How to Plant Against
a Wall
Planting against a
wall allows you to: 1. Grow plants too tender for the rest of your
garden; they will thrive in the shelter provided by a wall. 2. Have
extra growing space for plants which can be trained up and along
support plants which are natural scramblers and need a backing,
as well as climbers. The space at the base of any wall is dry, the
wall shading it from rain, as well as a bit stony. Builders tend
to leave rubble around wall foundations and the soil can be compacted
too. You will have to prepare the soil very thoroughly for best
results.
What You Need:
Well prepared space against a wall to plant; the wall shrub or climber
of your choice, suitable for the conditions; a spade; a fork; organic
material such as garden compost; watering can; wire for making a
support; a cane marked at 30 - 45 cm; garden twine; secateurs.
.
Step 1
Make a support framework for your wall plants using the wire. See
our workshop 14. How to Support Climbers. Measure out from the wall
a distance of 30 - 45 cm. Place your plant on the ground and draw
a circle around it with your spade, about half as wide again as
the top of the pot. Put the plant to one side. Dig the hole, making
a pile of soil to one side. Make the hole a bit deeper than the
pot and loosen the soil at the sides and bottom with your fork.
Step 2
Add a generous layer of garden compost to the hole, and spread it
around the bottom. Check that the level is right for your wall plant.
Give the plant a good soak of water. Hold the compost around the
base of the plant and ease it out of the pot. Place it in the hole
leaning it back towards the wall. Lay the spare cane across the
top of the hole to check the planting level. Add or take away soil
to get the right planting level. Gently spread the roots at the
bottom and sides of the root ball away from the wall. If you're
planting clematis and climbing roses the crown of the plants should
be planted a bit below the level they were in their pots.
Step 3
Refill the hole with the loose soil. You can add organic material
or fertiliser to this if you like. Firm the soil around the roots
of the plant in stages with your hands to exclude air pockets. When
you get to the top, use your heel to firm all the way around the
top of the plant.
Step 4
If the plant is attached to a cane or framework, untie the stems.
Spread out the shoots. Select the strongest 3 or 4 and put in shorter
pieces of cane for these and attach the cane to the wire support.
Tie the shoots to the canes with twine.
Step 5
Cut off any damaged, weak shoots back at the central stem. Any shoots
leaning a long way forward should also be removed. You are making
a good framework for your climber by doing this. Water the plant
in well. Apply a handful of organic fertiliser around the top and
scratch this into the soil with a fork. Apply about 7 cm of mulch
around the plant. Check to see that the soil around it is moist
throughout the first growing season.
Source: Greenfingers
