The clematis does not have any adhesive organs, but climbs skywards with its strong leaf stalks. Thus, the clematis only functions as a climbing facade greening if it is offered a climbing aid. Read here how you can easily build a trellis yourself.
Material and tool list
In nature-loving hobby gardens, wood is very popular as a building material for climbing aids. Types of wood such as oak, larch, chestnut or noble robinia are suitable. In addition, all softwoods are suitable for the trellis of a clematis. These materials and tools are required:
- Wooden posts as crossbars with a thickness of 25 x 25 or 30 x 30 mm
- Wooden boards for the trellis battens
- Trellis anchor for wall mounting
- tapping screws
- Hammer, cordless screwdriver and drill
The wall anchors should be long enough to leave a sufficient distance of 6-10 cm between the clematis and the wall so that air can circulate unhindered. If you opt for a wall distance of 5 cm, this requires the annual removal of the tendrils growing behind.
Clematis style defines the battens on the trellis
Within the diverse clematis family, species and varieties with the most varied petiole lengths are represented. Therefore, adjust the spacing of the wooden slats to the selected clematis. A mighty Clematis montana is quite capable of embracing a slat of up to 9 cm in diameter. Smaller varieties, such as Clematis texensis, on the other hand, are slender and require a correspondingly narrower trellis.
Clematis generally prefers a trellis in a lattice arrangement as a petiole anchor. Therefore, follow these steps when building:
- Depending on the height of the wall, attach 2, 3 or more strong crossbars using the trellis anchors
- Indent the anchors 20-30 cm to keep them invisible
- Fix the wooden slats vertically on it with the self-tapping screws
Please note the special regulations for attaching a trellis to facades with insulation. In this case, special spacer systems are used, such as support bodies, which are first attached with a cylinder drill. Only then is the trellis anchor attached to the supporting substrate.
tips and tricks
Have the profiles of wooden crossbars slightly chamfered at the hardware store. This trick prevents the formation of standing water and reduces the risk of fungal infections on the clematis.