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mary_rockland

clematis and plastic chicken wire support

8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago

Hi,

I've grown several clematis and found that trellis was not enough support. So with my new "The President" clematis I decided to use plastic hardware cloth also known as chicken wire as my support method. I found a gray one which seemed perfect as the shed wall behind it is close in color. It also seems to have enough heft to it to support. But, now I've read some things that make me question whether or not the clematis will climb this plastic or not and if it will be strangled by it. The holes are 1/2 inch square. Has anyone had experience with this variety or similar on plastic hardware cloth of similar grid? Any thoughts from experienced clematis growers?

Comments (3)

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    My response from the other thread copied here:

    I would use a mesh with larger holes. The plants cling to it well, but it is also easy to do any needed pruning or to remove dead vines. My goal is usually 4”-8” holes, which the plants do fine with, but lets me do maintenance more easily since my hands can fit through the holes. I have seen this type of wire galvanized/gray, wire coated with green or black plastic, and ungalvanized rust coated. The only larger mesh plastic I have seen is perhaps wider diameter pieces than ideal and so a bit more difficult for the clematis to climb, and bright orange since it is snow fencing.

    PS It must be a regional thing, but here chicken wire and hardware cloth are different. Hardware cloth is less than 1” galvanized wire mesh, usually 1/4” or 1/2”. Chicken wire is a quite fine gauge wire with hexagonal openings, usually between 1”-2 1/2”. I love differences in local English uses of various terms.

  • 8 years ago

    I've never used plastic mesh but wire hardware cloth has been making a good support for clematises in our 'north alley' garden since 2015 when we used it to extend the height of the 4' chainlink fence after a coyote came over the fence and attacked our miniature poodle - fortunately DH heard the noise and chased it off before and damage was done to our dog! The coyotes could still get over the now-6' fence if they wanted to but it would at least discourage them and they'd probably damage the height extension, making their presence more obvious. In the 3+ years since we did the extension in Feb.-Mar. 2015, we've not had any more coyote encounters. The clematises that grew on to chainlink fence raced up the new height extension as soon as they sprouted new growth in 2015! In the spring we cut the clematises back to 3-4' and rip off the higher foliage with no difficulty. So far, the clematises seem to be thriving there - as are other vines that grow on the fence.

    Some pictures:

    Making the fence taller in Feb. 2015 - you can see clematis stems in the corner...:


    Clematises on the fence by mid July 2015:

    In this picture from 2016 you can see some clematises growing on/through the mesh:


    July 2017:


    And these pictures for last month show some of the other vines on the fence too:

    I'd be inclined to use the wire mesh rather than plastic and support it on a frame of some sort so there is enough room between the mesh and the shed to allow the clematis to go up both sides of the mesh.

    mary_rockland thanked woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
  • 8 years ago

    What a gorgeous flowering wall.

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