climbing plants
Twining climbers
Examples: Pole beans, mashua, kiwi fruit
Support with: Beanpoles and canes in
wigwams or A-frames, post-and-wire systems
Other climbers are twiners, winding leaves or
stems around their supports as they grow. These
are the plants that grow straight up a tree in
the wild. Some, like the strangler fig, throttle
the host plant to death, leaving the climber
free-standing like a hollow pole.
Luckily, twining vegetables aren’t
anywhere near as aggressive, though
they do tend to be among the most
vigorous plants. Pole beans wind round
supports with hawser-like strength.
Some plants, like mashua, use their
powerful petioles (leaf stems) to
hold on as the plant climbs.
Stem twiners like thicker
supports up to three inches
in diameter, so build them a
sturdy wigwam or A-frame
of hazel poles. Leaf twiners
need something finer to
wrap around, so give
mashua slimmer poles,
such as bamboo canes,
Training can
or a post-and-wire
framework to grow up.
sometimes seem
“
technical, but it all
uses the same basic
principle: you develop
a stem framework, then
shorten any side shoots
to persuade them to bear
fruit instead of developing
into extra branches.”
Scrambling climbers
Examples: Tomatoes, sweet potatoes,
squash, blackberries and other cane fruit
Support with: Trellis, post -and-wire systems,
beanpoles, canes
This group includes all sorts of plants that aren’t,
strictly speaking, climbers. They evolved to scramble
but don’t change chemically when they hit a vertical
object like true climbers do, so they don’t hold onto
things by themselves. They don’t bother to grow a
strong, self-supporting stem either, preferring instead
to ramble about on the ground until they find a nice
sunny spot where they can fruit. Some have developed
adaptations to help them along, like the thorns on
blackberries, which hook themselves onto any struc-
ture they come across to help the stems leapfrog across
vast distances. Squash have tendrils and though they
can use them to climb over other plants, they drape
over the top rather than holding on tight.
In the garden, scramblers are easily persuaded
upwards onto trellis, wigwams, or arches, though
you’ll need to tie them in regularly as they won’t hold
on by themselves. Train indeterminate tomatoes as
cordons (see below).
TRAINING RELUCTANT CLIMBERS
Plants enjoy many benefits when they climb. They’re
able to grow quickly since they don’t have to generate
woody stems, meaning they can afford to flower and fruit
prolifically too. They don’t need large expanses of bare
earth, just a foothold alongside something to clamber
up. They’re also adaptable and flexible, making the most
of sunshine to ripen their fruit. All these are also good
reasons to persuade plants to grow like climbers when
they wouldn’t normally do so.
Training can sometimes seem technical, but it all uses
the same basic principle: you develop a stem framework,
then shorten any side shoots to persuade them to bear
fruit instead of developing into extra branches. There are
three main formulas, each used for different types of crop:
Cordons
Used for: Tomatoes, apples, gooseberries, redcurrants
A single stem with side shoots trimmed back so the
plant concentrates on fruiting rather than producing any
extra vegetative growth. Tomato cordons are trained
vertically onto a cane, and the side shoots are snapped
out completely at the junction between leaf and main
stem. Fruit cordons, on the other hand, are usually grown
at 45 degrees from vertical, as this prompts the plant to
produce more fruiting spurs, and the side shoots pruned
back rather than removed completely.
When to prune: In winter while establishing and in
summer for shaping and maintenance. Tomatoes are
pruned continuously throughout the growing season.
Getting started (Fig. 1, next page): Plant trees at a
45-degree angle and add a cane for support and to keep
the stem straight, tied in to the support wires. Leave
the leader and any short side shoots unpruned to begin
with, but trim back any side shoots longer than four
inches to three buds.
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