Climber

Hi, Anne!

I have a fir tree which is dying. A great deal of the branches are brown and will not recover. The tree man told me to remove it, but I think I rather plant a climbing flowering vine to take over the dead tree. I live in California. What plant would you recommend, that does not require too much trimming, since the tree is very tall? I love wisterias, but I heard they need lots of trimming. Thanks.

Anne's Response:

If your area is prone to high winds or in an area where fires are common it is not a good idea to have a vine climbing on a tall dead tree. The weight of a vine could cause even more damage than the tree alone. Some vines that will grow less rampantly than wisteria include Cross Vine (Bignonia capreolata) especially the cultivar “Tangerine Beauty”, Akebia quinata, Clematis Montana and Carolina jessamin ((Gelsimium sempervirens).