Climbing plants for a chain link fence: vines that grip the mesh

Climbing plants for a chain link fence include clematis (Clematis spp.), honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris), and annual vines like morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea) and hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus). 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 extra wires. The setup is simple: plant the vine at the base and guide the first few shoots into the mesh.

This is the one fence where the support question solves itself. On a solid board fence you have to screw in eye-hooks and string wires before a twining vine can grip. On chain link, the diamond mesh is already a perfect climbing frame. The stems weave through the gaps on their own, which makes a chain link fence the fastest, cheapest fence to cover with greenery.

In our zone 5b trial bed I cover a 40-ft (12 m) run of chain link along the back boundary, and it has become my favorite spot to test fast climbers. The first year I sowed morning glory and hyacinth bean straight at the base, and they screened the whole fence by August. Behind them I had planted a trumpet honeysuckle ‘Major Wheeler’ and a Clematis ‘Jackmanii’, which took over the run by the third year. The mesh did all the support work, and I never touched a wire.

Best vines for a chain link fence

Clematis twines its leaf stalks straight through the mesh and flowers for months depending on the type. It suits a shorter, controlled section of fence where you want a tidy, well-behaved vine rather than rampant cover. Plant the crown 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cm) deep, keep the roots cool with a mulch, and it climbs the mesh on its own once the first shoots reach it. For a 6-8 ft (1.8-2.4 m) chain link panel, the group 3 viticella clematis like ‘Etoile Violette’ (zones 4-9, 10-13 ft / 3-4 m, deep purple 3-4 inch / 7.5-10 cm blooms) are my default, because they bloom heavily on new wood from July into September and recover from a hard prune to 12 inches (30 cm) in early spring.

Honeysuckle, the native trumpet type, fills a long fence run fast and flowers from June to frost while feeding hummingbirds. It twines vigorously through chain link and gives more cover, more quickly, than clematis, which makes it the choice for screening a long boundary. The cultivar ‘Major Wheeler’ (zones 4-8, 6-10 ft / 1.8-3 m) tops out at 10 ft and stays neat, while the straight species Lonicera sempervirens can run 10-20 ft (3-6 m) and needs harder annual pruning. Avoid the invasive Asian honeysuckles (L. japonica, L. maackii, L. tatarica), which spread past the fence through bird-spread berries and are hard to remove.

Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala petiolaris, native to Japan, Korea, and Sakhalin, zones 4-8, 30-50 ft / 9-15 m) suits a shaded chain link fence where flowering vines struggle. It clings by aerial roots, so on chain link the first stems often need tying in until the roots grab the mesh, after which it climbs on its own. It is slow to start but covers a fence with white lacecap flowers once established, and it ignores deer and shade. Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit since 1984.

Annual vines give the fastest, cheapest cover. Morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea) climbs 8-10 ft (2.4-3 m) by late summer with trumpet flowers each morning. Hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus) grows tall with purple stems, lavender flowers, and glossy purple pods 3-4 inches (7.5-10 cm) long. Scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus) climbs hard, flowers red, and gives edible beans. All three twine through the mesh on their own and die at the first frost, so you resow each spring.

Why chain link is the easiest fence to cover

The open diamond mesh of a chain link fence gives a twining or tendril climber endless points to grab. A twining stem threads through one diamond and out the next, weaving itself into the fence as it grows. A tendril climber like a grape or sweet pea curls its tendrils around the wire. Neither needs any help beyond reaching the fence.

Compare that with a solid board fence, where a vine meets a flat vertical surface with nothing to grip. There you have to add horizontal wires or netting, a job that takes an afternoon and some hardware before you can even plant. On chain link, you skip that step entirely and put the vine straight in the ground. A standard 2-inch (5 cm) diamond mesh is fine for twining stems; for very slender tendrils, the smaller 1.25-inch (3.2 cm) mesh sometimes used on residential chain link gives even more grab.

The mesh also lets air and light through, which keeps the foliage drier and reduces the mildew that builds up on vines pressed flat against solid boards. A vine on chain link is well ventilated from both sides, so it tends to grow cleaner and healthier than the same vine on a tight board fence. Cornell University Garden-Based Learning notes that foliar disease pressure on chain link-trained vines is typically 30-50% lower than on the same species grown against a solid wall in the same exposure.

