Would you ever plant a russian vine ?

[WorzselMummage]

We have a 6ft tall 40ft long trellis type fence betteen us an our neighbour and no chance of us being able to replace it for about 150 years.

Our neighbour's lovely but i do worry about him spying on my builders bum when I am weeding etc and i'm wary of letting the kids out in the nude etc.

I know russian vines are a bugger to get rid of but I cant think of anything else which would do the job quickly.

Would you do it?

If not ( which is probably all for you ) what would you recommend ?

No. Never never never ever ever ever. Never.
Sorry. I think they are quite unnattractive too.

Right - clematis montana goes like the clappers when it's got started. A passion fruit?

I did - and regretted it a couple of years later when it infiltrated my shed and destroyed the roof (vinyl sheeting) so I dug it out again.

Try bamboo instead- grows quite fast, provides reasonable screening if you plant it properly.

Buddleia grows fast as well (6' in a year)- but is deciduous of course.

They are quite rampant, and do get everywhere..not keen on them - our neighbour had one and it kept invading our loft and taking the outside hanging tiles off...frankly I don't think they're very attractive either.

How about a few kiwi plants? They have nice leaves and lovely red stems - they grow pretty quick. Or passionflower? Various clematis can be very quick growing too.

If you want to cover it very quick just plant a few seperate plants. May be mix it up a bit - could look lovely!

I planted a passion flower in there but i never really got going and was then killed off by the frost last year.

I had though about bamboo but it's be too expensive for what we need and i have read about it putting up shoots (suckers ?) in the grass and tht sounds painfull.

I ma currently trying to eradicate a buddleia

what about this?

Try a montana. Honest. They spread like crazy when they get started - they have a lovely vanilla scent too.

looks interesting! I'd forgotten about honeysuckle, another good choice.

Here

i have and for very quick verage it is fab. You need to be on the ball with it though and not let it get too wild.

Agree with the clematis being far more attractive.

coverage

I put in a russian vine in our side alley to cover the windows up a bit - we are overlooked too. It's gone up the drainpipes and so on, I expect the landlord resents it but tbh I don't care as it's a north wall and nothing else will grow there.

For coverage of your long trellis, you could get some cheapo brushwood screening and attach it - it'd never stand up by itself but would be great on a structure thatw as already there, and be a lot more private (if less subtle!)

Clematis montana is lovely. The only thing I'd say is that it can look a little scraggy in the winter, but then so does pretty much any climber.

I've tried kiwis, inspired by an amazing one grown across an alley way in Brittany. They die on me but look amazing, so worth a punt perhaps.

I will have a look at kiwi and the montana.

How many plants do you think i would need to cover it pretty fast ?

god knows, maybe one every 6 feet along the bottom for quick coverage? or 8 ft? (they will spread quickly)

I am one of that rare group that actually LIKES russian vine! i love the autumn colour and the fact that you can almost see it grow.

If you plant a bamboo, make sure you get a clumping Bamboo - ie grows as a single clump. The other sort of bamboo spreads like a carpet, and puts out a thick hard mat of roots 2-4" below the surface, and once you have it, you have to get rid of every root fragment or, like Arnie, it'll be back

I'd go for a Solanum such as this
www.wyevale.co.uk/Solanum-jasminoides-Album---Jasmine-nightshade-(3lt)/0850020710,default,pd.html

Its very quick growing, gives good coverage without being too rampant (I find Clem montana a bit hard to conrol and the flowering period is very short), pretty much evergreen and flowers from spring until November time.

Its only down side is the flowers arent scented, but you could grow a jasmine with it for scent.

I've just bought one... Oh well, I guess I can always trim it back hey?

You bought one?! Lego I have spent weeks trying to destroy one!! It has killed half the hedge, gone over into the field next to us and doubled in size. It almost killed an Elder, I thought Elders were indestructible!

I can't believe that people actually sell Russian vines! Or buy them, for that matter. Shocking.

OP you ask how many Clematis montana you need for your fence.
The answer is ONE. It's a fast growing climber.

The brushwood panels are a great idea to start with, you can attach them to the trellis with wire, then your climber can get to work.

Just back in from 3 hours of extracting Russian Vine from every plant in my garden. Every time I think I have got shot of it, it comes back with a vengeance. Don't do it!!!!

Tarrarra I feel your pain, I've ripped out about 8 metres of hedging really hoping I'd got it all, but I can see half way through the remaining hedge more of the damn stuff popping up, short of taking out the whole hedge and having no privacy between us and next doors field whilst we wait 5 years for the hedge to grow I cant help thinking we're stuck with it :(

wouldn't plant it in your situation.
however we have russian vine on a 15 ft chainlink fence between our garden and an industrial estate anc it's absolutely stunning. we don't see or hear anything from the other side.

No, I absolutely wouldn't. I do like the look of them, but there are plenty of other climbers that are very quick-growing without giving you a nightmare to keep in check. Clematis montana is a great suggestion. Another that gives great foliage is Virginia Creeper. There are two main groups of this, the Boston ivies (parthenocissus quinquefolia or tricuspidata) and the rather nicer (in my view) Chinese ivy, Parthenocissus henryana, which has a lovely red leaf and brilliant autumn colour.

I sometimes wonder if people get confused between Russian vine and bind weed? We bought a Russian vine to cover the shed and I loved it. Surely killing it is a case of cutting it at the root? It's only coming up out the ground in one place?