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I am looking for an evergreen climber to screen an ugly pre-cast concrete stone-effect fence. I cannot change the fence (it's concreted into retaining structures). The fence consist of 6ft upright posts with multiple panels slotted one on top of the other between them. This means that there are lots of gaps that climbers can get through (ivy does). The problem is that as their stems increase in size they will prise the gaps apart the fence. Are there any evergreen climbers that won't do this? I don't really want to have to fit training wires as I do not want to have to drill into the fence.

I'm based on the southern edge of the Cotswolds, England, so it'll be exposed to mild, wet but blustery south-westerly weather. The aspects that need covering are east and west facing, but they get a lot of sun. We get some frosts, but temps rarely drop below -5°C. Soil is free draining, over limestone.

Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL
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George of all trades
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2 Answers2

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There is only one self clinging climbing plant which is evergreen in the UK, and that is Hedera and its varieties. If you choose one, you will need to block off the gaps in the fence to prevent any shoots forcing their way through. It is also likely that Hedera will 'root' into the fence.

There are two other climbing plants which self cling - Hydrangea anomala and Parthenocissus, but they are not evergreen.

All other climbers will require extra support of some kind, such as trellis, clematis mesh or wires, depending on the particular plant's means of attaching itself to a support.

If there's sufficient room at ground level, you might be better off choosing an evergreen, freestanding shrub which prefers to grow against a wall or fence, and which can readily be trained/pruned against it, such as Pyracantha or Garrya elliptica.

UPDATED ANSWER:

You mention evergreen climbing hydrangea - generally, they are not reliably evergreen in the UK and are only just frost hardy, H. anomala being the only one that is totally hardy here.

Decumaria is only just frost hardy in the UK, climbs by means of aerial roots, and will need canes inserted to support those aerial roots - I've only ever seen it trained up a trellis in Cornwall.

Trachelospermum jasminoides is the one that's hardiest in the UK - the one you mention, T. asiaticum, is 'frost hardy' which really means frost tender. It is generally described as a 'self twiner' which is true, but that just means it twines. Left to its own devices, it has a tendency to just twine round itself, so if you want it to cover a large area, training it onto supports is necessary - bit of a slow starter for the first couple of years, but a lovely plant once it's got going, though in exposed situations, it can suffer in a hard winter.

Pileostegia is self clinging, hardy, reaches about 6m, prefers a fair bit of shade, but is said to be very, very slow to get going, which was certainly my experience the one time I planted it - took about 6 years for it to get a foot and a half high, so I've not bothered with it since, specially given it's not even that attractive - fairly similar to H. anomala, which gets going faster, though that plant also requires a fair bit of shade.

In regard to Hedera and its tendency to produce rootlets to stick itself to what its growing up, it will do this on concrete, even if it is new - its Parthenocissus which, whilst having a vaguely similar habit, does not damage new surfaces such as walls and pointing, but may damage older surfaces.

As for what I'd recommend to plug the gaps in your fence, I've no idea, but it seems you'll need to think of something as you're worried about tendrils going through the gaps. It's not a problem I'd have because I'd plant a freestanding, wall hugging shrub or two instead of a climber in this situation. Either that or erect a separate, more attractive fence just in front of the concrete one so you don't see it anyway, if there's no border or room for planting in front.

Bamboo
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  • There are other climbing *Hydrangea* which are supposedly evergreen: *H. glandulosa*, *H. integrifolia*, *H. seemanii* and *H. serratifolia*. However, my experience with *H. anomala* is that it will tend to find its way into gaps in the same that ivy does. – George of all trades Mar 14 '17 at 09:06
  • The concrete is sound so it is unlikely *Hedera* will root into the concrete (it is much maligned in this respect: if the wall is already unsound it will but otherwise it just sticks to the surface). – George of all trades Mar 14 '17 at 09:08
  • What would you recommend to block the gaps? I had considered this option but wasn't sure what would work. My thoughts are that it would need to be flexible as the panels can move in the wind, but it also needs to stick to concrete. – George of all trades Mar 14 '17 at 09:09
  • *Decumaria sinensis*, *Pileostegia viburnoides* and *Trachelospermum asiaticum* have also come up on my radar as being evergreen self-clingers, but again no experience of them. – George of all trades Mar 14 '17 at 09:31
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There are 3 I'd recommend; an evergreen would be Clematis armandii, white flowers, tough tough plant and fragrant, wow fragrant. Another would be Akebia quinata; mine in zone 5 was evergreen. Akebia quinata Yummy to walk beneath if that is possible, such as a gate. Profuse yet dainty purple flowers. The third is a perennial that will grow 25 to 35 feet every season and die back for the winter. You will be able to rip all the old/dead Golden Hops in back growing up into treevines off the wall in winter or spring and never have to do any pruning. In the spring, this plant takes off and I swear you will be able to watch it grow; 2 or 3' some days. Golden Hops...Humulus lupulus 'Aureus'...the new foliage is chartreuse, bright lime green. Later in the year leaves become dark green. Gorgeous little 'japanese lantern' flowers. Was my favorite. Choose your own variety to harvest and make beer.

