ivy substitute

[Mr List]

are there any plants that behave just like ivy , the cheap little trailing ones you get eg



trailing, creeping, climbing and self layering BUT with some edible berries or fruit or something edible about it?

was going to put a couple of pots of ivy in but since it is in the fruit garden any edible alternative would be good.

[otorongo]

How about Holboellia, the sausage vine? It's evergreen, hardy (at least here) and bears edible fruit.

Description from ebay:

This is a rampant, vigorous climber with showy evergreen, leathery, palmate leaves, small yellow and pruple flowers and oblong (5-8cm), purple, "sausage-like" fruits in the Autumn. Very easy to grow, ideal to cover walls and fences, tree trunks and to create privacy. If you can provide well drained soil, this plant will be a quick climber and gives an evergreen wall. Its clusters of sweet scented flowers are either male (purple) or female (yellow-green) but they can be found on the same plant, followed by interesting, showy "sausages" if the location of the plant is warm enough in the Summer - for this purpose, it is best to plant it by a south facing wall or fence. It can grow in the shade too.

[Dave Brown]

Far too much Ivy which I mistakenly planted 25 years ago, Biggest mistake I've made, well apart from Bamboo. Can't understand why you would want something so invasive and difficult to control, or something that acts like it.

Don't know of anything edible, and evergreen, most things are poisonous.

[Blairs]

Grapevines (Vitis) or even Passionflower (Passiflora), perhaps not hardy in Leeds though? I have grown Peas and beans trailing down and not growing up, so could be an annual climber? Makes it easier to harvest.

My alpine strawberries have cascaded themselves down the walls of my terrace with their runners. As long as the spot is sunny they will grow.

Not edible, but fatshedera can be grown as a trailing plant, is evergreen and can get quite large leaves.

[Mr List]

How about Holboellia, the sausage vine? It's evergreen, hardy (at least here) and bears edible fruit.

Description from ebay:

This is a rampant, vigorous climber with showy evergreen, leathery, palmate leaves, small yellow and pruple flowers and oblong (5-8cm), purple, "sausage-like" fruits in the Autumn. Very easy to grow, ideal to cover walls and fences, tree trunks and to create privacy. If you can provide well drained soil, this plant will be a quick climber and gives an evergreen wall. Its clusters of sweet scented flowers are either male (purple) or female (yellow-green) but they can be found on the same plant, followed by interesting, showy "sausages" if the location of the plant is warm enough in the Summer - for this purpose, it is best to plant it by a south facing wall or fence. It can grow in the shade too.

being a twining climber would have a very different effect to ivy.

[charliepridham]

What about one of the strawberries?
vinca is evergreen and hangs without climbing back up itself.

[Deedee]

Nasturtiums!

[RozDevon]

Vinca is a good idea, very pretty well behaved plant with lovely blue flowers.
Also comes in variegated form. And a white flowered one as well.

[StefanNL]

What about Muehlenbeckia complexa?

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/55669/#b

[Half Hardy]

Trailing rosemary https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=trail ... y&tbm=isch

I think you can get a trailing thyme as well.

[Panama Pete]

I use all different varieties of ivy. They really contrast well in hanging baskets and boxes. I wouldn't be without it. I also use periwinkle.

[Nigel Fear]

You wouldn't want to eat Vinca.
How about trailing tomatoes?

[Mr List]

yeah, people seem to have moved on to suggesting any old plant.
I plan on using ivy because it is cheap but if I can find a nice plant that is edible it would be worth extra cost.

I would have to say right now I am not interested in annual or non hardy plants for this little bit.

are there some raspberry relatives that creep and produce berries?

[Yorkshire Kris]

yeah, people seem to have moved on to suggesting any old plant.
I plan on using ivy because it is cheap but if I can find a nice plant that is edible it would be worth extra cost.

I would have to say right now I am not interested in annual or non hardy plants for this little bit.
Logan berries there are forms with glossy hairy, deep green leaves with bright red undersides to them and are evergreen. Cheap as well.

are there some raspberry relatives that creep and produce berries?

[Mr List]