In article 3b940d16-0e74-4753-9d25-
, says...
Hello all,

We have a fairly grim, black wire-mesh fence around our front, north-
facing strip of graden in Edinburgh.

We decided to plant some clematis to climb up this to give us some
colour and screening... Since they were cheap at the local garden
centre, we got 4 Warsaw Nikes and 2 'Miss Bateman'.

I'm interested in opinions as to how suitable these might be for
climbing a tight mesh fence (grid is maybe 1cm x 1cm). Also will they
provide much screening in winter? I know neither of these are
evergreens but do they leave some kind of foliage? I have discovered
via google that different varieties need different pruning methods so
I suppose I'll have to find out which these are... Oh, and how widely
spaced should the plants be?

Other suggestions for good evergreen climbers are welcome, usual
criteria: low maintenance, north-facing, (probably) poor soil,
suitable-for-idiot-gardener...

Many thanks in advance,
cam

Both those clematis are deciduous, and should not be hard pruned in
winter but can be pruned/tidied in June.
For evergreen screening (chain link is always tough for plants) Ivy and
the evergreen honeysuckles are the best bet, but roses would be ok and
all those would offer some shelter for the poor clematis which otherwise
are going to be struggling.
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea