I am writing this entry to aide gardeners in the future who might wish to cover an unsightly cyclone fence that is situated in shade with vines. I looked in vain for such tips when we started out in 2003 and came up empty, so we had to tackle the project via trial and error. (Shade is stipulated because covering anything in sun is easy). The resulting fence will be beautiful, very private, yet open in away a solid fence can never be, and very much alive. It will actually become a focal point in your shade garden. Lastly, a cyclone fence will last much, much longer than a wood or vinyl fence, so it makes some sense to keep it if we can make it attractive and add privacy. It takes a lot of little vines to cover a fence however, and you will soon find that this is not an upfront money saving alternative to a new solid fence. Long term: Definitely.

Unfortunately, it takes awhile to get there! Ours took 10 years (!), but we had a few misses early on, which you will be able to avoid after reading this. But it does take many years.

We are located in zone 6 so you must extrapolate from there for your area. Here is what we learned:

The characteristics one is looking for in vines:

Fast growing

Dense growing

Not leggy (i.e. grows and fills out at the bottom as well as the top. Many vines simply race to the top and grow there, leaving most of the bottom of the fence bare, unsightly, and not very private.

Evergreen, or failing that, leafs out early so you’re not waiting around too long in the spring for your privacy fence to return.

Attractive.

Climbs on it own with no need for the gardener to weave the vines through the fence as it grows.

The wining vine is: None! We eventually learned that there is not perfect vine with all of the above attributes. We know, because we planted every vine known to man. There were some winners and losers though:

Winner: Climbing hydrangea vine (we have several cultivars). This vine is the most attractive, and it leafs out very early in spring. It grows dense, and it is not leggy. But, it grows slowly, they are expensive, and you must continually thread the vines through the fence as it grows. Similar cultivars: Schizophragma hydrangeoides 'Moonlight' & Schizophragma ‘Brookside Little Leaf’. All highly recommended.

Winner: Good old ivy. Not at all unattractive, dense, and never leggy. But the main benefit of ivy is that it is evergreen. No waiting around for your privacy fence in spring. Grows slowly in the shade. Must manually weave the vines into the fence, or it will creep. Persian Ivy with it’s big leaves is a nice change up to add to the mix.

Good: Hops. Hops grow fast, they climb themselves, are dense, and never leggy. But, hops die to the ground each winter, and they take quite awhile to get going again each spring, so you’ve a wait for privacy, and the previous years dead growth is unsightly (but it helps the current year’s growth to climb and will eventually cover). Until mid summer the vine isn’t much to look at, but by the 2nd half of summer the vines are dense, rich, and full of fruits. At this stage it is quite lush and beautiful. Tropical, even. Also, no need to trim once established (as with all other vines). After one season it is finished and must start all over again.

Good: Dutchman’s Pipe. Climbs by itself, attractive. Slow growing, slow to leaf out, and tends to be leggy. Pretty, but the normal big leaves are much smaller when in shade.

Good: Honeysuckle Lonicera tragophylla. Flowers in the shade! Not profusely, but it will provide a little delight at the top of your fence for a week or so in late spring. Otherwise, too leggy to use on it’s own. Climbs by itself. Well mannered.

Interesting: Crimson Glory Vine (member of the grape family). Climbs by itself, leafs out moderately fast, but is terribly leggy. Slow to get going, but once established in about 6 or 8 years, -watch out! Easily grows up trees to 30’+ and needs regular pruning once it reaches this stage to stop probes from taking over everything. Big leaves make for dense covering, but only at the top. We have trained it to just run all the way along the top of our fences where it makes a nice contrast. On it’s own it would be too leggy and unacceptable. Use the leaves to make home-made dolmades.

Bad: Honeysuckle Lonicera Acuminata. Supposed to be evergreen. Never did anything for us, and eventually swallowed by other vines.

Bad: Virgina Creeper. Leggy, slow growing, slow to leaf out. Not dense. Climbs by itself. Pretty fall color, otherwise unremarkable.

Bad: Silver Lace. Does not flower in shade. Leggy, not dense, slow to grow and leaf out. It does climb by itself.

Bad: 3& 5-Fingered Chocolate Vine Akebia Trifoliata. Supposedly ever green. Died after 2 or 3 years, not at all happy in the shade.

Bad: Wood Vamp. Nothing grows slower! Ours has been in for 8 years and is yet to get half way up the fence!

Bad: Clematis. We must have tried in excess of 20 or 30 cultivars over the years. We didn’t expect them to cover anything, but rather to poke out with a few blooms randomly in our vine collage. But the shade (and later competition) was too much for all of them. None ever really made it, except Perle de Azur. But even he is lost in the mix and not worthwhile there.

Bad: Night Shade/Porcelain Vine. Not dense, not very attractive except pretty little berries, leggy. Climbs by itself. Not a fast grower.

Not tried: trumpet and wisteria, in addition to being terribly leggy, would also become too big with age and all out of proportion to a 6’ fence

Our shade is cause by old-growth trees: maples, oaks, and black locust. These beautiful greedy monsters take all the water and nutrients, so regular feeding and irrigation is a must if you want your new vines to take hold in such a challenging environment. Omit them, and your vines will never establish. We learned this the hard way. You don’t have to: Always water and feed appropriately, taking into account the thrist and needs of the trees.

We recommend planting a variety of vines. It makes for very nice contrast and texture. We didn’t set out with this idea in mind, but because nothing would ever grow fast, we kept on planting more and different vines. At the end of the day, there is no quick way to do this. All the vines were equally slow in the shade. The hops would be the quickest, but they are not very attractive for almost half the summer, so that’s not really a quick solution. You’ll need patience for this project.

It is my hope that folks will find this posting when Googling for shade vines and that over the years we can add photos of gardener’s successes. I have added before and after photos as a starter.

Good Luck!