climbing plants

To the side of my garage door (facing south-west) I have ivy growing from a small patch of earth up a trellis fixed to a brick wall.  I now want a change so the ivy has to go and have thought of having a hardy evergreen clematis in a pot.  Are there are problems with growing clematis in a pot and can anyone recommend suitable species?  I like all colours and  also, are there any alternative evergreen plants which can be grown in pots.  The plant needs to go to 6/7foot.  I really am a fair weather gardener and manage to ignore the garden in winter so would like something which flowers in summer.

Apologiesre my post - the garage door faces south/east.

I have clematis Nelly Moser and Perle d'Azur in pots, but they aren't evergreen. Evergreen ones mostly flower in winter or very early. Clematis armandii is a good one. See others on this site. http://www.taylorsclematis.co.uk/clematis-evergreen-clematis/

I also have Trachelospermum Jasminoides (Star Jasmine) in a pot, which survived last winter -17° although the RHS says it is slightly tender. It lost a lot of leaves but they grew again and it did very well this summer. http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=302

Lonicera Henryii is evergreen.

Many thanks Busy-Lizzie for those web sites and I now realise I probably won't be able to get exactly what I had in mind.  However, maybe I will go for interesting leaves and seed heads after flowering.  I planted two clematis in tubs in a different part of the garden several years ago but after they had died I discovered the pots were full of vine weevils.  I now know to use a solution which stops them in their tracks!

I wouldn't recommend armandii as it gets very large  - and you will be continually cutting it back if you only want 6-7ft. Any large flowered  summer flowering clematis  would be good as you would cut it down to the base each spring. eg The President

Maybe you could underplant with some bulbs for interest at other times of the year or if you have a large pot - put in an evergreen shrub and then grow a small climber up through it. Can't think of a combination off hand but I'll have a think...

I grow several clematis in pots, mostly smaller flowered species and cultivars, all flower July to September-ish.  No problem provided you remember to water and feed them.

This is a texensis of mine in a large terracotta pot with metal obelisk

, grown from seed, gets better every year.

This is clematis Teksa, growing in a pot by our back door, North facing wall, a beautiful Late Large Flowered variety, photo taken in August.

Teksa is an Estonian cultivar, the name means ' denim ' in Estonian.

They're both lovely. Agree about the armandii, it's more than very large, it's enormous. If you get a hard winter it's enormous and brown and doesn't flower. Far better off with a deciduous one.

This is a viticella I grew from seed, I Registered it as Richard's Picotee, hope you like.

I love it, nicer than a lot I've seen in the GCs

Sorry about the Armandii, I read 6/7 foot as metres! That's what happens when you live in France - no more feet! My neighbour has one and loves it.

PS. What lovely clematis Richard, I've never seen a texensis before. The Richard's Picotee is so pretty.

It's lovely if you have the space and the winter isn't too cold. Mostly it isn't too cold. Mine has browned and died back twice in 12 or maybe15 years. But it always shoots again with vigour. Last winter was one of the dying off years but it's made plenty of growth in spite of the lousy summer and is preparing to flower, (as long as it doesn't get too cold again)

Thanks Richard, what lovely pictures especially the texensis.  Am going to try and find some seeds of that.  My reason for wanting an evergreen climber is to cover quite a large dull brick wall throughout the year.

What about a hydrangea petiolaris? http://www.findmeplants.co.uk/plant-hydrangea-petiolaris-0107.aspx  All year round interest and self-clinging so no need to put up a trellis.  I have one just outside my wndow at work - lush greenery and beautiful flowers  throughout spring, summer and early autumn, then in the winter a wonderful framework of reddish stems and branches and burgeoning buds.  The blackbirds, robins and wrens love it and nest in it every year and  the long-tailed tits search about in it gathering little cobwebs to build their nests. Once it's filled the space you've allocated to it all you need to do is trim it back a bit occasionally.

It'll take a year or so to get going, then it'll romp away.  You could even grow a clematis up through it 

There's an evergreen relation of that one called  'Winter Surprise', It survived last winter in my garden and has started to cling to the wall. It's in a very shady position but I'm sure would be OK facing SE.

Many thanks for all that info on hydrangeas but after reading the website, that spot probably gets too much sun (am I really typing that!).  However, after 20 years of trying to garden under and in front of many lleylandi we have finally agreed to get rid of them and install a fence which will give me at least another 3' width in my beds.  I will then have a north/west bed opposite the back of the house and think a climbing hydrangea would be an excellent plant.  Will go to gc tomorrow as my local is probably selling perennials and shrubs at 50% off..

What about honeysuckle,they are easy to grow,smell beautiful and have red berries for the birds. Sorry, I forgot you are going to grow it in a pot,I don't think that would work for honeysuckle.

I've got an evergreen clematis in a pot- Pixie. Small leaves, similar to a chirrohsa, about 4' high & small cream coloured flowers in Spring. It's slightly tender apparently, but any dead bits in the spring get pruned away & it's fine. I wrap the pot by the end of October & pop a fleece jacket over it for the winter months. Mine in a south east position in the NWest. I do pull the pot up next to the house walls for the winter months.

It gets fed every spring & a replacement of the top bit of compost. I will repot evry 2-3yrs or so. J.

I think that Richard Picotee is beautiful, llove some seeds or a cutting, or even a plant

Bjay