Can anyone recommend a good climber?

I am trying to decide on a good climber to go above my Newly Fitted! front door. Wisteria is an obvious option but perhaps anyone can have a better suggestion? Please help :WINK1:

 

Do you want something compact and well-behaved, or something which will go a bit barmy? Generally I seem to have an affinity with the barmy sort, which I later regret when I'm hacking away with the loppers (NB: I am talking about plants here, not people).

 

Welcome to GC, by the way! Wisteria is gorgeous when in flower and also has nice leaves, but is deadly dull in winter. Not that this necessarily matters, but if you want something to look good all year you'd obviously be better off with an evergreen. The other problem with wisteria is that is it sometimes very slow to flower. If you decide it's really what you want (and it is a lovely plant) it's worth investing in a really good grafted specimen which will hopefully give you lots of flowers relatively quickly. Alternatively, Clematis armandii is quick-growing, has lovely leaves all year round and gorgeous scented flowers in the spring. It needs keeping in check but the good thing is that it doesn't seem to mind being hacked about. I hesitate to recommend the common jasmine (Jasminium officinale) as a possibility, despite its wonderful scented flowers and semi-evergreen leaves, because it is both a thug and a bit of a scruff. If you are in a sheltered area, you could try Trachelospermum jasminoides, which has gorgeous jasmine-like flowers and glossy evergreen leaves. It is better behaved than jasmine, too.

 

if it's in a sunny position ... star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides ) would be my choice (my favourite climber)

evergreen and smells very good in summer .... flowers profusely from the bottom to the top

sometimes in very cold, some of the leaves turn red .... needs support though

 

Agree with the above recommendation but to throw something different into the mix, what about Actinidia kolomikta?, have a look at this link -

actinidia kolomikta - Google Search

:thumb:

 

Sir Edmund Hilary?

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

 

problem with Clematis Armandii is that there are certain times of the year when the plant does not look good (brown leaves etc) ....

as it's to be planted against the front wall of the house (focal point), it may not be the best choice

as for smell .... I have planted a few but find I have to get up real close to smell them (but my nose is old)

 

Nah .... I still (often) act like a child (or so my wife says)

 

Clematis Montana?

 

maybe I think a bit different, but if someone asked me to plant a crawler against their front of the house by the front door, I would look at something that looks OK for the whole year, and something that has interest for part of the year

so, although a clematis Armandii looks good (for part of the year), it looks drab and dreary when the leaves turn dark brown and fall off

Clemtis Motnana is a great crawler, grows fast, but for 3 -4 months of the year, you are left with a bunch of dry sticks and piles of dead leaves

A climbing rose looks good for some of the year, and like Montana, you are left with dry sticks for several months of the year

so .... I stick with my favourite climber .... star Jasmine ... looks good for 12 months of the year, looks exceptional when in flower in summer and you can smell it from your neighbour's neighbour's home ... and like I said, it needs full sun .... my all time favourite climber

 

Except that it`s not as hardy as C. Armandii. Having said that, for all year round interest I would go with another evergreen Clematis, that is, C, cirrhosa, either Freckles or Jingle Bells.

 

Many thanks everyone for your help so far! I once saw this evergreen shrub on a beautiful cottage in Wickhabreaux, Kent... It had these deep purple/red flowers early in the spring, small deep green leaves and it looked stunning. It was trailed above the front door. Anyone has any idea what it might have been??