That is one great video indeed, MsGF! When I started reading the original post, I thought of this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTljaIVseTc) - but I like your link even more. I have to constantly keep my hoyas away from things, including from growing straight into fluorescent light fixtures, which burn them on contact. What a bunch of grabby little things they are! I can see how this behavior can be called creepy, but I think of it as very smart, from evolutionary perspective. Plants that hold on to something tight have a much better chance of surviving and breeding, which of course is what evolution is all about.

For beneath the fir tree, consider the native salal. Evergreen, indestructible, naturally grows under conifers anyway, full sun or full shade, well watered or totally unwatered. A woody shrubby groundcover, won't grow up walls or fences. You'll need something else for that. Very few things will stick to a wall by themselves, that's why so many people planted ivy all over the place. Put something on the wall for other vines to climb on - lattice, bird netting, whatever. The creeping fig looks like he!! when it's not happy - too dry, too cold, too sunny. Sunburns easily, not very hardy, and gets chlorotic to boot. If you have the right conditions though, it could be very nice indeed, but those right conditions will be rare around here. Do you need a vine on the chain link, or would a shrubby hedge do instead? Ditto for the wall - maybe what you want is an espaliered shrub, you're more likely to find something suitably evergreen that way, very very few evergreen vines for around here. Espaliers need maintenance though, pruning and training, but can be very satisfying. Or perhaps a bamboo screen for the chainlink, instead of a plant. My neighbors have bamboo screen on the wire fence between us and it looks very nice and gives them the privacy from my dogs that they seem to think they need. Does not last very long in all this rain though. A few years. Could be worthwhile though. Climbing hydrangea does very well and sticks to walls - a true hydrangea, not the japanese one. H. anomala I think. Does not want direct sun though, needs bright shade, and don't count on flowers. Needs water. Evergreen clematis takes part shade and somewhat dry but it's pretty rampant and as with any other vine (except ivy) you get bare woody legs at the base. Flowers in March when bees are not around, except bumblebees which rarely sting.

Here's a post about how different plants climb. Hope it helps. Climbing Plants Stem Tendrils Passionflower (Passiflora)  Grape (Vitis)  Ampelopsis glandulosa Leaf Tendrils  Sweet peas (Lathyrus)  Cobaea scandens  Chilean glory flower (Eccremocarpus scaber) Twining Leaves  Clematis  Climbing nasturtium (Tropaeolum polyphyllum)  Rhodochiton Twining Stems  Pole Beans  Dutchman's pipe (Aristolochia)  Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens)  Morning glory  Moonflower (Ipomoea)  Jasmine (Jasminum)  Honeysuckle (Lonicera)  Black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia)  Wisteria Scramblers  Bougainvillea  Cape leadwort (Plumbago)  Climbing rose (Rosa) Adhesive Pads  Cissus  Boston ivy (Parthenocissus) Clinging Stem Roots  Euonymus  English ivy (Hedera)  Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris) Know Your Climbers All About Clingers, Twiners and Scramblers By Kathy LaLiberte Growing up rather than out is a good way to save space in the garden. You also get to enjoy lots of great vine plants such as sugar snap peas, pole beans, moonflowers, bougainvillea, and clematis. Adding a trellis or some other vertical structure to your garden also gives you a whole new dimension of visual interest. But figuring out how to match climbing plants with the right kind of support leaves many gardeners baffled. Why won't pole beans and tomatoes climb up a lattice frame? Why won't sweet peas and clematis climb a pole? The answer is that climbing plants climb in particular ways: some wrap, some adhere, and some curl. Here's how to recognize which plants do what: Tendrils: Peas are a good example of a plant that uses tendrils to climb. Tendrils are skinny, wiry structures along the plant's stem that actually reach around in the air until they come into contact with something they can grab. Once contact is made, the tendril curls, forming a coil that allows the plant to adjust the degree of tension or pull on the support. There are two kinds of tendrils. Stem tendrils (which passionflowers and grapes have) are shoots that grow out of the stem. Leaf tendrils (which peas have) look very similar, but the tendrils are actually modified leaves that emerge from a leaf node. Like a rock climber scaling the face of a mountain, plants that have tendrils need handholds in the form of horizontal supports. Netting works well for plants with tendrils, as long as the mesh is more than 2" square. I once tried growing sweet peas on some bird netting that we had lying around and the peas refused to take hold. Branches are a popular material for supporting tendril-climbers. Just make sure that branches are brushyÂwith lots of small side shootsÂand not smooth, vertical sticks. Horizontal strings attached to posts or bamboo poles are ideal. Just don't position the strings more than about 4 inches apart or the newest set of tendrils may not be able to reach the next level of string. Also, because most tendrils are only about an inch long, they need to wrap around something thin (like string or wire) that's no more than about 1/4 inch in diameter. Twiners: Morning glories, pole beans, honeysuckle and clematis are some of the many plants that twine. There are two important differences among twining plants: they either have twining leaves or twining stems. Plants with twining leaves, such as clematis, use their leaves like tendrils. The young leaves of these plants are able to twist around slender wires, string, twigs or other leaves. The key is to provide a thin enough support for the leaf stem to curl around. A lattice made of 1-inch wide slats won't work for leaf twiners. Twining stems twist around whatever they touch, be it a pole, branch, wire or chair leg. The stems will wind clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on the species of plant. There are loosely twining stems such as gourds, and strongly twining stems such as thunbergia, wisteria, morning glory, jasmine and Dutchman's pipe. Some of these twining vines can grow very large and become extremely heavy. Wisteria is famous for pulling down porches and garden structures. If you are planting a perennial vine that will eventually become very large, be sure to provide strong support. Scramblers: Bougainvillea and climbing or rambling roses are two of the many plants that fall into the scramblers category. These plants have long, flexible stems that may look like vines, but they are unable to climb on their own. Scramblers sometimes have thorns that help them grip neighboring stems, if you want these plants to "climb" up a trellis, arbor, or pergola, you will need to tack them into place and probably tie them with wire or sturdy string. Adhesive Pads: Boston ivy (Parthenosissus tricuspidata) and Virginia creeper (P. quinquefolia) have stem tendrils with touch-sensitive adhesive pads that allow them to stick to almost any surface. Climbers with adhesive pads can attach themselves to the face of a building or the trunk of a tree. If not provided with a vertical support, they will just as happily crawl sideways, attaching themselves to anything in their path. Clinging Stem Roots: The last group of climbers use clinging stem roots to attach themselves. The stems of these plants produce a cluster of short, stout roots that cling to surfaces of almost any kind. Examples of plants with clinging stem roots include climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris), most ivies such as English ivy (Hedera helix) and Irish ivy (Hedera hibernica), and also euonymus. These plants can damage paint work and mortar if you try to remove the stem roots from a structure. That's a quick look at the weird and wonderful world of climbing plants. In case you find it all a bit confusing, check the list above for common plants and how they climb. Have fun! Kathy LaLiberte has worked for Gardener's Supply since it began more than 25 years ago. She lives and gardens in Richmond, Vt. Click here to read more of her Innovative Gardener essays. http://www.gardeners.com/The%20Innovative%20Gardener/innovativegardener,default,pg.html

ok virt .. you cracked me up ... this question has been 19 years in the asking. ???? ..... lol .. thx for the chuckle ... welcome to GW ... thank God you found us.. or it might be another 19 years before you found out what it is ... lol ... if you pull something out.. and it comes back.. that means its rather aggressive in regrowing from the roots ... and you will either need to dig out every piece of root.. or use something like round up to kill the roots ... or it means... its reseeding itself in your garden ... you need to decide what you want to do with it ... ken