# Planting suggestions for covering chain-link privacy fence?



## beepro

You might want to goto the local nursery if you have one there and ask them which plants meet your criteria.
Some online catalogs have them available to fit your location. And put some key words to do an online search might
reveal something for you.


----------



## arrowwood

sweet autumn clematis maybe 
wikipedia lists http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clematis_terniflora as a minor source of nectar
and lovell's honey plants lists http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clematis_virginiana as a good but inconsistent nectar source


----------



## Riskybizz

silver fleece vine you can't kill it and bees won't stay off it.


----------



## deknow

Poison Ivy might keep out the neighborhood kids 

deknow


----------



## beepro

Now that you mention ivy, I am thinking the regular fence ivy with big cluster of light yellowish flowers for pollen and nectar.
Hope you can see the pic:


----------



## urbanoutlaw

Good ideas. Not sure about the silver fleece vine as I just read it attracts Japanese beetles - if that's true it would be bad news for my weeping cherry!

I guess I could also check with the County's Master Gardeners. I think my parents are in USDA zone 7B while we're slightly cooler and much wetter in the northern part of the state.

Poison ivy and my old, gnarly rose bush is too good for the local thugs...I'd be worried about finding a few surprise entrance holes in the hives if they are visible.


----------



## Ben Brewcat

I use hops (of course), and they're great... fast-growing, hardy, and attractive IMO. The large leaves, and persistent bines, make for a good year-round screen once established. Be sure to prep the site; they like plenty of nitrogen and well-draining soil like most fast-growing vines.


----------



## KQ6AR

Besides autumn clematis, another vine that honey bees like is the porcelain berry vine.


----------



## urbanoutlaw

*Follow up with the County Extension office*

Spoke to Karen Carter, the County (Henrico) Extension agent for horticulture this morning. She was very helpful, following up our phone call with an email of additional suggestions and some very nice reference material. Additionally, she recommended "Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants" by Douglas Tallamy is supposed to be a valuable resource for us Mid-Atlantic folks. Especially if one is looking at potentially invasive species.

Our phone discussion concentrated on Clematis (no particular species), but these were the follow up suggestions:

Bignonia capreolata, cross vine
Campsis radicans, trumpet vine
Clematis virginiana, virgin’s bower
Lonicera sempervirens, coral honeysuckle
Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Virginia creeper
Wisteria frutescens, American wisteria​
Leaning towards the honeysuckle or clematis. I have enough experience with wisteria and hops to keep them under control, but my mother's tired of battling wisteria and isn't exactly what you'd call ecstatic about the hives. Resigned is probably a better description. As it is, she's the only thing keeping keep my father from cutting down half the trees in the yard (including my 10-year old weeping cherry tree). So I'll be grateful with the "far" back corner and try not to inconvenience anyone.


----------



## KQ6AR

*Re: Follow up with the County Extension office*

I think you will find that honey bees aren't interested in most of those plants listed. Some of them aren't even possible for a honey be to get nectar from like honeysuckle. They don't touch the orange trumpet vine in my area, I've heard some say they work the yellow. Our wisteria is worked almost exclusively by carpenter bees.

From what I've read over the last few years autumn clematis, & porcelain berry vine are about the only two true vines honey bees love.


----------



## beepro

*Re: Follow up with the County Extension office*

Don't plant the honeysuckles! We have them in our backyard all year long and very invasive too. They are all over the end of our yard now. The frost cannot kill them at all. Any vine that touch the ground will take roots. The downside is not one honey bee can go in to take any nectar or pollens out from the flowers.
The flowers just too narrow and no pollens are sticking out for the bees. I will chop them all down when the weather gets warmer here. Then will replace them with something more useful for the bees to forage on. I'm thinking a type of vine that has milky sap with fragrant small white flowers that look like honeysuckle shape leaves but with edible young shoots on the vines and the luffa spongy gourds that we can eat when it is still young. They are extremely invasive from the flying seeds much like the dandelion seeds when they fly in the winds if not pick all the mature fruits off the vines. And the small clusters of flowers do attract the bees for the pollens and nectar. Don't know the name if it though.


