Bob64 - Brush Fence along property lines

18 years ago

Ive seen the willow fences your referring to and they are awesome but our fence isnt anything that fancy. (The coolest fences are made with green wood so they are flexible and can be bent) Its in the woods where not to many people see it. First we made a pile of large branches then put both vertical and hortizontal branches and interlock them the best we can. We use whatever falls to the ground. Its not organized, but its effective. especially with Hawthorne and hemlock branches. Trying to get through the fence is umm..... painful. LOL

What kind of native vines would you suggest? Some areas are heavily shaded. I dont really care if they bloom or not. I would love to plant something on the fence. How about virgina creeper?

Thanks

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Comments (7)

schoolhouse_gw
18 years ago
I would think twice about introducing Virginia Creeper into your woods. You don't want that to get started. It will spread quickly and climb everything besides your fence and if not kept in check you may never get rid of it.

Sorry, I don't have any suggestions for something else.
cynandjon
Original Author
18 years ago
Hi Schoolhouse
Virgina creeper is native and is recommened because the birds,fox,rabbits,skunks deer,mice,catepillars etc. eat the berries.
Maybe your confusing it with something else? I personally never found virgina creeper to be a problem. It has grown in my woods as long as I can remember.
This link shows how important Virginia creeper is to wildlife. Scroll down to vines.

Here is a link that might be useful: Native virginia creeper
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As a dog ower and regular 'dog sitter' for a wide range of dog breeds, I've said this here many times before - it's a lost cause to try to stop dogs from running the fencelines/patrollling their territory! Bow to the inevitable and put paths along the fences and the garden beds to the inside. All our fences are chainlink. We grow a variety of vines on them - largely the vigorous clematises like Sweet Autumn and Summer Snow, and also grow honeysuckle vines mixed in. We do not cut the clematises back hard as those types are theoretically supposed to be. We just prune off the long growths that go where we don't want them. As a result, there gets to be a dense framework of stems on the fence so they provide greater 'privacy'. Flowering doesn't seem to be adversely affected by the lack of cutting back; Summer Snow bloomed much better after we stopped cutting it back than when we did cut it back. (I've seen conflicting info from reputable sources as to whether it needs to be cut back or not.) If we did need to clear the fence for maintenance or something, it would be easy to whack the clematises down to do the work and they'd regrow fine. We don't allow the honeysuckles to twine around the chainlink - we pull all the stems back to our side and tie them to the fence so, if need be, we could cut the ties, lay the vine down and do work on the fence and then tie it back up again. 'Harlequin' honeysuckle is one of the ones we grow on the fence. It has nice variegated leaves and doesn't seem to twine so it's easier to just manage it by tieing it in. We end up with a long period of color and scent and screening without feeling imprisoned behind a solid wall. Much of the fences are in shade but the vines still do well. Chinese elms are a PITA; I would never plant those!
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I think you forgot to attach your picture so we can see what you mean by "that side and then on the other side".
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I think you are overestimating the amount of shade this fence will cast. 5' is not all that tall and in midsummer there should be minimal shade during midday as the sun is more or less directly overhead......just some early morning shade. In winter, the sun is lower in the horizon and that will create a shadier situation but that is often much less of a concern due to plant dormancy. My old garden had a 6' tall privacy fence on top of a concrete retaining wall (maybe 7' height in total) along its southern edge and the area directly in front of the fence received very little shade. And that's with being considerably further north than you with the summer sun at a much lower aspect. Any plant suitable for part shade will work.
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schoolhouse_gw
18 years ago
Well, I don't have it in a woods, it's in my flower gardens and orchard, all along the property line between the neighbor' s field and my lawn. Yes, I know birds eat the berries, I suspect that's how most of it ended up where it is (besides the runners). Maybe it's not a problem where you live, and if Virgnia Creeper is already in your woods, I bet it'll find your fence in no time. I have a love/hate relationship with it. Your fence sounds great, I enjoy the natural look of branch-work (I made that term up! ha.)
bob64
18 years ago
Hey, I just got back from Florida (where I have no clue what is or is not native - I just had to look and say "aint that pretty"). Your fence sounds good and if it keeps the deer out then it will be a great addition. Virginia Creeper sounds like a great choice. I haven't had much trouble with it but you probably would not want it right next to a flower bed. Poison ivy is native too but .... you know. There is also a native trumpet vine (supposed to be aggressive), a native wisteria, some native honeysuckles (which I can't tell apart from the invasive honeysuckle vine very easily), a native clematis, a native form of hop vine and some others I'm not remembering. The problem with many native vines is that many have non-native look alikes so you would have to know and trust your source and do a little research. So far I have done very little planting of vines so I am more full of ideas than practical advice.
cynandjon
Original Author
18 years ago
hey bob
LOL I actually do have a flower bed where the Virginia creeper was there first. hmm I never heard of native wisteria. Ill have to look into that. Thanks Ill look into those. Not sure if PA has them but Ill find out.
Im still fighting the garlic mustard and stilt grass war. They are Much more of a problem then virginia creeper by a long shot.
bob64
18 years ago
I forgot to mention that I'm not sure about the light requirements of some of these vines. I have some native trumpet vine in an area with "part sun" that continues to chug along after 2 or 3 years but has not yet flowered -- other GW posts suggest that is not uncommon. The trumpet vine is supposed to be hard to get rid of if you should ever change your mind. Some sort of thicketing, thorny shrub might also work as a barrier; like blackberries or whatever. The concern with that would be preventing them from spreading.

Here is a link that might be useful: American Wisteria
cynandjon
Original Author
18 years ago
Along the property line most is pretty heavily shaded. I do have one side that gets sun. Wisteria would be perfect. Ill have to find out where to aquire the native variety.
thanks bob.

Bob64 - Brush Fence along property lines

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