How to plant vines around base of vertical columns on concrete

[neal.gieselman]

Hello,

We have several columns in our backyard that support both open and closed awnings. All of the columns rest on concrete around an in- ground pool. We are wanting to plant some vines at the base of the columns that will swirl around the columns and grow up. I thought of getting some U-shaped planter boxes that could wrap around the columns at the base which could then have vines planted in them. But as I have looked into this, I dont know if it will work. (I am not an experienced gardener.) We have an automatic sprinkler to handle the watering, but I dont know how realistic getting sealed beds (to keep the dirt in) of sufficient size to host vines are. The columns are about 12" in diameter. If I had planters that are 12" wide, then I suddenly have a column base that is over 3' wide at the base. My guess is they would have to be about 24" deep in order to have enough dirt to allow the vines to be healthy.

Has anyone out there ever attempted anything like this?

Thanks for any help or advice.

[Jim Kingdon]

That's a pretty decent sized container. I'm sure there are some vines which would want more root space, but I'm guessing many would do fine with this.

The biggest catch is probably that you'll likely need more watering than a similarly sized patch of ground. But I'm assuming you can adjust your irrigation system/schedule accordingly (depending on whether the vines look thirsty - don't water too frequently either, or so much that all the water is just running out of the planters).

[dr-solo]

[Ann]

[e-mail] expounded:

I don't know about the alkaline part, they grow like weeds all over here, and the soil runs from acid to corrosive! Shade is a must, however.