Hi floral,

The thing is, these long runners have not yet developed attachment thingies so they fall away from the fence and would never attach. I need something to hold them against the fence until they self-attach. Twine is possible but maybe not. I'd have to thread the twine between slats (some are too close to each other, most I can get it through), then go behind the fence to tie it off. I could staple the twine to the back side of the fence. Maybe that will work, but even so, I'm not sure I can get the twine tight enough for the runner to be in contact with the wood. The runner would have to be held up by a leaf cluster, so it would sag away from the fence just below the twine. I assume the vine has to be actually in contact with the fence, that any gap at all would mean the attacher would not grow.

I thought there would be a product out there just for this type of thing.

Tacks and twine. Just hammer a few tacks into the woodtie and tie the shoots to the tacks with short pieces of twine. Once the shoots detect the proximity of the wood they'll start to stick. If you use natural fibre twine it will biodegrade by the time the creeper is attached. Alternatively traditional lead headed wall nails work well and look classic.

You know, I'm sure that VC is extremely rampant and will need regular pruning and maintenance to keep it from swamping the fence.

There are other products but personally I hate seeing plastic in a garden and don't like spending money on gizmos.

Great. Clear push pins, so I don't have to hammer. Any rust will get covered by the vines at some point. How about two push pins, pressed in not all the way, one on either side of the vine, then no twine?

Does the vine produce attachment pads in any particular place, like right at where a leaf cluster comes out, or just anywhere when in contact? That is, is there a best place along the vine to encourage attachment?

Black zip-ties will work without being to obvious. Vines will eventually cover it and it's inexpensive.

I'm considering planting VC and would like to know if you plantd seeds or plants.

Thanks,

Mike

Plants, I think 5 gal. Update on clear push pins. Not helpful. It appears that the vine hairs, or whatever the little thingies that actually attach are called, need to be in direct contact. The push pins don't quite do that. The ones that have not slipped out of the pins don't attach. I think zip ties would only work on a round pole fence, and slipping one end thru a gap in the cedar planks and into the next one, you couldn't tighten it enough to provide direct contact.

The only thing I have found is to gently guide some of the attachment hairs into the gaps between planks. They like it in there, cool and attach to either side. And if you can push a bit of vine in too, that will hold it there.

I have a lot of Virginia Creeper in my yard and it is always climbing my cedar fence and I never do anything to help it along.