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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

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Thursday - March 20, 2014

From: Houston, TX
Region: Select Region
Topic: Privacy Screening, Vines
Title: Native vine for privacy on metal mesh fence from Houston
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Is there a native vine that does not get top heavy in order to provide privacy from the bottom to the top on an expanded metal mesh fence? It's okay if it dies back, but prefer for it to be evergreen. Thank you in advance ~

ANSWER:

We are not altogether sure what you mean by "expanded metal mesh" fence so we found this article from Niles Fence .  To us, that looks pretty sturdy but also looks like something you would probably want to cover up with a vine. Happily, there are three vines native to Harris County  that are evergreen, bloom bountifully and are quite hardy. So much so, we believe you will want to trim them back some before they get top-heavy. These are all vines that will grow long and tall but do not resent pruning when necessary. In fact, they will probably bloom better with some judicious cutting back, particularly in cooler weather when they are not blooming and the bush gets a little scraggly looking (forgive us for using technical terms).

Follow each of these plant links to our webpage on that plant for culture and propagation instructions. Almost any vine in ideal conditions can be prone to be invasive but none of the three is terribly aggressive.

Bignonia capreolata (Crossvine)

Gelsemium sempervirens (Carolina jessamine)

Lonicera sempervirens (Coral honeysuckle)

 

From the Image Gallery


Crossvine
Bignonia capreolata

Crossvine
Bignonia capreolata

Crossvine
Bignonia capreolata

Carolina jessamine
Gelsemium sempervirens

Carolina jessamine
Gelsemium sempervirens

Carolina jessamine
Gelsemium sempervirens

Coral honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens

Coral honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens

Coral honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens

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Evergreen shrub/small tree for screen in southern California
August 06, 2010 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants - I would like to find an evergreen hedge, ~15-20' (or so) to screen a busy road (noise and visual). I'm zone 8b - 92539 (close to) - light snow in winter (to -25) and can ge...
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Screening plant for pool in Cleburne, Texas
March 15, 2009 - I recently put in a very large pool. I need to plant something for fast growing, taller than an 6 ft fence for privacy. The property isn't so appealing behind my pool. When standing on my deck, I ...
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Privacy Hedge for Maryland Porch
July 03, 2014 - I am working on a screen/fence, which is a barrier hedge between our house and our next door neighbor's house to add privacy to our screen porch and dining area, especially in winter. The fence would...
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Evergreen sumacs for privacy along fence
August 02, 2014 - I would like to plant enough Evergreen Sumacs along our fence for privacy for the length of our backyard which is 60 ft. Fifteen feet on the left and right ends are shaded with the right side being d...
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