# Hardy vine for fence cover?



## bfunk13 (Apr 27, 2012)

Ok green thumbs, looking for a hardy fast growing vine to cover an ugly fence. The fence should just be replaced but has many trees and shrubs growing in and out of it. Would be quite a job to replace. I tried to grow a clematis last year with so so success. No sign of it coming back yet this spring. It grew fairly fast but only a few real long shoots. I live in Wyoming ( zone 4 ). So harsh winters and short growing season are an issue. Thanks for any suggestions!


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## jeff_t (Apr 27, 2012)

Hops might be worth a try. They are pretty hard to get rid of once established, and you can spread them out by burying part of the vine. They grow from rhyzomes, and are fairly easy to propagate. I'm not sure how they would work for your short growing season, but you're not looking for a flower yield. They like to grow vertically, but they will follow just about anything. When I had a couple of plants, they would grow inches per day. You could almost see it. Some vines would grow 25-30', but I was pruning them so I only had two or three shoots. Some varieties are bushier than others, as well. And they like full sun.


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## Dix (Apr 27, 2012)

Clematis takes a few years to get "sturdy", if you will.

Grapes, maybe?


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## coverdome (Apr 28, 2012)

Might want to consider Sweet Autumn Clematis. Grows fast, spreads readily, tolerates cold, and gets covered with great smelling white flowers in the early fall. Bees love it. Have it all over my fences and love it. It will crowd out 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





honeysuckle vine.


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## bfunk13 (Apr 28, 2012)

Very nice dome! I do like clematis, am hoping ours comes back this year.


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## save$ (Apr 28, 2012)

You mentioned the fence was ugly.  That means all year round.  How about some more shrubs to cover it even during the three seasons that the leaves are off.  Roderdendron and azalea are good covers and will hide that ugly fence all year long.  When they bloom, you will be the talk of the neighborhood.


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## bfunk13 (Apr 29, 2012)

I will look into those thanks!


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## Eatonpcat (Apr 30, 2012)

Morning glory grows like a weed around here and looks pretty good!


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## lukem (Apr 30, 2012)

Honeysuckle.  That stuff is extremely dense and almost impossible to kill, even if you try to kill it.


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## Dtunes (May 4, 2012)

A neighbor has a sweet autum clemantis and it smells amazing.  I know of several vines that would work for spring to autum but none that are evergreen.

Morning glories: easy to grow, grow fast and flower all summer. Will die in the winter but drop seed.and come back in the spring

Clemantis: beautiful but can be fussy, i havent had much luck

Wisteria: easy to grow, hard to get to flower in cold climits. Can be hard to get rid of once established in warm areas, wich doesnt apply here.  Only flowers once in the spring, right now here in ma

Grapes: concord varieties are pretty easy to grow, grapes are a plus, not sure how good the coverage will be though. They tend to stretch out rather than fill a large space.
.  
Trumpet vines: easy to grow have nice orange or yellow flowers, humming birds love them. Flowers most of the warm season, come back yearly.

Personally id pick morning glories or trumpet vine. Good luck, keep us updated


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## Dtunes (May 4, 2012)

Also honey suckles are nice and hardy, but can be invasive and hard to remove once established. Growing up there was one growing on a chainlink fence in my yard, couldnt see the fence at all.


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## SmokeyTheBear (May 4, 2012)

Dtunes said:


> Snip ....
> 
> Clemantis: beautiful but can be fussy, i havent had much luck
> 
> .... snip


 
A heavy dose of lime worked into the soil where you plant them.


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## Eatonpcat (May 5, 2012)

SmokeyTheBear said:


> A heavy dose of lime worked into the soil where you plant them.


 

Works for Margaritas too!


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## eclecticcottage (May 11, 2012)

Trumpet vine can be invasive also.

Wisteria is lovely, and STRONG-it will break up morter between bricks and twist metal fencing however it wants.  Consider it carefully if you ponder going in that direction.  We had one here at the Cottage in an akward location that we removed, it had twisted the metal arbor it was trained on into a pretzel (not really, but it was a mess).

Blaze roses are relatively fast growing and are an older cultivar so are much less fussy than many newer ones.

English ivy is evergreen, but needs to be kept in check (pretty much anything that grows fast will to some extent).


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## Crane Stoves (May 11, 2012)

lukem said:


> Honeysuckle. That stuff is extremely dense and almost impossible to kill, even if you try to kill it.


 
this stuff is like the devil ^^^ , you might as well plant poison ivy their, because in a couple years you will surly be pulling your hair out trying to remove it, but i guess
If the area is never used and has an extremely large buffer you wish to never again see or step foot on (im talking 20' or more around this stuff, then honey suckle may be perfect ?

I would take a better look at shrubs like azalea or some arborvitae if you still wish to use the area and want next to zero maintenance  (those nice estate garden walls and old fences covered with vines have landscape crews that come with them to make them appear so awesome looking).


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## lukem (May 11, 2012)

doug crane said:


> this stuff is like the devil ^^^


 
Don't disagree, but they will turn a rickety old fence into a wall of green pretty dang quick, which is what the OP is looking for.


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## SmokeyTheBear (May 12, 2012)

You might want to look into something like the Evergreen Bittersweet  (Euonymus Vegetus) it is hardy in zones 4 through 10.​​Note this is not a true bittersweet.​


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## BobUrban (May 15, 2012)

Another Morning Glory vote.  Find someone who has some and do a little seed gathering in the winter when the pods are dry.  Just hand cast the seeds around yor fence - step back and watch them grow.  The first year I was real carful to collect seeds and toss them back inot the mix in the spring - GEESH - I now ry to get as many seeds and dry vines intothe firepit each spring because I know what survives will be jungling out my fence with bug grean leaves and tons of flowers in no time.  I use it for fence cover and the second year with the extra seeds it was reaching over and cuttingoff the steps to my deck.  Went on vacation for a week and hat to cut my way in.


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