Schisandra chinensis might work. It's got foliage similar to a hardy kiwi, so not all that exciting, but it bears white flowers in spring and the variety 'Eastern Prince' which is perfect (seedlings are either male or female) bears red, edible, lemon-flavored berries in the fall. Mine has proven to be a slow grower and not at all out of control like many vines. And, it prefers semi-shade AND is prone to spring frost damage, so your corner looks like it would be a good match for this vine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schisandra_chinensis

Wayside has a good description of it:

http://www.waysidegardens.com/magnolia-vine-eastern-prince/p/48013/

Here is a link that might be useful: A good nursery that has them in stock

lets be realistic ...

there really isnt a space there to work with.. IMHO ...

and anything that flowers is probably not going to flower vigorously in that rather dark space ...

now.. that should not stop you from trying.. so go at it..

ken

I'd be inclined to remove the Japanese maple and put in a more upright plant (perhaps a small ornamental tree that goes up before it spreads out) instead.

Climbing hydrangeas are only as big as you allow them to be. They are very easy to cut and shape . I have one on the nothern wall and it is actually perfect for problem areas(like yours).It looks like a very dry spot, so clematis would fail for sure, unless planted far away from the wall and trained towards the wall(large flowered clematis, unlike hydrangea, sends its roots mostly down according to my experience). Juicy green leaves of the hydrangea and its white flowers would create a lovely contrast with the maple.

Here is my Hydrangea petiolaris . I have kept it in check for several years in this size without problems. Nothern exposure.

{{gwi:231397}}

I think thats a great idea Wieslaw. I got discouraged by the pics online of massive plants. Even better, has anyone tried the variegated climbing hydrangeas?

I have nearly the same thing going on as you do. I planted clematis HF Young, a gorgeous blue purple. Your wife would love it. if you cut it back halfway after blooming it will bloom again.

Having second thoughts about the hydrangea after I read that it can be several years before you see any significant growth? Is that accurate?

flowergirl, thanks for the suggestion, I was hoping for something with a lighter color though since it is a shady spot. Do you have your clem on a trellis? I believe clematis do not cling to walls correct?

Climbing hydrangea would take a few years to cover that wall, based on the growth of mine, I'd say that if you bought a 3-5 gallon well-rooted pot it might take as many (3-5) years.

My concern about climbing hydrangea in this spot is that I think you'd have to prune it once every month or two to keep it from covering your window, and these hydrangeas bloom on last year's lateral branches - branches that go out from the wall 18"-30", so, if you ever wanted flowers, you'd have to tolerate branches that obstruct your view out the window.

Actually it's climbing up a double heart shaped trellis that just fit the space.

miclino, it is not correct. Of course a small plant will not cover the whole wall in like 5 minuts, you cannot expect it. But it is not a snail. I have planted 2 or three rooted branches which I dug up from my wife's brother's garden. I have not counted how many years it took, but what's the rush? I cut hair on mine once a year in the summer. As you can see there are a lot of flower buds, it is totally covered with flowers. I would strongly advice against a large flowered clematis in this place, nearly all of them go bald at the bottom, especially those blooming on 2 years old wood. Absolutely not worth the effort.

That is the perfect spot for Clematis 'Rosemoor.' They bloom through fall. I have mine in a similar spot. The bloom color would look great with your Japanese Maple. It is a great plant!

Also...even if it went "bald" at the bottom, you couldn't see that for all the things in front.

The other thing I read is that these climbing hydrangeas have a fairly significant rootball that may compete with the JM

Close up pictures:
{{gwi:231398}}

And all the way to the bottom. NO wilt, no critters, no sorrows, no nothing. Just pure joy.

