Climbing Plants and How They Climb So Well
My personal favourite climbing plant is of course the rose climber. This is a group of plants as distinct from a single plant but what an amazing range of colour and beauty is made available to all of us. And what's even better is that the rose is such a versatile plant species finding uses in the garden and home as well as almost every conceivable entertainment occasion like weddings, birthday functions, valentine's day and whatever.
Introducing The Climber
Picture for a moment the perfect Garden of Eden. Most likely in your vision you will have an array of fruit trees, colorful flowers, roses blooming and various vines inter-twined amongst each other - some vines have fruits while others just add life to that already perfect world. But what are these vines and how do they get to become what they are. These are perfect examples of climbing plants.
Climbing plants derive their name from their unique ability to utilize other plants or man-made structures such as walls for their growth and support. Climbing plants are not really trees, nor are they true shrubs. Climbers are very delicate and have flexible climbing stems which allow them to grow gracefully using the support of their hosts.
There are various terms used to describe climbers. These include vines, lianes, creepers, trailers, ramblers and various types of spreading ground covers. Have you ever thought for a moment what it is that allows "climbers" to climb up the surface or support be it a natural support or an artificial support like a trellis? .
There are two main theories explaining how climbing plants climb all sorts of supports or structures. The technical terms are "active and passive mechanism theories".
Active mechanism suggests that a climbing plant will use tendrils (defined as ... stringlike, coiling growth from nodes of grape shoots which support vines by curling around objects and roots to climb walls, a fences, trellises, or other plants). Tendrils coil around the host and connects onto structures by using friction.
Climbing plants also twine ... twisting, turning around the diameter of the supporting trunk. Twining occurs in one direction in most instances favoring twisting to the right. Climbing plants that use this method of climbing normally thrive on thinner trunk supports. A perfect example is the "wire vine".
Adventitious Roots (roots that develop from the stem following the death of the primary root. Branches from the adventitious roots form a fibrous root system in which all roots are about the same size). have no limitation to what or where they can climb. They can scale a tree trunk of any size. This unique ability to root as they grow makes the vines hemiepiphytes (plants that begin life up in the canopy of a host species).
Passive mechanisms influence a climbing plant to climb other than by using its natural properties. Passive mechanisms involve using of spines, branches or leaves often in an untidy format.
Spines assist the climbing plants to attach to the other plants. The spines hook onto the plant as the climbing plant grows. A perfect example is the hook on the Lianaceous species in Bauhinia. Scrambling plants make use of rigid branches and hooks to climb other plants and structures. Roses, bougainvillea and raspberry species are good examples of scrambler types of climbers.
The arrangement of branches and leaves are important climbing support mechanisms
If most climbing plants do not have a good support structure the plant will not flourish. This does not mean that the climber will fail to grow. It means that the climbing plant will not reach its full potential.
There are various techniques to grow climbing plants. It is possible to grow a number of plant climbers from seeds or cuttings. However climbers need special attention due to their delicate nature. For example sweet-pea flowering plants have a hard outer coating to the seed that needs softening to allow water to penetrate.
The best climber cuttings are taken from young growth which is just about to harden. Climber create roots from nodes, so cutting below the node promotes perfect root development. It is good practice to treat the cuttings before planting using proprietary products them to lessen the chance of bacterial infection while young and vulnerable.
Always prepare soil well. Well-drained soil, rich in organic matter is ideal for climbers. Most climbing plants can be cultivated all year round. Mulching is a good idea to keep the roots moist and cool and minimise weed growth.
Wire mesh, trellis (wood or metal) lattice, fences, walls, arched structures and pergola arrangements are perfect.
Vines are the most common types of climbing plants. The term vine was originally a term for the plant on which grapes grew, from the word for wine (Greek oinos), for which grapes were grown. In American usage "vine" is now a generic term for all climbing plants. In British English "The vine" is specifically the Grape vine ; other vines are termed "climbers".
Climbers add form, and beauty to every small or large garden.
Article researched by ... By Hilton Johani, Johannesburg 2006