To Overwinter Climbing Plants, You Must Do This Task

Clematis armandii blooming with white flowers against the dark green foliage — (Image credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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Tie in Loose Stems
Check Plant Supports

Winter can pose many challenges for climbers, especially strong winds. Many gardeners may assume frost or snow pose the biggest headache, but winds can snap stems and even rip climbing plants away from their supports. To avoid this, October is a good window to take measures to keep your climbers protected.

You don’t want any harm to come to your best climbing plants. Whether it is clematis, wisteria, honeysuckle, trumpet vine, or climbing roses, take some time this month to check the trellis or support and secure stems. Whether your climber is attached to a wall, fence, or trellis, if the supports break, the plant can crash to the ground. If the plant itself is left flailing in the wind, the stems rip easily

It needn’t take long to secure your winter climbers, but you do need to tie them in properly. What is crucial is using soft plant ties, like these on Amazon, and a particular knot to overwinter climbing plants safely and securely.

You Must Tie in Loose Stems

A colourful flower border and climbers on a fence

Your climbing plants are vulnerable in windy fall and winter weather. The quickest way to protect them from snapping is to check and secure them sooner rather than later.

When strong winds pick up, any loose stems quickly flail about. The loose ends can break or snap, and flapping about can slacken the stems further down the climber, exacerbating the overall damage. Unsecured climbing plants can be ripped fully away from their support in a worst-case scenario.

Spend some time checking existing ties, replacing any wobbly ones, and tying in long or loose stems. Flailing stems need to be secured to the support or trellis, and care should be taken to ensure structural stems are evenly spaced across the structure.

To overwinter climbing plants safely, the best plant ties for climbers are always made of soft, flexible material. The most common materials for this are jute, PVC flexi-ties (such as this roll of extra thick flexible plant ties on Amazon), plastic loops, or Velcro (you can get Velcro plant ties on Walmart)

Or you can make a DIY alternative by making soft fabric strips from old T-shirts, tights, or stockings.

What you shouldn’t ever use are wire or metal ties. These materials can scrape and cut into stems when the plant is blown around in the winter. In the worst possible outcome, they can cut the stems in two.

For the best protection against strong winds, use a figure-of-eight knot. Loop your tie around the stem, cross the two ends, and then loop them around the support. Tie them with a double knot.

Using this tie creates room for the stems to expand and allows for a slight bit of natural movement. This method of tying doesn’t throttle the stems, and the crossed-over material between the stem and the support prevents them from rubbing against each other.

You Need to Check Plant Supports

Most of the attention when overwintering a garden goes to frost and cold temperatures. This is completely understandable, but don’t overestimate the risk of strong winter winds.

Evergreen climbers suffer more than most when gales strike, as the gusts bombard the leafy canopy and put pressure on the plant supports. These need to be checked before winter to ensure they are anchored to the ground or the wall. This avoids the plant and support structure crashing to the ground.

Checking trellises, wires (you can get a wire tensioner kit at Amazon), and fences also helps to protect plants from a storm – another time when loose supports are liable to come down.

Shop Climbing Plants and Supports

For an added layer of protection for your climbing plants in winter, add a 2-3 inch layer of mulch around the base of the plant to insulate the roots against frost. Use organic types of mulch, such as compost (you can get a bag of organic compost at The Home Depot), leaf mold, or bark, but keep the material away from the main stem when placing it around the plant.

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Drew has worked as a writer since 2008 and was also a professional gardener for many years. As a trained horticulturist, he worked in prestigious historic gardens, including Hanbury Hall and the world-famous Hidcote Manor Garden. He also spent time as a specialist kitchen gardener at Soho Farmhouse and Netherby Hall, where he grew vegetables, fruit, herbs, and cut flowers for restaurants. Drew has written for numerous print and online publications and is an allotment holder and garden blogger. He is shortlisted for the Digital Gardening Writer of the Year at the 2025 Garden Media Guild Awards.