In article ,
Richard Roocroft wrote:


This now 10' tall conifer unfortunately casts a lot of shade across the
lawn in our 35' long x 25' wide garden. I was going to dig it out, until
I thought of the possibility of killing it & growing something up it.

Now I'd love a clem to put up it, but won't the buds all head for the
sun (not that I blame them !), and we won't derive any benefit ? Not
that we begrudge our neighbours, they're wonderful, it's just that we'd
like to see *some* flowers at least on the north-facing side of the
conifer.

With some plants, yes, but you should see quite a few clematis flowers.

You should choose a strongly deciduous climber, to let the sun through
in the winter, and a fast-growing one, as the tree will last only a
few years before rotting and falling down. There is no problem with
water at the roots of a dead tree.

My advice is to plant ANNUAL climbers, though I don't know which ones
will do best with you. Don't ignore runner beans, as they like warmth
and wet, are very decorative and you can even eat them :-)

A good clematis is C. alpina and, as you can cut it down to ground
level after flowering, you shouldn't have a problem when time comes to
remove the tree - you can then put in a stake and some chicken wire,
if you want. But there are lots of others, though avoid the montana
group (too vigorous).


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.