planting shrubs close to a chainlink fence

I am planning to put a chain link fence around my garden area to help keep out the critters (read-dh, cats and deer) and I would like to plant some privet and purple sand cherry bushes and some red prince weigelas. I am wondering how close to the fence I can put them. I have a feeling they will get larger than the tag says, but I don't think any of them will be woody enough to damage the fence. I was thinking of planting kind of close to it so they actually would grow into it and then from neither side you wouldn't be able to really see the fence, kind of disguise it. Will it work?

I think I've seen an old Weigela growing through a chain-link fence. It only hid the fence where the shrub was taller than the fence. I've seen Lonicera and clematis growing nicely in a fence and they hid it pretty well.

I think a vine would be better suited next to a fence. A shrub would be better placed a distance from the fence so it would not interfere with maintenance for either.

There is a lady up the street from us who plants Purple Amaranth along her chain link fence. Very little maintenance required.

But won't the Purple Amaranth die back in winter, leaving no cover?

I'd agree with a climbing plant, ideally an evergreen one - I'd use ivy (it's native here, so good to have, but unfortunately an invasive alien for MO so not a good idea there).

Resin

I guess Akebia would be deciduous there. I've seen Euonymus fortunei grow up a fence as well as other things. It's evergreen.

I need the structure of the bushes, the bulk as a backdrop for the rest of the yard. I can't plant vines along the chainlink I already know my dh will weedeat them off. Been there and done that. Part of the purpose of the fence though is -everything in it is mine and dh can't touch :)
So the real reason for the fence is to hopefully deter deer. I know deer are lazy and they don't like to jump wide and tall and the same time. So I need the row of bushes to deter them. I have some hollies out there now, and I just want to keep adding to the row. I like weigelas because of the spring blooms of course and I thought the purple foliage from the sand cherry shrubs would be pretty during the summer. So just trying to think of some shrubs that I can let grow up around the fence and not really get too woody and ruin the fence, but get large enough to deter deer and add interest for different seasons.

I would say Leyland Cypress but not sure how they would do in your area. Fast growing privacy screen but they can get very tall if allowed.

If you're looking for uniformity, boxwood/inkberry/barberry are all trimmable to whatever size you want. Privet obviously is prunable also, but wants to get big, so to me it's a constant battle to keep it in bounds.
I personally prefer mixtures of shrubs with more interesting foliage/flowers/fall color (viburnum, azalea, physocarpus, duetzia, itea, many others), rather than symmetric or formal plantings.
I'm not a capable enough gardener to keep everything alive;
when one of a matched set dies, it leaves an obvious gap.
When one of mine dies, I just throw in a different one and no one notices!

I'd go with all of the above. Plant vines that can take some shade and, at the same time, plant shrubs that will grow quickly and keep your DH away from the fence. Hide the weed-whacker if need be.
Crape myrtles grow incredibly quickly in my area. I planted one that was about 6 feet tall, and it seemed like it reached 18 feet in a few years. I'm with Weerobin: through the rule book away, and plant one of everything you'd like to try.
You didn't say how tall the fence will be, but unless it's at least 8 feet tall, it will not keep out hungry deer as long as they can see a landing place on the other side. I had a 6' wooden privacy fence installed to deter deer. There was a single 1 1/2 to 2" gap that they could see through, and they jumped it. I had the gap closed, and they still jumped it because they already knew what was on the other side. I then rigged burlap about 4 feet off the ground where they were coming over, making sure that it would collapse under their weight, and landing on it scared them enough that they gave up.

Well that is the idea Muddy. Deer can jump 8 ft easily, but they can't jump height AND width at the same time. So even if it is just 4-6 feet tall, if it also has 4-6 ft of width, they won't go over it, I am told. I will have other areas of the fence they can get access to, but I also know that deer are lazy and won't jump over anything they don't have to. So if I make it an inconvenience to get into my yard, they might just mosie on over to the neighbors totally unfenced yard and snack over there?! I truly hate deer. Squirrels are on my list too of the hated, along with moles... I do have some crepe myrtle, but the cooler zone here doesn't allow them to get very big really, they die back to the ground during the winter and so never really form a tree.

