Clematis
Ann Pepper
Posts: 14
in Plants
Please can you recommend a Clematis that will tolerate a North facing position? It will be on the front of our house growing on trellis. We have just removed all the ivy as it was becoming invasive and hard to control but want to replace it with a bird friendly alternative, preferably evergreen.
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I don't think any of the evergreen clematis' will do well on a north facing wall.
There are a number of Clematis' that will do well in that location.
I suggest you look on the RHS site, under climbers for shade, that should help.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
If you have enough space a North aspect is ideal for a climbing hydrangea. Some cultivars are evergreen, e.g. H. seemannii. It won't grow on a trellis but will attach itself directly to the wall (and will NOT harm it).
Bird friendly and evergreen means pyracantha which can be trained on wires or trellis panels. They provide shelter for birds and insects as well as pollen and nectar from the spring blossom and then berries in autumn in either red, orange or yellow depending on variety. The red berries are eaten faster than the orange and then the yellows.
All sorts of clematis will grow on a north facing wall and be happy but not so much the evergreens. However, if you can find one, this looks like a good contender - http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=3008
Try the specialist clematis nurseries such as Hawthorne, Taylor's, Thorncroft and Raymond Evison and make sure you're getting the right one.
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw