In a small garden it really helps to get the most out of your limited space by taking advantage of all the verticle space that is available.  Lots of great flowers and vegetables can be trained to grow vertically, as long as they are provided with the proper type of support.  Here is some information about the various types of climbing plants out there that I have summarized from an article by Kathy LaLiberte:

Climbing plants use different ways to grow vertically, including:

  • Stem Tendrils
  • Leaf Tendrils
  • Twining Leaves
  • Twining Stems
  • Scramblers
  • Adhesive Pads
  • Clinging Stem Roots

Depending on which type of plant you are trying to grow you will want to use different types of support.  Here’s some more details on each of these categories:

Tendrils

Tendrils are skinny structures along the plant’s stem that reach in the air until they find something to curl around.  These tendrils can be stem-like (such as grapes and passionflowers) or leaf-like (as with sweat peas).  The best method for supporting these types of plants is to use horizontal supports with small diameters (such as wires or twine but not 1/2-inch pieces of wood).  Ideally the supports will be spaced not much more than 4 inches apart vertically so that each new set of tendrils has a place to attach as the plant grows.

Twiners

“Twiners” are different than tendrils in that the actual stems or leaves do the attaching, as opposed to small tendril shoots that act as anchors.  So, in a sense, the body of the plant itself integrates itself into the support system by rotating around it.  Some twiner’s use their leaves to attach (Clematis and nasturtium) whereas others use there stems (such as pole beans, morning glory, wisteria and honey suckle).

Twining leaves should be supported with a structure that is not wider than the actual leaves…so if the leaf is 2 inches long it won’t be able to wrap around a 3-inch post.  Twining stems on the other hand will generally wrap themselves around whatever is available.  If you have prolific plants like wisteria make sure that whatever is supporting them is pretty sturdy, as these can quickly become quite heavy.

Scramblers

Scramblers are plants with long stems that wouldn’t necessarily climb on their own, but do well vertically if given support.  These are plants such as rambling roses and bougainvilla.  To grow these up a trellice you’ll need to tie the stems at intervals to keep them supported.

Adhesive Pads

These are plants such as Boston Ivy and Virginia Creepers that have stem tendrils with touch-sensitive pads that allow them to stick to just about anything.  These will grow up a tree, brick wall, fence, or pretty much anything else that they come across.

Clinging Stem Roots

These types of plants create tendrils that grow small root systems, anchoring them into walls or other available vertical surfaces.  English Ivy is a good example of this type of plant.  Personally I avoid these in my gardens as the root systems could damage the brick walls of my house.