I do have some leyland cypress on the back end of the yard but it says 15 wide and 50 tall, so the height would make them look ridiculous I am afraid in the spot I need. They are evergreen though so I did manage to find a spot for 3 of them. Says they grow fast, I hope they do!

I'm surprised your crepe myrtles die to the ground. Mine used to, 15yrs ago. But now I've got several 12ft tall or so. So if you haven't tried them lately, global warming has introduced them to my yard; maybe for you, too?

I was looking for a picture, but only have a picture of the trunk of one. (I love the mottled trunk of crepe myrtle). You can see it is about 4inches in diameter, so it's a pretty substantial plant. You can also see one of my attempts at keeping the deer from rubbing the bark of my trees. Don't copy this method; doesn't work...

Perhaps its an adaptation sort of thing, rather than a 'global warming' thing that allows your Crepe Myrtles to become hardier Weerobin. Thanks for the info, I'm gonna try them now - I love them.

Are you sure deer caused the bark to fall off, Weerobin? Some crape myrtles shed almost all of the bark from their trunks every year.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply this pattern was caused by deer. This is one of the few lucky trees which have escaped the rubbing, so this is just the natural exfoliating bark of crepe myrtles, which I love. Sadly, I can show many examples of deer rubbing the bark all the way around and the resulting demise of the tree. Around here, Oct/Nov are the worst months for it. And it's uncanny that they only rub my prized trees, never a scrubby elm or hackberry sapling...

Edited to add that the cultivar shown, lagerstroemia fauriei Townhouse, is known for it's particularly striking bark pattern... too bad it's not a great picture!

This message was edited Nov 14, 2013 7:55 PM

There might be something about your prized trees that makes them more attractive. I couldn't figure out why deer passed up my neighbors' identical plants in favor of mine until I read that deer (especially does) seek out well-fertilized and well-watered plants because they need the minerals and water. It didn't make me feel any better about having my plants munched on, but it did reassure me that it wasn't all in my mind !
I would say that deer-rubbing is one problem I haven't had, but I don't want to jinx it.

Lucky you. Here's what you're missing.
First picture is fresh rubbing of a thuja.
2nd picture is what fastigiated thuja's end up looking like in my yard - a bare spot at rubbing height.
3rd picture is a freshly rubbed Higasayama Japanese maple. To my eye, it looks rubbed completely around, so I doubt it will survive.
4th is a scar from prior rubbing on a star magnolia.
You can see an unrubbed trunk in the background with one of my trunk protectors in place.
Last is a picture of the trunk protectors I have to use on vulnerable young trees. Unsightly, but usually effective (not always).
You can see why I always dread the fall, when most of the damage occurs.

So sorry to see the damage Wee, Its one thing to hear about it and quite another to see it first hand. Another suburbia blessing I can count.

That's terrible Wee; I feel bad for you. I would be using those trunk protectors too. They're not so bad; actually I'd say they're the most attractive I've seen. I haven't seen damage around here, knock on wood. I live in the suburbs, which is one of the reasons we have an exploding deer population: no natural predators, and lots of tasty plants in people's yards. In thinking about it, I see a lot less bucks than does. Obviously, enough bucks are around, but I suspect they're hit by cars in greater numbers because they're crossing the roads in search of territory and females.

A funny story: I once looked up from gardening to see a neighbor's cat in a stand-off with a deer standing 10 feet away. The cat was frozen in place, so I went over to scare off the deer. At first it just looked at me and didn't budge. I had to clap my hands to get it to meander away to another neighbor's yard.

Last funny story: while I was typing, a squirrel came up and peered through our patio door to see if humans were around to give it peanuts. One of our cats was right on the other side and went nuts!