{{gwi:231399}}

As the second choice I would suggest a fragrant Lonicera if you absolutely want a trelis.

miclino, as far as I'm aware, Hydrangea petiolaris does not create a rootball. It has normal roots. Planting something with a rootball at a wall is pointless, unless you want to run around 24/7 with a watering can. Established Hydrangea is more or less self sufficient as far as watering is concerned. I have an Astilbe at the foot of it. If it survived, everything survives. Besides, no plant in nature if free from root competition. All my plants compete with each other.
{{gwi:231401}}

Wieslaw any experience with the variegated climbing hydrangea like firefly, Miranda or kuga variety

No personal experience on variegated ones, sorry. I have never seen any yet. I could use one too, if not a dud.

See the link below for hydrangea firefly

Here is a link that might be useful: hydrangea firefly

What about virginia creeper "star showers"? Saw this at a local nursery and it is supposed to be less invasive variegated form.

There was a post on the NE forum from someone who waited 10 years for a climbing hydrangea to bloom. I have one that is five years old and hasn't bloomed yet. I also was advised not to grow one on our chimney because it could do damage. Virginia Creeper is a pretty vigorous grower. If I were trying to fit a flowering vine in a small space with possibly less than full sun, I would go with a clematis. There are so many varieties that fit different situations. Some that bloom for longer periods and some that stay within easy reach of trimming them, some that grow in part shade.

I have 'Star Showers' and it has proven to be quite a slower grower. The location its in is pretty much "ideal" - mostly sun, rich soil, gets a lot of water all summer even if dry, and its only about 8-10 feet at about 5 or 6 years old. I think it would probably work well in your location. Mine does sometimes throw an all-green shoot, and that takes off like a rocket compared to the rest -- just cut it off a few inches below if that happens.

Yes, there are a lot of 'old wives tales' concerning vines, and as usually, they are totally useless and unsubstantiated.

Prairiemoon, did you asked what KIND OF DAMAGE to your chimney ? And how does it apply in THIS PARTICULAR SITUATION?

Here is a link that might be useful: Some reading about alleged 'damages' by vines

After removing a vine with holdfasts, it is not absolutely necessary to 'scratch off' the holdfasts, they fall off by themselves with time. I've been there, I know.

I saw someone said Kiwi, I have been trying to find this one for a few years so I do not have experience with it but the pink in the leaves I think would compliment your maple.

Actinidia kolomikta (Variegated kiwi vine)

Here is a link that might be useful: Kiwi

wieslaw, yes I did ask what kind of damage, and I was told exactly what was reported in the article you linked to. The holdfasts that are difficult to remove, the vine creeping under and into gutters, roof shingles, eaves. Moisture on the side of the house.

Personally, I have a Boston Ivy on my chimney and in previous years, I have let it grow onto the wall of the house and onto the roof, when I got too busy to keep up with it. When we then pulled the vine off the house, it did leave behind all these holdfasts and they really stick to our vinyl siding. And I haven't taken the time to get out there and scrub off the whole side of the house. Three years later, they are still there. It is not a big deal to me right now. I can live with it, but others might not be too happy with that.

The article also mentions that if the vines grow onto wood siding, it will hold moisture and create conditions for possible damage to the siding. Not everyone will always keep up with a climbing vine and keep it off the side of the house. It can get away from you.

My biggest fear with a vine on the house, is if it creeps under the eaves or the gutters or the roof shingles and somehow creates a way for moisture to get in. Just one more worry that I don't need. And at our house, we know that the time to keep an eye on a vine on the house is just not dependable.

And what about providing habitat for insects? I didn't even think of that one.

Miclino, your link to Firefly says it gets 30 to 50 feet!

Interesting thread. Thank you everyone.

Dee

Prairiemoon, I do not suspect miclino to wait until the vine will lift up the entire roof. As far as the moisture is concerned: a wall well covered by a vine is actually better protected from the onslaught of whipping rain. Not to mention that a vine on south-facing wall can be a blessing in heatwave for people whose house is not well insulated.

Just because you let it grow where it should not, it does not mean it is the vine's fault, but rather yours, I suppose?? You can't blame the vine for wanting to grow.

wieslaw59, Why are you making such an unfriendly and argumentative response to me? There was nothing wrong with my response to the OP. I shared my own experiences to allow him to see all sides to the question he was asking.

