Climbers for a north-facing wall
The wall that gets no direct sun from October to March is where a climber is most wanted and least likely to succeed, and it is where most of the ones on sale will not flower. Half the climbers in this catalogue tolerate it and half do not, which is unusually clean for a garden question — and the six that do include the two best screening plants there are. The filter is the light level rather than the compass bearing, because that is what the data records: a north wall is the commonest way a British garden produces shade at a vertical surface, and an east wall under a neighbour's extension produces the same thing.
How this list was built
Generated from the catalogue by the same engine that powers What can I grow? — 6 of the 12 climbers qualify. It is published because it names a question people ask, returns enough plants to be useful, does not return most of the group it is about, and rests on fields that are actually populated. Lists that fail any of those are on the coverage page instead.
| Plant | Type | Light | Spacing | Min. pot depth | In a container |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climbing hydrangeaHydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full shade, Dappled shade, Partial shade | 200–300 cm | 50 cm | marginal |
| Evergreen climbing hydrangeaPileostegia viburnoides | OrnamentalSome care needed | Full shade, Dappled shade, Partial shade | 150–250 cm | 50 cm | marginal |
| Henry's honeysuckleLonicera henryi | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full shade, Dappled shade, Partial shade, Full sun | 200–300 cm | 50 cm | workable |
| HoneysuckleLonicera periclymenum | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade | 150–250 cm | 40 cm | workable |
| IvyHedera helix | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full shade, Dappled shade, Partial shade, Full sun | 100–200 cm | 50 cm | workable |
| Virginia creeperParthenocissus quinquefolia | OrnamentalStraightforward | Full sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade | 300–500 cm | 70 cm | marginal |
This is one cut through climbers, which compares every one of them on foliage, size and container suitability — including the ones this list rules out, and why.