Make a collar out of chicken wire (just get a small roll of chicken wire, cut it to about 2/3rds of the height you want the vine to grow--it will grow the rest of the way easily itself. Roll the piece and fasten it around the pole (or mailbox post))

The chicken wire will be nearly invisible before and totally invisible after the vine has climbed it

~CHills

Thanks. Chicken wire it is. Should the wire be wrapped around the iron tight or leave it loose? Could you also tell me how and when to prune these guys?

On a different note, I also have two climbing rose bush that suddenly seem to grow like they are on drugs. Its almost 4ft higher than what it was 3 weeks ago and scares me. Is there way to train them to be bushy? What kind of support would you get for them? Its in front of two pillars at the entrance of my porch

leave it loose. When to prune depends on what kind of clematis you've gotten. There are three kinds of clematis pruning, and once you've figured them out its pretty easy. It all depends on when your plant flowers.

climbing roses climb by snagging their thorns. Shrubbier growth can be encouraged by pruning.

~Chills