Tips to Care for Your Climbing, Creeping, Crawling Plants

Explore the average proud gardener’s property, and you’ll likely discover at least one variety of climbing, creeping, and crawling plants. You might wonder how they managed to achieve such incredible growth or even how they managed to train their plants to grow a certain way.

It’s easy to assume that caring for your climbing, creeping, and crawling plants is labour-intensive and complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re considering purchasing such plants in NZ, you might find the following tips helpful.

Choose the Right Plant

First and foremost, it’s essential to know that climbing plants, creeping plants, and crawling plants are three different plant types that grow in different ways.

Crawling plants creep along the ground. They are also known as clambering or scrambling plants and potentially could climb but generally don’t. Then there are creeping plants or creepers, which grow close to the ground with small vines. They function as a form of ground cover for your garden beds, which can be convenient for homeowners who don’t like weeding.

Climbing plants ‘climb’ up fences, walls, and other tall objects, and most varieties have vines. However, climbing plants can scale horizontal surfaces in many different ways. For example, plants known as ‘twiners’ will coil themselves around anything in their path, including neighbouring plant stalks, wire, and even nails.

Winders can grow similarly and will form stems around trees, stakes, and other support structures you’ve put in place. Clingers might be a climbing plant worth your inspection if you don’t consider yourself a very competent gardener. These plants, such as ivy, require no support and will easily grow on rough walls without much guidance.

You might have also heard of ramblers and suckers. Suckers have sticky-padded stem tendrils that readily attach to whatever obstacle is in their path, while ramblers, such as roses, navigate support structures using their thorns.

Understand the Best Growing Conditions

Now that you’re aware that climbing, creeping, and crawling plants are all different, you’re probably not shocked to learn that they all have different ‘best’ growing conditions. It’s important not to assume that the way you grew one plant successfully is how you can successfully grow another.

Before purchasing any new plant that requires your care to climb, creep, and crawl, make sure you research the type of soil and conditions that it needs to thrive. Otherwise, you might be fighting a losing battle.

For example, the ever-popular clematis loves warm temperate and cold temperate climates. They prefer full sun, but some varieties love the shade. Regardless of where you plant them, they also require cool roots and protection from strong winds.

Plant Them in Healthy Soil

Crawling, creeping, and climbing plants have their work cut out for them when you bring them home as new plants. They have to establish themselves essentially from scratch, which requires a lot of growing. 

Give them the best start to life by planting them in healthy soil. Alongside making sure you’re providing them with soil they prefer, consider adding compost, a slow-release fertiliser, or even blood and bone to kickstart their growth period.

You might also like to add a fine bark or mulch to keep weeds away and retain much-needed moisture.

Water Often

New Zealand experiences scorching-hot temperatures in summer, and this can spell failure for many new plants yet to establish themselves properly. However, a hot summer doesn’t have to spell the end of your new climbing plants.

If you’re just getting ready to plant your new climbing plants, you might be able to give them the best start to life by regularly watering them.

Prioritize Support

While you might not need to worry about support for creeping or crawling plants, the climbing variety tends to require a significant amount of support. Fortunately, you’re not short of options.

Trellis is popular among many avid gardeners as it allows for easy training. The thicker the trellis, the more weight it can support. You can also install trellis on walls, fences, or the ground.

Alternatively, stakes might be a support option you consider. You can place wood or metal stakes in the ground when you plant climbing plant seeds or cuttings. As your plants grow, you can tie pieces of fabric or twine around the plant and attach them to the stakes to ensure they grow in the direction you want.

If you’re purchasing a climbing plant to form a specific shape, you might decide to install an arch in your garden. Arches are beautiful additions to any space and can become a picture of perfection when climbing plants hide the original structure.

Plant Your Creepers, Climbers, and Crawlers

Climbing, creeping, and crawling plants can be delightful additions to any garden. Now that you know the best practices for caring for them, you might feel confident enough to make your purchasing decision. If you need any help, advice, or general garden care, there are always gardening and landscaping experts like Crewcut to assist.