Send pictures of the wall and environment and tell us your zone. Because of the concrete you might have to change the pH of the soil for the vine you choose.

stormy
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  • The concrete fence has been up over 10 years so is unlikely to have much effect on the pH, especially given that we're on limestone anyway! – George of all trades Mar 14 '17 at 09:19
  • I quite like *Humulus* and had wondered if something herbaceous was the way forward as without a woody framework, the scope for damaging the fence is limited. Downside is that I lose the screening in the winter. They're also tendril climbers so would need training wires or some other structure which would then be visible in the winter, making it look worse. – George of all trades Mar 14 '17 at 09:22
  • What you do is wait for spring to pull the vines down. Not as pretty but this plant definitely will screen all winter long. As for worrying about how they climb, this plant is VORACIOUS and it is mostly the young part of the vine that does its own attachments. Does NOT need any support or any wires at all, I kid you not. If you decide to take a nap near this vine you will wake up like Gulliver!! I love this vine, it is so pretty until late fall and if you leave the flowers on they are like dried miniature lanterns. This guy has very woody stems. The growth is phenomenal. – stormy Mar 14 '17 at 17:43
  • http://climbers.lsa.umich.edu/?p=465 Here is a good article on hops. I am kind of embarrassed that I didn't know hops is part of the Cannabis family. Lots of herbal uses but is also an irritant to some people (so don't go to sleep nearby this plant), also, it is dioecious meaning there are male plants and female plants. The flowers are what you want for beer and there are a LOT of them in early fall. I found that they are called a BINE versus VINE. No tendrils, the stems have hairs to climb! And DO NOT GO WITH HEDERA! It is on the list for top ten invasive plants! So NOT tendril vine – stormy Mar 14 '17 at 17:58
  • And amazingly this plant can deal with a fairly large range of pH as well as different soils! Likes moisture but is drought tolerant? The environment I had my hops growing in was MOIST, prone to encourage powdery mildew, but I have to tell you, the SPIDERS, primarily web spiders LOVED this vine. I never had a problem with spider mite or aphids. Never had a problem with powdery mildew either. Other plants did, such as my Akebia, but they were so healthy it was a non-issue. – stormy Mar 14 '17 at 18:16
  • The clematis armandii I did not grow in my own yard. I was hired to prune those suckers though and not an easy task. Beautiful, waxy dark green leaves, and the fragrance, again, was knock you down wonderful if not a bit overwhelming. Truly an evergreen like Hedera. Just need to take a good day once a year to prune. It can get very large and very heavy... – stormy Mar 14 '17 at 18:20
  • I grew in Kent - "the Garden of England" so called because of its orchards and hop gardens. I used to play amongst the hops - they certainly grow quickly. They have some of the deepest roots of any herbaceous plants which is why Kent's dry chalk is no trouble for them. *H. lupulus 'Aurea'* whilst it is female is not used for any commercial beer and as a real ale drinker I can tell you hop variety makes a massive difference to the flavour of a beer. – George of all trades Mar 14 '17 at 19:59
  • *Hedera helix* is native here and not too thuggish - it gets a bad press, but is really important for bees and birds. Sure it can take over a house if you ignore it for a decade or so and if you pull it off crumbling brick work it will take the wall with it. However, studies have shown it actually protects houses with sound brickwork and improves thermal performance (protects the wall from frost damage in winter and cools the wall through evaporative cooling during the summer). – George of all trades Mar 14 '17 at 20:01
  • I've seen some GORGEOUS homes with this stuff completely covering them. Indigenous or not, this plant should not be cultivated...hey, this world is getting smaller! What I giggle about are vines, plants that are able to cover roofs and walls and the owners will not be around to see the destruction, if and when it happens! Like the plant Bamboo, it should be carefully fenced off and flowers nipped off to prevent spreading. Problem with invasive plants is that they survive better than other species and over time will form a mono culture. – stormy Mar 14 '17 at 22:16
  • Golden Hops from what I've heard and read is used for making beer, not as much as others but still it is used. We spent a few HOURS harvesting the flowers and made pretty good beer. For our first try I might add... – stormy Mar 14 '17 at 22:19