----------



## urbanoutlaw

*Re: Follow up with the County Extension office*

I got very little interest in porcelain berry when I called home. What about passionflower? 

Or should I sticky my dwarf apple tree nearby and just put up two more vinyl panels to cover the fence?


----------



## Ross

*Re: Follow up with the County Extension office*

hairy vetch.................


----------



## Sticky Bear

*Re: Follow up with the County Extension office*

Silver lace vine is what I have covering all my fences, it is drought tolerant and the bees make the sweetest light honey from it.


----------



## GuyDurden

*Re: Follow up with the County Extension office*



urbanoutlaw said:


> I got very little interest in porcelain berry when I called home. What about passionflower?
> 
> Or should I sticky my dwarf apple tree nearby and just put up two more vinyl panels to cover the fence?


When I read the title of the thread, I immediately thought of passaflora (passionflower) species. There are a few variety, and 1 that I know of that will produce fruit the first year. It has some of the most gorgeous flowers, and fragrant too. I'm not sure how honey bees like it, though if my instincts are on course tonight, I dare say it would be at least a decent nectar and pollen source. 

Bee careful though, they form a symbiotic relationship with ants. They have nectar excreting nodes on the leaves, and the ants love love love them. They "weed" around them to take out competitor plants, and help clear off pests n such, to ensure the survival of both of them (plant and ant) This might not be a big concern, and I might be making a bigger deal about it, just something to think about. 

I tinker with the _passaflora incarnata_ (sp?) species that grow here all the time, smelling, looking at, taking cuttings, pictures etc etc and ants dont bother me. 

Im a newbeek so that's just my two cents.


----------



## urbanoutlaw

*Re: Follow up with the County Extension office*

Just to update - I ended up finding another place for the hives, but it's still a fall back location and the fence still needs covering. We're going to go with a Passiflora, preferably incarnata, if I can find it. Any advice on starting a plant from seed?


----------



## beepro

*Re: Follow up with the County Extension office*

Good choice! There are so many variation on this plant with many different color flowers too.
It is better to start with the cuttings. I like the red color flowers plant better. 
That way you don't have to wait for the plant to mature.
I do not know for how long to flowers but you might be able to search for the many different
species of them. But for sure, the cuttings are faster to give flowers than growing them from
the seeds which might take a few years to establish the plants. They can really take off when 
growing condition is good so be careful where you put them on the fence. 
If you already have the seeds then cover them 1/4" in moist soil on a sunny location. I think you
grow them like the moon flowers. You can find them on ebay too or try amazon for the seeds.
Also, local nursery might have them in the Spring time.


----------



## Slow Modem

*Re: Follow up with the County Extension office*

Kudzu


----------



## GuyDurden

Most (if not all) passafloras have incredibly low germination rates. I have germination mats (like heating pads), really nice professional grade lighting, and the equipment to create most any artificial environment i desire depending on what im growing. Thats not to brag, but to add signifigance when i say ive never had success germinating in passaflora.

I humbly recomend a cutting, preferably rooted (havent seen it sold unrooted, actually) they all grow great once established. Incarnata's fruits do not taste good, imo. Eudilis fruits it's first year and grows similarly to incarnata. Both beautiful specimens. But if you are looking for tge added benifit of delicious fruits, i do not recomend incarnata for this reason. But if you do not really care about fruits, incarnata is one of my favorites, in fact I make a habit out of taking pictures of the "wild" ones growing around here when they bloom, and use that for my phone's walpaper.

Amazonit a great source for the various species, as noted above. You probably dont need more than a few, depending on hpw much area you are trying to cover, as they have a tendancey to take over alot of times. Plus, they are easy to take cuttings from or air layer, if you are into that. 

My 2cents


----------



## beepro

Or you can try to go in a garden forum to ask if other people have the cuttings to ship to you. I ask for the golden rod plants and got a lot growing now. Some are happy to share some with you. I use to do plants and seeds trading on the web. We still have 2 types of hoyas growing that came from Canada from short 4" cuttings. I wonder if the bees like
hoyas flowers too.


