hit on a perennial one.

My own efforts have been, not great , but some ideas here.

 

All sorts of factors come into play, don't they, @pete? Jack72 mentioned that it's a large conservatory, so if he's got a decent support system in place, the sky (or roof) is the limit
It would be a start to narrow down the flower colour choice, and whether he wants scent. Will he be growing the climber in a pot or 'in ground'? I'd guess the former...