Climber Suggestions for north facing fence

[fieldfest]

having just put up a north facing fence at the weekend, i now want to cover it up so it looks pretty at the back of a border

climbing hydrangea appears to be my best choice so far
ivy is evil
clematis is a bit sparse to be a cover
I've got a fatsia and Fatshedera doesn't really appeal/can't get it here anyway

any ideas for a good fence covering plant in shade, moist soil?

and dont say 'paint it black'

thanks

[AndyC]

I've been looking into the same requirement, for consideration -
Lonicera tragophylla
Hydrangea seemanii
Humulus lupulus 'Aurea' - Gold Hop
Akebia quinata - look for 'Shirobana' type
Lonicera tellmanniana
Aristolochia macrophylla

Charlie Pridham at http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk/ has many of these for sale and a lot more besides.

[RogerBacardy]

I have passion flower on a north-facing fence. Grows really well, exotic looking, not too rampant but still adequate growth to give coverage. Can be a bit tender, but you're in the IOW so it should be fine and remain evergreen.

[JoelR]

I've got Eccrepmocarpus scaber starting to cover my north facing garage wall. It's a twining climber with very soft growth so it won't do any harm to the garage and the red/orange tubular flowers just keep coming. I grew this from a packet of seeds 3 years ago and have been surprised to see it survive 2 out of three winters and the plant I lost was in a pot, not in the ground. It sets seed prolifically so if I do lose the plant, it's easy to start again next year. This is a plant I'm really impressed with.

[GoggleboxUK]

Have a look at Kyle's Ivy thread, you'll be suprised how tame a lot of them are.

http://www.hardytropicals.co.uk/forum/v ... ilit=Ivies

I avoided Ivies like the plague but there are some absolutely gorgeous varieties that don't actually spread too far at all.

Its ultimate spread, 2.6m - 4m after 5 years.

I bought a Hedera Helix 'Glymii' earlier this year which has a very tropical look to it during the growing season and colours up beautifully in winter:

[MikeC]

I really like Pileostegia viburnoides to cover fences.

[dino]

I also agree that some ivies can look good. First they can quickly cover boring fences and then provide a great backdrop for plants.

[Mr List]

i'd personally recommend you rethink fatshedera, it is a great plant.

growing on my north facing fence are

fatshedera 'lemon and lime'
henry's honeysuckle
pyracantha
winter jasmin
Clematis x tritinata rubromarginata
clematis montana

clematis montana is very dense as a cover but not evergreen

[leunerj]

What about Garrya elliptica Dave? It's evergreen, grows in shade and provides interest and protection during winter. It's definitely on my want-list. Also available on eBay for less than a tenner!

http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardens/Rosemoor/ ... ames-Roof-

[Dim]

Akebia quinata (chocolate vine) ... fast grower and smells good

[tropicalwon]

Akebia quinata (chocolate vine) ... fast grower and smells good

Excellent climber...semi evergreen,( This part of the country it is), flowers early part of year also very easy to look after...you can hack it down and it will come back ten fold! Trust me I've had one for 14+years

If you get fruit after flowering you can eat them as well although very rare.

[Dim]

I planted a jasmine fiona sunrise in semi-shade ... the main colour scheme of the garden is yellow and red so that was the main reason for choosing this

it's going into it's second year now, and grows very well .... due to the semi shade, it has not produced any flowers yet, but looks very healthy

there is a large japanese maple bloodgood in front of that and the 2 contrast very well

here is a link showing what the colour looks like (it changes from lime green to yellow as the season progresses)

[fieldfest]

some brilliant suggestions so far. im going to make a list and do a tour of the local GC's. my experience from buying things like this online = plants that are about 10cm tall for the same price as a 2-3ft plant in a GC

thanks peoples!

[GREVILLE]

If you choose an evergreen climber let a winter jasmine meander through it. The bright yellow flowers and loose stems never interfere with a host plant and for some reason I've always noticed that the flowering season is longer when it co-habits with another plant.

[fieldfest]

i'll be using several different plants along the length of the fence, this part of the fence is 6m long and i have another 5m to make over the next few months. will definately be using several suggested here!