----------



## urbanoutlaw

Thanks for the info, Guy. If you haven't had luck with germinating passiflora seeds on your setup, there's no way I'm going to frustrate myself trying! I am specifically interested in P. incarnata for herbal remedies - it works beautifully with Valerian root as a sleep aid. That said, the prospect of fruit in year one is extremely attractive. Do members of the genus hybridize freely? Would I be screwing up by planting incarnata and eudilis together?

Beepro - thanks also for the tip! Maybe I can get cuttings in trade for hops rhizomes.


----------



## GuyDurden

urbanoutlaw said:


> Thanks for the info, Guy. If you haven't had luck with germinating passiflora seeds on your setup, there's no way I'm going to frustrate myself trying! I am specifically interested in P. incarnata for herbal remedies - it works beautifully with Valerian root as a sleep aid. That said, the prospect of fruit in year one is extremely attractive. Do members of the genus hybridize freely? Would I be screwing up by planting incarnata and eudilis together?
> 
> Beepro - thanks also for the tip! Maybe I can get cuttings in trade for hops rhizomes.


I'm pretty sure they do hybridize quite freely. I also had an interest in growing incarnata for medicinal reasons, they do quite a bit from what I've read. 

Passiflora seed are readily available online, so there must be _some_ success in growing them from seed, just not at my house  

I'll look into the hybridization later after work, I don't trust myself answering without some brushing up.


----------



## GuyDurden

I am so sorry for the delayed response. Busy as a bee (almost!) as spring creeps in. I knew they hybridized, but was unsure the result. I don't know if it will upset your fruits, or if the results of the cross pollination will just yield hybridized offspring. I could not find any info on it, but did find something for you to look over if you wish. http://www.passionflow.co.uk/passiflora-passion-flower-hybridizing.htm

I suspect if it is hard to sprout the seeds, as my experience tells me, the main form of propagation will be cuttings. This is _very_ easy with passifloras, even for a newbie. I suggest this if you want more plants. I figure, at best, the hybridization will produce good results, neutral results would be no effect on fruits, and worst case somewhat inferior fruits (they might not have the same texture or sweetness) but I don't think you will have any issues. 

If you do grow two different types, post back here and let us know if it does mess with your fruits!


----------



## julysun

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=passiflora&_nkwusc=passafloras&_rdc=1

Do that search on EBAY and 601 hits! Fun!


----------



## urbanoutlaw

Guy: Thanks for the info and link, very cool stuff. If I can get my hands on multiple cuttings or live plants, I'll try _P. incarnata _and a fruiting variety.

July: Thanks for the eBay tip, I always forget. Sad, considering I snagged a weeping cherry for $5 that matured nicely despite neglect and several butchered trim jobs.


----------



## kaeckman

What about hardy English Lavender,It blooms all summer.


----------



## Adam Westbury

Why not try some blackberries or raspberries? I've got three blackberry and two raspberry vines growing on my chain link fence in the yard my hive is in. Also have a couple blueberry bushes but that doesn't help with the fence situation. I have grapes back there too, but I hear they are not good for chain link fences as you can't maintain them properly. My grapes are on a trellis, but bees love blackberry anyways, so you would kinda benefit doubly.


----------



## urbanoutlaw

Kaeckman: I'm actually in the process of growing English and hybrid Lavender from seed and cuttings. I didn't think they grew tall or fast enough to cover a 6' fence. I figured they might be good for shading vine roots if my plants are successful. I'm also planning on keeping some at the beeyard in pots.

Adam: I got zero interest in blue/black/raspberries at my parents' place. I might get one for the house though.


----------



## GuyDurden

I ordered some winter hardy kiwi vines last year, and they over wintered well. I cleared out about a half acre of tumberland on our property last week, and will transplant them there as soon as it is warm enough for me to feel like being outside. Im very cold intolerant. 

If you are still considering optuons, these might be worth your consideration. Usually, on amazon and thr like, they sell male and female sets of live cuttings at s reasonable rate. They produce lil red grape like "kiwis" year sfter year.

Just snother opinion!


----------



## GuyDurden

I apoligize for the typos, im in between classes on my phone.


----------

