Tender climbers

LongK - great to hear the Salvias are doing well.

Thank you all for your help and hints on tender climbers. I put a similar post on another forum, and the two forums have made things much clearer. These is a summary of the comments. Charlie refers to Charlie Pridham of http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk/ . He runs a nursery specialising in climbers.

Definite candidates for my garden room are :-

Bougainvillea : Charlie – good

Clytostoma callistegioides : Charlie - this is a beautiful evergreen, in a decent size pot with not too much summer heat it has a good long flowering period, if baked in a small pot it tends to flower for only 3 weeks. outside on a wall it flowers for months

Hardenbergia violacea : Charlie - excellent early evergreen, ok in pots. Minki - it is fine with cold but doesn’t like it too wet - should stay (in bloom) until summer 3-4 months.

Ipomoea indica : Charlie - I have this in the ground in my greenhouse and part of it is allowed to grow out through the window, I get a stunning show each year, but to keep it looking good I cut it to the ground each early winter

Jasminum polyanthum : Charlie - all the evergreen jasmines are ok in pots and do ok under unheated glass

Mandevilla : Charlie -good

Pandorea jasminoides : Charlie - one of the best conservatory climbers

Stephanotis floribunda : Charlie - lovely

Comments on other climbers :-

Allamanda blanchetii : Charlie – don’t know this one, the more familiar carthartica died here even on heat (Botrytus)

Asarina scandens : Charlie - small but useful, doesn't really need to be indoors. Kristen - grows well enough outside

Bomarea hirtella : Chad - Bomarea hirtella is I think B.edulis. There are much more exciting Bomarea if you have a milder than outside winter. Charlie - as Chad says there are better (but not easier) , not great in pots. Kristen – a yes (to hirtella/edulis)

Campsis radicans : Charlie - Trumpet Creeper you may keep it under control but its a lot of plant for the amount of flower. Pete – probably would not like it.

Cobaea scandens : Charlie - great outdoors, never been able to keep it under glass. Pete – probably would not like it (indoors).

Eccremocarpus scaber : Charlie - OK outside so never tried under glass. Pete – probably would not like it (indoors). LongK - In my opinion E.scaber would be rampant.

Ipomea quamoclit : Charlie - not grown this

Passiflora : Charlie - can be tricky as they don't like heat. LongK- even P.alata? It only seems to be happy under glass for me. Charlie - Well they don’t like cold either! but under glass most will flower better if kept below about 70f . Pete – I can see Passiflora alata being a very nice plant to try.

Petrea volubilis : Charlie - always wanted to try!

Rhodochiton atrosanguineum : Charlie - best grown from seed each year as difficult to keep happy in winter, hates damp air. Pete - I can see Rhodochiton being a very nice plant to try. Kristen - that will grow outside too

Solandra maxima : Charlie - much too big

Tecomaria capensis : Charlie - best out in summer and brought in for flowering but excellent for winter colour - mine is still flowering

Thunbergia grandiflora : Pete - I really like T. grandiflora. Charlie - I must try this one again.

Thunbergia mysorensis : Charlie - is still a baby but seems very happy. LongK - T.mysorensis at Oxfords Botanic Gardens has a very long flowering period.

Trachelospermum jasminoides : Charlie - is ok outside, but if you want a self clinger it does ok in pots and under glass you would probably get one of the variegated sorts to flower well

Tropaeolum peregrinum: Charlie - I think this and the next would hate being under glass, they like it cool. LongK - lovely as this is I would be wary of growing it under glass. I have found it to be a total pest magnet, Pete - the Tropaeolums are surely outdoor plants?

Tropaeolum speciosum : Charlie - would hate being under glass, they like it cool.

No comment :-

Pyrostegia venusta – Flame Vine

 

Don't go buying Ipomoea indica, PeterS! PM me your address and I'll send you one of my 'insurance' plants.

 

Noisette - that's a very kind offer - thank you . Frankly, I suspect I could grow it easily from seed as well. However I have ordered three plants - Ipomea, Mandevilla and Clystotoma from Charlie as a way of saying thank you for all his help, on this and previous occasions. They were the only plants, he had, that I wanted (ie seemed suitable).

Now if you have got a Petrea volubis - I would say yes please. I can't find anyone who stocks this. I have seeds but they don't seem to want to germinate.