As I said in my last response, at our house we have competing priorities and the vine on the house is sometimes at the bottom of the list. Where under certain circumstances, it should be. Something that most people even gardeners understand. It is not about blame. It is about pointing this out to the OP, that sometimes you intend to keep up with something and then life interferes. Then he can consider whether he can keep up with it before committing to having the vine on the house.

And you're arguing with me about whether the vine on the side of the house where there is wood actually creates moisture, when the link YOU provided suggests that it does. I did not disagree with any of the opinions outlined in the article that you linked to, so why are you arguing with me? Go argue with the author of the article you chose to link to.

Prairiemoon, allow me to protest.I do not want to involve myself in such arguments. I do not perceive my response as unfriendly. You must have misinterpreted something.
And you have also misinterpreted the article to which I linked. It actually said they do not do damage.

And this is a brick wall here.

And yes, I perceived your comments as vine-unfriendly.

You have actually initiated an argument, but I am not surprised that you probably don't perceive that either.

I didn't misinterpret the article...

" .....For the most part, vines do less damage to bricks and mortar than the abounding rumors would have you believe. However, climbing vines can cause some problems in certain circumstances. "

He didn't say they do not do damage.

It is a brick wall, surrounded by some sort of trim and a shingled roof, all of which I pointed out and is the usual concern.

I am not vine unfriendly in the least. I still have a Boston Ivy on my chimney and I have a climbing Hydrangea in the yard, along with Honeysuckle, climbing roses, and clematis.

I do not consider discussing a point as initiating an argument. Do you??. Discussing is good. You do not expect anybody to always take anybody's words as gospel without checking what is behind, do you?

Well, he did not mention any significant damage caused by vines either. But to cut it short, the poster asked for a suggestion of a vine covering well the wall. Clematis will not cover the wall well. He would need a whole series of clematis and they all need a lot of water.

I am all for discussing a point and I think it is a great habit to get into to check what someone tells you. But, making a point, shouldn't be at the expense of courtesy and consideration of people and their different views and experience.

It is a common understanding online that using capital letters is considered shouting, which you did in your first post addressed to me, which I didn't appreciate. And you sarcastically suggested that the concern over the roof is exaggerated, because you don't think he will allow the vine to lift the 'entire roof'. That is misleading. It doesn't take lifting the entire roof to cause moisture to get under the shingles.

And you made my point exactly when you say...'you can't blame the vine for wanting to grow.' That was exactly my point. If it wants to grow where it wants to and you only want it to grow where you want it, then it's a job, a responsibility. And failure to do this gardening job has consequences to your house, not just the garden. I was bringing that to the attention of the OP in case he was not aware of that. I was not telling him that I thought he shouldn't grow it.

For me personally, it is about risk. Roof repairs, water damage, replacing siding, are all expensive jobs. You see it as a small risk, a manageable risk, but for me, it has to be no risk. To me it is just not worth the risk and I would rather grow my vines on trellis and other support than on my house. That's just one person's opinion.

Sorry I was told to not involve in this type of conversation.If you want to continue, you are more than welcome to send me a personal message. I would like to add, that in my circles capital letters are used to attract attention and underline the most important part. I do not shout to people. And I do not need to make anything on somebody elses expence. Here in Denmark, exaggeration is used to make things more understandable. The exaggeration had nothing to do with you personally.

Prairie moon I appreciate hearing your perspective as I can quite relate to your circumstances.

No, I don't see any need to continue the conversation. I am sure the OP is sorry he asked at this point. I appreciate that we both view the way the conversation went differently. Thank you for explaining your side of it. I'm more than willing to erase the slate and move on.

I didn't see you there miclino.....I'm sorry that your simple question went off track a little. I hope that we didn't just muddy the waters for you more. Please take what I had to say as just my own personal perspective. I am no expert on vines. I appreciate your post. :-)