A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Crawling Ivy????

Hi All
We have an old tree in our yard that has lost its ability to be anything but a big stump. We are not planning on removing it as of this year, and I'm wondering if I could plant something around it that would crawl up this tree and make it look a bit "green" this summer.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

ivy would be good...and it's a quick grower.

there's also clematis or trumpet vines. they are also quick growers...sometimes they take a bit to really fill out tho.

How about some Morning Glory?

OHHHH,
Would they hang on to the tree well enough with the high winds we have around here?

If you are planning to remove it later, I'd recommend avoiding English ivy. I planted some under my tree, and I just finished tearing out about 400 square feet of it. It spread everywhere in a matter of a few years (and I'll probably be pulling it out for the next few years). Not worth it to cover a tree you're planning to get rid of anyway. I'd stick with an annual vine of some sort.

Good thought, even though we may not tear the tree out its probably best to stick to an annual vine. Thing is I know so little about vines, can you help me with a few names of annual vines. Maybe some without flowers I was thinking.

Something like Sweet Autumn clematis might be good. You have to cut it back each spring anyway, and if you decide you need to move it, that would be a good time to do it. It's vigorous and could cover your tree in one season.

I picked up something new this year, it's a black-eyed susan vine. I'd never seen it before, and it's an annual vine here in zone 4b. Morning glory vines are also annual for me. Of course, both the above mentioned vines flower.

You could try something like hyacinth bean or climbing spinach. That would be different.

Now that's a thought!!!

I'll have to be a bit careful to get a strong clinging vine. Our tree stands out in the open where the wind hits it with direct force.

You should hear the wind here the last few days, what a howl it has, hopefully it settles down once I plant the garden.