I would tar the folder first and then send over scp
first tar
tar -zcvf wp-content.tar.gz ./wp-content
then send over scp
scp ./wp-content.tar.gz your_username@remotehost.com:/some/remote/directory
then login to the remote machine
ssh your_username@remotehost.com
Navigate to the directory and untar
cd /some/remote/directory
tar -xzvf wp-content.tar.gz ./