Re: tall, thin screen
- To: m*@hotmail.com, m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Re: tall, thin screen
- From: J* M*
- Date: Mon, 08 May 2000 11:47:01 -0700
Nan.
I didn't recommend any vines, since you said you hadn't considered a chain
link fence and you wanted a screen 10-15 feet tall, which would be very
expensive and not very wind-resistant in chain link. But if you decided to
go this way, I would think twice before using Lonicera japonica. I find it
just as invasive here (inland--Pasadena) where it gets some summer water as
it is in the rest of the world, and it will survie (not very prettily) with
no summer water at all. It is beautiful and controllable where you can run
it up some vertical support and regularly cut out those branches that spread
out horizontally and head for the ground. But this is highly labor
intensive, and it would dearly love to creep into your compost, from whence
it would travel everywhere. It also spreads from seed, and the birds eat
the fruits, so it can and does get into wild areas, especially wooded areas
near the coast.
There are much better and more controllable vines for a chain link fence
that will hide it and turn it into a green hedge. God made lavender trumpet
vine (Clytostoma callistegioides) to cover chain link fences. Star jasmine
(Trachelospermum jasminoides) is just as good, and once it is established it
will do well on rainfall alone; shear it close to the fence after the blooms
fade. Even needlepoint ivy works exceptionally well when kept closely
sheared and given some summer water. Recently, a vining shrub--Eleagnus X
ebbingii 'Gilt Edge', with gold-variegated leaves, has become my favorite
for this purpose, but it requires careful tying until has covered
completely.
Besides the expense of erecting a support (they have to be strong and
well-maintained to resist the wind) I can assure you that any vine you might
choose will be considerably more work than a self-supporting shrub hedge.
John MacGregor
jonivy@earthlink.net
----------
>From: "michael larmer" <mlarm@hotmail.com>
>To: medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
>Subject: tall, thin screen
>Date: Mon, May 8, 2000, 11:02 AM
>
> This sounds like the perfect use for lonicera japonica, which was getting
> quite a bit of badmouthing here recently (deservedly so if
> you live in the southeastern U.S.)
>
> In the san diego area where I seem to recall you are located, it
> should make an excellent evergreen screen with a relatively long
> summer flowering period, unbelievably good scent, and minimal care
> problems. It is not the same invasive naturalizer in climates with
> dry hot summers. At least this has been my experience here in the
> central valley.
>
> Needs something to climb on though. Works really well on chain link
> fence, but an adequate trellis can be constructed of galvanized posts
> set every eight or ten feet and then strung with fence wire. After four or
> five years you won't see much of it.
>
> This stuff, once established, is pretty drought tolerant. Grows here
> with no summer water at all, but takes longer to reach the size you
> need for a screen under those conditions. Insects and disease are not
> an issue, nothing seems to bother it.
>
>
>
> Yours most respectfully,
> Michael Larmer
>
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