Climbing fig not attaching to wall
 

Hello! Complete novice gardener here and usually I unintentionally kill everything I touch :) this time however I am off to a better start and everything seems to be doing okay. So far.

I have an ugly cement board fence that I'm trying to cover with creeping fig. It's potted in a large planter and is growing well, just not attaching to the wall. It's been in for about 4 weeks. Im in Australia so it's winter and I know growth is probably slower now. Im more concerned about it not attaching. Is this normal for 4 weeks in or could it be the cement board it doesn't like? Should I put up some chicken wire to help it along?

I've recently topped soil with a mushroom mulch and occasionally fertilise with power feed which it seems to like. Thoughts??

Here are some pics. Please don't laugh but I tried to secure them to the wall in short term with Blu tac.

Climbing fig not attaching to wall
 

On 7/3/2015 4:09 PM, Champagne4lulu wrote:
Hello! Complete novice gardener here and usually I unintentionally kill
everything I touch :) this time however I am off to a better start and
everything seems to be doing okay. So far.

I have an ugly cement board fence that I'm trying to cover with creeping
fig. It's potted in a large planter and is growing well, just not
attaching to the wall. It's been in for about 4 weeks. Im in Australia
so it's winter and I know growth is probably slower now. Im more
concerned about it not attaching. Is this normal for 4 weeks in or could
it be the cement board it doesn't like? Should I put up some chicken
wire to help it along?

I've recently topped soil with a mushroom mulch and occasionally
fertilise with power feed which it seems to like. Thoughts??

Give it time. It will cover the wall. Then it will destroy the wall
unless winter frosts trim it.


--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Climbing fig not attaching to wall
 

"David E. Ross" writes:

On 7/3/2015 4:09 PM, Champagne4lulu wrote:
Hello! Complete novice gardener here and usually I unintentionally kill
everything I touch :) this time however I am off to a better start and
everything seems to be doing okay. So far.

I have an ugly cement board fence that I'm trying to cover with creeping
fig. It's potted in a large planter and is growing well, just not
attaching to the wall. It's been in for about 4 weeks. Im in Australia
so it's winter and I know growth is probably slower now. Im more
concerned about it not attaching. Is this normal for 4 weeks in or could
it be the cement board it doesn't like? Should I put up some chicken
wire to help it along?

I've recently topped soil with a mushroom mulch and occasionally
fertilise with power feed which it seems to like. Thoughts??

Give it time. It will cover the wall. Then it will destroy the wall
unless winter frosts trim it.

As usual good answer.
I'm not familiar with creeping fig or I would have said something
similar.

When dealing with vines, it's important to know what they are going
to do so you can put them on something that can carry the weight.

Lots of vines don't grab onto walls or smooth surfaces.
For them you can use trellises or ties. But you should know
what the vine is going to become to build appropriate support.

--
Dan Espen

Thanks for the replies! Ok, I will be patient. Just can't wait to see how it looks when it starts moving! And I'm ok with it breaking the fence. Once the fence is stuffed we will be replacing the whole thing but just don't have the $ to do it yet.

I will wait a bit longer and if it doesn't show any sign of attaching I will use a trellis.

Thanks again - have a lovely day!