As a classic climbing plant, your Clematis is always looking for something to grab onto. Whether it’s a house wall, a garden shed, a sturdy tree, or a trellis attached to a planter, these beauties need a little support to reach their full potential. For smaller varieties, you’ll find they have a much easier time if you help guide their stems and secure them to your chosen support system.
Growing Against a House Wall
While fences, trees, and trellises usually offer plenty of nooks and crannies for a Clematis to climb on its own, a smooth house wall is a different story. If you want that lush, “green wall” look, installing a support system is a must.
The most popular choice here is a cable system. These are pretty easy to set up using simple hooks anchored into the facade. When picking out your cable layout, keep your specific Clematis variety in mind. For medium-height growers, a denser grid of cables works best. On the other hand, robust varieties—like the Italian Clematis—actually prefer climbing up larger, rectangular cable patterns.
Smaller Varieties and Containers
If you’re growing a compact or medium-sized Clematis and want to create a nice privacy screen, it helps to give the plant a clear roadmap for where to grow. The best way to do this is by using a planter box with a built-in trellis. To get things started, gently tie the lower vines to the trellis bars using some soft garden twine (raffia works great!) or use specialized plant clips to keep them in place.
Climbing Up Trees
Maybe you want your Clematis to add a pop of color to a tree in your yard? It’s a gorgeous look, and you can easily encourage the vines to head upward. The simplest trick is to loosely wrap the lower part of the tree trunk with some chicken wire or mesh fencing.
Make sure the “jacket” is a bit loose—this makes it way easier to weave those ground-level vines into the mesh. If you’d prefer a support that’s easier to remove later on, you can also run individual lengths of twine from the base of the plant up to the tree’s lower branches and tie them off.
To keep your Clematis climbing high, remember these key tips:
- Use a cable system for walls and facades.
- Tie back young vines on smaller varieties to guide their growth.
- Use mesh fencing or twine to help plants get a grip on tree trunks.
