Do you have a water source nearby? Watering the planter(s) will be a constant chore.

Also sufficient soil to keep the vines from drying out too quickly will increase the weight on the deck.

Are breezes/winds strong across your deck? Will there be a problem of tipping if the vine and trellis reach a certain height?

If you are looking for quick coverage, please be aware that fast growing may also mean frequent pruning later.

Your vine should also be tolerant of salt breezes.

The only vine I have is star jasmine - trachelospermum jasminoides. iirc the plant was slow to establish, but that may be due to my specific garden conditions.

You don't mention the desired height, but that should be checked against information regarding the specific plant.

Check with a local nursery for recommendations of vines suitable for your area.

Hi Nancy - I do have a water source, I had the plumber run a water line to this railing area, was planning on hooking up something simple on a timer. I can have some weight, not sure how much soil I would need but I was thinking tall narrow planters could be an option if needed.

Breezes can be strong, especially Santa Ana. I have steel supports on the deck I made for the hedges, I was thinking of using cables to create a trellis for the vines. Probably max 54" high so I don't think tipping would be an issue.

Noted regarding fast-growing/frequent pruning, passionfruit is fast but it would also be amazing to have the fruit.

Thanks kitasei. I was also thinking perhaps a vertical succulent garden but the winds would probably throw them right off the roof!

Breezes can be strong, especially Santa Ana.

No Santa Ana winds here in Venice last week, but the afternoon breezes were quite strong, and what prompted my question.

Yes, definitely we have some strong winds in the afternoons. Do you have a suggestion for local nurseries you like, Nancy? Might go to the ones on Sawtelle, or one of the big ones in Hollywood.

In my experience, nurseries with a good stock of a variety of plants are Armstrong on Wilshire in SM, Hashimoto on Sawtelle, and Marina del Rey Garden Center.

In the last several years I began to avoid the last two because they were too tempting for someone plant obsessed and living on a small Venice lot -- Hashimoto in particular since it was in walking distance from where I once worked. (On the plus side, at Hashimoto I wouldn't buy more than I could carry back to the office.)

Gorgeous deck! What kind of wood is it? Pittosporum are lovely privacy screens. Very light and airy fast growers and probably wouldn’t tip over (since they are not top heavy)

@nancy_in_venice_ca Sunset 24 z10 thank you so much, I have always found Hashimoto super helpful.

@arakashi it is ipe wood, we had it sanded and oiled after installation, thanks for the tip on pittosporum. :)

I would recommend Solandra maxima, also known as cup of gold vine, golden chalice vine. I had this when I lived in Venice, and it grew very well and made beautiful flowers. I also had passion vine, which required much more maintenance, trumpet vine, which also required a lot of maintenance, and jasmine, which I am allergic to and also required too much maintenance. Honeysuckle is another good alternative.

Golden chalice vine does very well within a block of the beach, and so it is tolerant of salt air. You can always walk through the beach neighborhoods of Venice and see what is growing there.

Anything in pots or planters is likely to need repotting at some point. So if you use climbing plants that get all through the fence you will have to cut them off in order to get them repotted. And as mentioned with climbing plants being used on an architectural feature like a fence there is a need for consistently undertaken pruning and training in order to get the plants to assume and retain the desired size and shape. In addition to the regular cleaning up, fertilizing and watering that any kind of live plants used in your situation would require.

So I think instead you should continue in the general direction of the fake fig panels, wherein you identify and implement some kind of material or product other than living plants that will still make it so your fence is not see through. It doesn't have to be something that looks like plants, just something that will produce a screening effect. And look acceptable to you.