An addendum to the deer rubbing problem.
I did a yard survey today to find virtually nothing left of another Japanese maple (1st pic) and a young paperbark maple (2nd pic). Both of them had trunk 'protection', but unfortunately I found the trunk protectors lying on the ground next the the remnant stubs.
I can't imagine either of these plants recovering...
It's exasperating!

Exasperating is putting it mildly! That's terrible!!
I consulted my "deer psychology" book to find out what makes bucks choose one tree over another, and learned that they prefer saplings or shrubs with trunks from one to four inches in diameter, with smooth bark and no low limbs... no surprise to you, I'm sure.
Perhaps you could put temporary structures around the trees during the fall months when bucks are doing the most damage.
I have young trees in my front yard, but they're staked with wires running from a central point on the trunk to the ground. I don't think bucks are as much of a problem here - I haven't even seen damage to trees in the woods near us - but the wires might also deter them.

I was actually thinking of wooden boxes at least 4 feet tall. They might not look pretty, but who cares?! You could probably make some out of picket fence boards.

What about the wood snow fencing, wrapped around three good size stakes. wood that be sturdy enough?

One fence I have seen that keep deer out are actually 2 fences about 3 or 4 feet apart. They realize they would be caught in the middle. Sounds like your plants that are actually bushes. Like the Weigelia, Forsythia, Boxwoods, Variegated Weigelias are neat. Bees love them, they smell so good. Barberry are wonderful. But that type if you have room would be almost like the double fence.

But back to the plantings, how about Pyracantha. Something green year around. With the pretty red berries.

I had not thought about Pyracantha. I will look into that. I do think they get rather large though.



Would wrapping trees with barbed wire keep the deer from rubbing them?

Do you know why they do that? Isn't it in the mating season? In the NW the rutting season is coming up next week. Are they marking their areas? Is that the bucks rubbing their antlers on the trees?


edited to add: Can you spray something on them to cover the smell? If that is it?

This message was edited Nov 16, 2013 11:24 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer_rub

Planting thorny shrubs around trees likely to be attacked by deer might help, although the trees would of course need other protection while the shrubs grew.

There are about 5 Poncirus trifoliata shrubs (see pics) growing in woods near me that I plan to cut down because they're obnoxious non-native invasives. I'm thinking about dragging them to an area in which I'm tending native seedlings and placing them around the seedlings to keep deer away. It would kill 2 birds with one stone, because I'm not sure how else I could dispose of them.

Weerobin, this might not work for you, but I've noticed that deer avoid plants growing in the woods when they have minty-smelling plants growing around them. Mint does not deter deer in my yard - they ate roses and tomatoes growing right next to mint - but they seem to steer clear of it in the woods (strong scents = "confused nose" = reduced ability to smell predators). I'm going to plant lots of native mint family plants in the woods to see if they deter deer.

Thanks for suggestion Muddy; might try it, though need to check first to be sure there are some mints which won't take over the universe! A natural solution would be great.

Muddy, your Poncirus trifoliata is cool, the stems and trunk look like plastic! I'm gonna find me some.
Another thorny suggestion would be Osage Orange, giving both depth and height for a barrier.

Weerobin, I haven't put them to the test yet, but the mint-scented plants I plan to plant in the hopes of deterring deer are Monarda fistulosa (wild Bergamot), Cunila origanoides (Stone Mint) and/or Pycnanthemum virginianum (mountain mint), all of which are natives. I think they would be easy to pull up if they spread too much.
The plants that protected deer-magnets growing in the woods were Perilla frutescens (beefsteak plant), which are non-native. While I was pulling them up, I noticed that the greenbriar plants near them hadn't been touched by deer, whereas the other greenbriars in the woods had been stripped of all leaves.

Mipii - Poncirus trifoliata do look cool, but the thorns are vicious! I'd think twice if I were you !

