I have a wood fence surrounding my house and would like to plant an
evergreen vine that will cover it. I would prefer something that flowers.
The fence is a tight picket privacy type, 6 foot tall and the spacing
between the boards is about 1/16 inch. I live in zone 7, maryland.
What would grow to cover it in about 2 to 3 years maximum, without
damaging the fence?

On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 11:48:13 -0400, "dr who"
wrote:

I have a wood fence surrounding my house and would like to plant an
evergreen vine that will cover it. I would prefer something that flowers.
The fence is a tight picket privacy type, 6 foot tall and the spacing
between the boards is about 1/16 inch. I live in zone 7, maryland.
What would grow to cover it in about 2 to 3 years maximum, without
damaging the fence?

First, is the fence a shared one, belonging to you and a neighbor?
Even if it is YOUR fence only, if it's on the property line, you're
not likely to keep a vine on just your side of the fence. Might talk
to the neighbor about how they may feel about something like that, or
you could end up in a bit of a neighbor dispute and there's no need as
well as it could turn the place you go for peace into a war zone.

Sorry, I'm not familiar with what you have available in zone 7, more
stuff than I can grow for sure, like you might be able to grow passion
flower vines, but .. don't know if they will stick to wood. Even
virginia creeper with their little suckers might not stick to wood
like they will rocks/masonry. You could always put helpers up for
things to get started up the fence..hooks or something to train vines
up.

Janice

On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 11:48:13 -0400, "dr who" opined:

I have a wood fence surrounding my house and would like to plant an
evergreen vine that will cover it. I would prefer something that flowers.
The fence is a tight picket privacy type, 6 foot tall and the spacing
between the boards is about 1/16 inch. I live in zone 7, maryland.
What would grow to cover it in about 2 to 3 years maximum, without
damaging the fence?


Stay away from honeysuckle (especially the Lonicera japonica). Let's see, I
have Clematis terniflora on my back fence. It covers it quite nicely and it's
evergreen for me in zone 8b, so you may want to check around.

Do a search on native plants of Maryland. I'm sure you will come up with a nice
selection of evergreen vines.

its not a shared fence per se, i own it and it is 1 to 2 feet whithin my
property line. I don't want to inflict "creep" onto thier property, is
there a way to stop vines from spreading across the ground?

"dr who" wrote in message
...
I have a wood fence surrounding my house and would like to plant an
evergreen vine that will cover it. I would prefer something that flowers.
The fence is a tight picket privacy type, 6 foot tall and the spacing
between the boards is about 1/16 inch. I live in zone 7, maryland.
What would grow to cover it in about 2 to 3 years maximum, without
damaging the fence?

Nothing. First there are a VERY limited number of flowering evergreen vines
suitable for zone 7. Second, evergreen anything growing on a wooden
structure will inevitably cause rot and damage due to the rentention of
moisture under the evergreen foliage. And the spacing between boards is so
tight that no air circulation is likely to offset this.

You will be better off if you select something deciduous - a clematis or
non-invasive species of honeysuckle (yes, there are such things), a climbing
rose or even a climbing hydrangea if the area receives some shade. This will
allow the wood to dry out during the winter months when moisture retention
is most likely. And maintenance of the fence will be easier if the
vine/climber selection dies back annually, at least foliage-wise.

pam - gardengal