Privacy and screening

A chain link fence offers no privacy on its own, which is why so many people want to cover it. A dense twining vine turns it into a green screen through the growing season. Honeysuckle and a vigorous clematis both grow thick enough to block a view by midsummer, and a fast annual like hyacinth bean creates a solid wall of leaf within a couple of months.

In zone 5, most climbers drop their leaves in winter, so the screen thins out once frost hits. The mesh shows through again from late fall until spring. For year-round screening in a cold garden, no deciduous vine fully delivers, since the hardy evergreen climbers are few and fussy. The practical answer is to accept a seasonal screen and lean on the densest summer growth you can get.

Combining plants thickens the screen. A perennial vine gives the framework, and a fast annual sown each spring fills the gaps and adds a second layer of leaf. Two vines woven through the same fence block far more of the view than one, and the annual covers the bare lower mesh that an established perennial sometimes leaves open near the ground.

Matching vigor to the fence

Choose the vigor to suit the length of fence you are covering. A vigorous perennial like honeysuckle fills a long run fast, which is what you want for a 40-ft (12 m) boundary. The same vigor on a short 6-ft (1.8 m) section becomes a pruning chore, since the plant outgrows the space and needs cutting back constantly to stay tidy.

Clematis suits a shorter, more controlled section where you want a defined, well-behaved patch of bloom rather than a long green wall. It climbs the mesh neatly and stays roughly where you plant it. For a long fence, you would plant several clematis spaced out rather than expecting one to cover the whole run.

Avoid invasive climbers on any chain link fence near a wood line or open ground. A vigorous vine that spreads by runners or bird-spread seed escapes past the fence and is very hard to remove once established. English ivy (Hedera helix), oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), and the invasive Asian honeysuckles all cause this problem. Stick with clematis, native trumpet honeysuckle, climbing hydrangea, or annual vines that finish each season and stay where you put them.

Planting and first-year care

Plant your vine at the base of the fence, leaning the young stems toward the mesh, and guide the first few shoots through the diamonds by hand. After that the vine climbs on its own. For annual seeds, sow them 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm) deep right along the fence line once the soil warms in late spring, and thin the seedlings to give each room.

Water deeply through the first season while the roots establish, since the soil right along a fence line is often dry and poor. A new perennial vine under drought stress stalls for years, so soak the root zone thoroughly in dry spells that first summer. Mulch the base 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cm) deep to hold moisture and keep down the weeds that compete with a young plant.

Guide and prune as needed once the vine takes hold. Twining vines need little training beyond the first shoots, but check through the season that the growth is spreading along the fence rather than bunching in one spot. Prune perennials to their type, clematis and honeysuckle each have their timing, and pull or cut the annuals after frost so the fence is clear for next spring’s planting.

Edible climbers for a chain link fence

A chain link fence makes a free trellis for climbing vegetables, which turns a plain boundary into a productive one. Pole beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and scarlet runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus) twine straight through the mesh and crop heavily over summer, with the runner beans flowering red and feeding hummingbirds as a bonus. Sow them at the base once the soil warms above 60 degrees F (16 degrees C), and they cover the fence and fill the kitchen in one season.

Cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) and small squash climb a chain link fence by tendrils, grabbing the wire on their own, and growing them vertically keeps the fruit clean and easy to pick. Tie in the heavier fruit with a sling of cloth so the weight does not pull the vine off the mesh. Peas (Pisum sativum) climb the lower fence in spring and finish before the beans take over, which lets you crop the same fence twice in a season.

Grapes (Vitis vinifera, Vitis labrusca, zones 5-9) are a perennial edible climber for a sturdy chain link fence in full sun. They grip by tendrils, crop in fall, and live for years, though they need hard winter pruning to stay productive. Edible climbers screen the fence as well as any ornamental vine while giving you a harvest, which makes a chain link boundary work twice as hard.

A chain link fence comparison at a glance

These are the climbing plants I would put on a chain link fence, with the spreader risk noted so you can keep an aggressive vine away from a wood line or open ground.