First, apologies to Frilly for hijacking her thread!!
It's funny how off-topic we can get; I apologize for my part of it.
I think the thorny approach is problematic;
I suspect it will effectively keep deer away, but you'll have to keep away also.
I have ponciris trifoliate flying dragon (pictured),
which is an amazingly thorny thing; really vicious thorns.
But it certainly is inpenetrable by beast or man.
And Muddy, I have been leery of those mountain mints because of their rambunctious reputation.
But maybe I'll try one. They otherwise sound cool.

Oops. Where'd the picture go?? Here it is!

Surrounding shrubs with minty plants was my plan A, so maybe I'll stick with that...that and protective netting for awhile.
Poncirus trifoliata look like something out of Harry Potter!

Yes, we have hijacked FrillyLily's thread; sorry!

FrillyLily, even if Pyracantha got large (and I imagine there are smaller selections), wouldn't it just flop over onto the other side of the fence? You'd get foliage on both sides, and it would make for a wider barrier. I think it'd look neat!

If that Poncirus trifoliata was planted around a chainlink fence, sparing the gate, you could enter it unscathed. Certainly looks Medievil and cool. What a great intruder barrier all the way around.

I don't know why you couldn't grow the Pyracantha espalier fashion.

Speaking of mint you all, I had a problem with mice or rats in my car. I like to keep a roll of paper towels int there for when we stop at fast food restaurants. I cannot stand their napkins. But the little critters were scratching the paper towels off for their nests or something. I bought some mint oil, not extract, and sprinkled some around in the front floor.

It worked!! They do not like it. So, the mint, I would suggest very strong, might just deter the deer. Try anything.

Yes, I can see the Pyracantha on her fence already. Beautifufl.

FRILLY- I had a Ninebark Summer Wine- I liked it but didn't have a place for that width. It wants to form an arching shape that looked like it would top at five feet but widen to six or eight. White clusters of spring bloom in purple foliage. Calycanthus floridus- will make it to six feet or so, maybe more, mine isn't old enough to know. Mostly upright, similar to privet but won't get tall woody stems like privet. It will in my experience sucker a lot from the ground if planted in a moist spot. That could benefit you if you want it to widen to a small thicket, but not if suckers going under the fence ill be annoying. And Van houtte spirea always the old favorite.

I wonder if deer like the Ninebark? I planted some of those purple sand cherry shrubs, (I think they are a type of plum actually, and the deer loved them. Ate the leaves off. The deer here are not even scared, they come up in the yard and we go out and clap and yell trying to scare them, and they just stand there. We can get pretty close. Then they just scanter off to the corner of the yard and wait for us to leave so they can come back out again.

Ha ha! Sounds like the deer in my neighborhood. They used to stare at me until I left the area with plants they wanted to eat.

I recommend finding out what the deer like to eat - or rather, don't tend to eat - in your area, because their taste varies by region and even by neighborhood. Some plants that are supposed to be highly deer-resistant in my area are devoured by deer. On the other hand, they don't eat some of the plants they're supposed to love, like yews. They have never touched the foliage of my blueberries, either, even though a neighbors' landscaper told them they are deer favorites. So, it depends.

I found this link about ninebark: http://www.ehow.com/facts_7738846_physocarpus-opulifolius-deer-resistant.html. It looks as if they do like it.

An addendum...you might think about testing a shrub's deer-resistance by buying one and leaving it out where deer can get it. If they eat it, it's not deer-resistant in your area! I wish I had thought of that before spending hours planting winterberries. Somehow it didn't occur to me that deer might like them, which they do, and so now I have to dig them up and move them behind my fence. I've decided to limit my battles with the deer. If they like something, I usually either move it or give it away, although I do use systemic Repellex tablets on Azaleas and Rhododendrons in my front yard because I don't want to replace them and I don't want deer eating the flower buds.

That reminds me - I planted Myrica pensylvanica (northern bayberry) this summer, and the deer haven't touched the foliage, so this might be a good candidate for your fence area. They probably will drop their leaves during the winter (but are still green in my area), but the females should have berries during the winter.