Climber plants for a fence: best vines and how to support them

The best climber plants for a fence are clematis (Clematis spp.), climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris), honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), and climbing roses (Rosa spp.), with annual vines like morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea) for fast cover. The right choice depends on the fence type and how the vine attaches. Twining and tendril climbers need wires or mesh to grip a solid board fence, while they scramble straight up a chain-link or lattice fence on their own.

A fence is the support most gardeners want to cover, and the mistake most make is buying the vine before they think about how it will hold on. A climbing rose has no way to grip a flat board fence. A clematis cannot wrap its leaf stalks around a wide vertical board. Sort out the support first, then the plant covers the fence within a season or two with no fight.

In our zone 5b trial bed (winter lows of -10 to -15 degrees F, USDA hardiness zone 5b) I cover a stretch of solid cedar fence with a mix that handles the seasons. I ran 12-gauge galvanized wires across the boards at 12-inch (30 cm) spacing, then planted a Clematis ‘Jackmanii’ at one post and a Lonicera sempervirens ‘Major Wheeler’ at the other. The first summer I sowed morning glory between them for instant cover while the perennials settled in. By the third year the perennials had filled the 24-ft (7.3 m) run on their own and I stopped sowing the annual.

How climbing plants actually attach

Before choosing a vine, it helps to know the four ways climbers hold on, because the support you build depends on which type you are planting. Twining stems wrap the whole stem around a support: clematis, honeysuckle, and morning glory all climb this way and need a thin cord, wire, or slat no thicker than a pencil. Tendril climbers send out thin coiling threads from the leaf or stem that grab wires and mesh: sweet pea and grapevine are good examples. Aerial-root climbers stick to surfaces with small rootlets: climbing hydrangea and English ivy cling to wood, brick, or stone directly, and they can mark some surfaces. Scramblers and ramblers, like climbing roses and some brambles, have neither twining stems nor tendrils nor grippy roots, so they must be tied to the support by hand. A fifth, informal group, leaners, simply flop against whatever is near and need to be woven through a structure or tied in. Knowing which group your vine belongs to decides what you build before planting.

Best perennial climbers for a fence

Clematis tops the list for a fence in sun or light shade. It twines its leaf stalks (petioles) around wires and thin supports, flowers for months depending on the type, and comes in a size for any fence from a compact six-foot (1.8 m) section to a long run. The classic large-flowered hybrid ‘Jackmanii’ (Clematis ‘Jackmanii’, zones 4-8) reaches 10-12 ft (3-3.7 m) and flowers deep purple from June to August, while the viticella group (zones 4-9) blooms from July into September on new wood. Plant the crown 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cm) deep so it regrows from below ground if clematis wilt strikes a stem, and keep the roots cool with a mulch or a low plant at the base. Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder notes that clematis prefers “cool roots and a sunny head,” the rule most clematis growers learn the hard way.

Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris, native to Japan, Korea, and Sakhalin, zones 4-8) is the pick for a shaded fence where most flowering vines refuse to bloom. It clings by aerial roots, reaches 30-50 ft (9-15 m) at maturity with a spread of 5-6 ft (1.5-1.8 m), and covers a fence with white lacecap flowers 6-10 inches (15-25 cm) across in early summer. It is slow for the first two or three years, then it climbs steadily and needs almost no care. On a wooden fence I keep it on wires rather than letting the aerial roots grip the boards directly, since the roots can trap moisture against the wood and shorten the fence’s life. Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (AGM) cultivars include the species itself, which has held that status continuously since 1984.

Honeysuckle gives fast cover and fragrant flowers on a sunny fence. The native trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens, zones 4-9) twines up wires, flowers orange-red from June to frost, and feeds hummingbirds. The cultivar ‘Major Wheeler’ (zones 4-8, 6-10 ft / 1.8-3 m) is a heavy bloomer with bright red flowers and good resistance to the powdery mildew that disfigures some honeysuckles in humid summers, a problem documented in university extension trials across the mid-Atlantic. It fills a long fence run faster than clematis, which makes it the choice when you want quick screening. Avoid the invasive Asian honeysuckles (Lonicera japonica, L. maackii, L. tatarica), which spread past the fence and are hard to remove later.

Climbing roses (Rosa spp.) turn a fence into a wall of bloom, but they need the most work. Since a rose cannot grip, you tie the canes to the wires by hand. Train the long canes sideways along the horizontal wires rather than straight up. A cane bent horizontally flowers all along its length, which gives a fence packed with blooms instead of flowers only at the top. The cultivar ‘New Dawn’ (zones 5-9, 12-20 ft / 3.7-6 m) tolerates partial shade and has been an RHS AGM rose since 1993, while ‘Eden’ (also sold as ‘Pierre de Ronsard’, zones 5-9, 10-12 ft / 3-3.7 m) gives heavy old-fashioned quartered blooms in pink and cream.

Fast annual vines for instant cover

Annual climbers fill a fence in a single season, which makes them the cheapest way to screen a view fast or to test a spot before planting a perennial. They die at the first hard frost in zone 5, so you resow each spring, but they buy you cover while a slower perennial establishes.

Morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea) climbs 8-10 ft (2.4-3 m) by late summer and opens trumpet flowers each morning in blue, purple, pink, or white, with individual blooms 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cm) across. Soak the hard seeds overnight before sowing to speed germination, since the seed coat is slow to imbibe water. It twines, so it grabs wires or mesh on its own once the first shoots reach the support. Morning glory self-seeds in milder zones, but in zone 5 the seeds do not usually survive the winter.

Hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus, grown as an annual north of zone 9) grows tall and fast with purple stems, lavender flowers, and glossy purple seed pods. It covers a tall fence by August and looks good into fall. The pods and raw seeds are toxic, so keep it away from where children pick at the garden. Scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus, zones 6-9 grown as annual) is another fast annual that climbs hard, flowers red, and gives you edible beans as a bonus.

How to support climbers on a board fence

A solid board fence gives a twining or tendril vine nothing to grip, so you add the support yourself. Screw eye-hooks or vine eyes into the posts and run 12-gauge galvanized wire horizontally across the fence, spaced about 12 inches (30 cm) apart. Pull the wire taut with a turnbuckle so it does not sag under the weight of the vine. The twining stems wrap around the wires and climb the fence on their own. Cornell University Garden-Based Learning recommends galvanized wire over plastic-coated wire for longevity, since plastic coatings can crack after five to seven years of weather exposure and let the steel core rust through.

For a quicker setup, staple plastic or wire trellis netting to the fence and let the vine climb that. Netting is fine for annual vines you replace each year. For a long-lived perennial, wires last longer and look tidier once the plant covers them. Either way, the vine grips the support, not the boards.

Keep the planting 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) off the fence boards. The strip of soil right at the base of a fence is dry and poor, and foliage pressed flat against the boards stays damp and grows mildew. Plant out, lean the young stems toward the wires, and let air move behind the leaves.

Climbers for a chain-link or lattice fence

A chain-link fence is the easiest support of all for a climber, since the open mesh gives twining and tendril stems plenty to grab without any wires. Clematis, honeysuckle, and annual vines weave straight through the mesh on their own. The setup is simply planting the vine at the base and guiding the first shoots into the wire.

A lattice or wire fence works the same way. The gaps let the stems thread through and climb without extra support. For these open fences, choose the vigor to match the run: a vigorous perennial like honeysuckle fills a long stretch fast, while a clematis suits a shorter, more controlled section where you want to keep things tidy.

For privacy on a chain-link fence, an evergreen climber holds its leaves through winter in milder zones, but most evergreen vines are not hardy in zone 5. In cold gardens, a dense deciduous vine screens the fence through the growing season, and the bare mesh shows through in winter. A fast annual sown each spring restores the screen quickly while a perennial fills in.

Caring for a fence vine through the year

Water deeply through the first season while the roots establish, since a vine under drought stress drops its flowers and grows slowly. The dry strip at the base of a fence makes new plantings thirstier than they look, so check the soil under the mulch and water when the top 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cm) dry out. University of Minnesota Extension notes that a newly planted vine needs roughly 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water per week from rain or irrigation through its first full growing season, more on sandy soils.

Prune to the type of plant. Spring-flowering clematis (group 1, like Clematis montana) blooms on old wood, so prune it after flowering in late spring. Summer types like ‘Jackmanii’ (group 3) bloom on new wood, so cut them back hard to 12 inches (30 cm) in early spring. Honeysuckle gets a trim right after its main flush. Climbing roses get a light prune in the first years while the framework develops, then a yearly tidy to remove old canes and tie in new ones. Penn State Extension recommends a single yearly feed of a balanced rose fertilizer in spring for established climbing roses, with no need for additional feeding unless the plant shows deficiency.

Renew the support before the vine outgrows it. Check the wires each spring for sag and the posts for rot, and tighten or replace as needed. A mature vine carries real weight, and a wire that gives way under a heavy clematis pulls a season of growth down with it. Sort the support out in spring, while the vine is light, rather than mid-summer when it is full.

A cultivar trial at a glance

These are the fence climbers I reach for most often in a zone 5 garden. Start from the fence you have and the support you can give it, then pick the vine to suit, rather than choosing the plant first and forcing the fence to fit.

Winter interest on a covered fence

Most climbers in zone 5 drop their leaves in fall, which leaves a covered fence bare from late autumn until spring. A few vines carry interest through winter, which matters when the fence is in view from the house. Climbing hydrangea holds attractive peeling cinnamon-brown bark and dried flower heads after its leaves fall, giving structure to a bare wall through the cold months. According to Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, the exfoliating bark is one of its main ornamental features outside of bloom season.

Some clematis, like the tangutica and orientalis types, set fluffy silvery seed heads that catch frost and light through early winter before they blow away. Leaving the seed heads on rather than deadheading extends the display past the flowers. Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia, zones 3-9) and other vines hold colorful berries into winter that feed birds, adding life to a fence long after the foliage has gone. Birds consumed the ripe blue-black berries of Virginia creeper throughout December in a Cornell Lab of Ornithology winter-feeding study, though the species is sometimes considered aggressive in natural areas.

For a green fence in winter, you need an evergreen climber, and the hardy choices are few in a cold garden. Most evergreen vines are tender north of zone 6. In zone 5, the honest answer is to accept a seasonal screen, lean on the densest summer growth, and pick a deciduous vine with good winter structure or berries so the bare fence still earns its place from November to April.