Alternate trellis suggestions and/or training helps

Hello all - glad to see some familiar faces over "here." :) I've got some climbers that were planted last summer coming up nicely for me along my fence - variegated honeysuckle, sweet almond clematis and an unknown that supposedly has blooms with a gardenia scent (will probably post a pic for ID later when blooms emerge) My question is...what do ya'll use to assit with their climbing? I've tried to guide by "pointing" them in the right direction (fence)...the unknown vine has figured it out but the other two aren't quite as smart. LOL Any training suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Chantell,
Might your clematis be Sweet Autumn instead of Sweet Almond?

I have 3 methods of dealing with vines. The first is I buy the stretchy green landscape ribbon, and loosely tie bunches of vine to my split rail fence. The ribbon is initially visible, but as the vine gets bushier, not very visible. The second method is I buy black mesh designed to grown vining veggies, such as pole beans, and I secure it to my split rail fence, and then weave the vine pieces into the mesh. And the final method is I had a handyman make a sturdy rectangular frame, and then bought heavy-duty white plastic fencing and attached it to the frame. Then I train the vines through the fencing on the frame. I will try for a picture or 2 when I get home, if anyone is interested.

And finally, a neighbor has installed some cup hooks on the underside of a decorative yard light, and then strings monofilament line from a small collar on the ground to the cup hooks, so the lines are hardly visible as the vine grows up the monofilament.

Susan in Minneapolis

Ooooo...I knew I'd get some great answers "here." Thank you so much!! Mercy my brain goes MIA at times...was combining the Sweet Autumn Clematis name with Sweet Almond Verbenia -- you were correct. LOL

HD has something that is a velcro type. It is sold in a roll and is green. Can be used over and over.....it is a lifesaver.

Here are examples of the methods I have for growing vines. The first is the trellis my handyman made for me. Not arty, but not offensive, and when the vine is full, not much noticed. ...

The second is using the stretchy green landscape ribbon ...

And the last is black mesh designed to grow veggies, with my Beardie Rosie in the background.

Susan in Minneapolis

Susan - ALL of those are great ideas!! What is the white plastic "netting" in the first photo? And where did you find the black mesh in the 3rd pic? That last one is probably going to be the easiest for me...I'll just run some of it up my fence where the vines are planted by. Thank you so much!!

Hi Chantell,
The white plastic is flexible fencing that is sold in rolls (white or green), probably intended for a temporary use, as it comes with thin plastic coated metal stakes to push into the ground. I think it is about 3 ft. wide. The black mesh comes in a bag in the garden section, intended for pole beans, cucs, etc. I think I bought each one at HD. Good luck, and show us your results!

Susan

Wonder if Lowes and HD will give me frequent buyer points? LOL Sure they'll know me on a first name basis soon. Will go over today...thanks again so much...very much appreciate your help with this.

Decided to (for now) secure strands of the vines to the fence with the velcro gardening tape I found in the depths of my bin...LOL. If they start attaching on their own, I'll just stick with the velcro...if now...I'll be picking up the plastic fencing. Are vines able to be ID'd w/o the blooms?

Hi Chantell! How have you been?

I love Susan's method's above. Will have to try those. For the time being, on a limited budget, I used jute and a staple gun in the back yard. It's supporting various morning glories, passion vines and some mexican flame vine and seems to be holding it's own. I just ran the rope down the length of the fence and stapled it every two feet or so. I made 4 or 5 of those lines on a 6' fence and it seems to be working well. Can't see the rope and the vines are happy.

How's that beautiful grandbaby?

Kristi

It seems that I hate to play with hardscapes, as I've done a terrible job of prividing support for my vines on time. But recently, I was turned on to using cattle panels as a strong pre-made support for vines. My "training" method for vines is to prune them at the proper time and provide support that matches their clinging-style, so they train themselves. I just like them to hold on with their own devices, so I only use twist-ties when they are brand new, and let them do the clinging from then on.

Here is the Lonicera 'Harlequin' ( Vareigated Honeysuckle) and a Clematis 'Warsaw Nike' on their new support.

KRISTI!!!!! Hello there - how have you been?!! Here's Chloe - I'm biased but I think she's rather cute!! Love your idea!!

James - can't believe you've got the variegated to climb...I'm having such a time with mine!! Sorry if this is s silly question but how long does those cattle panels last prior to rusting?

There's a cute one, no question about it.

This stuff may be galvanised, so no rust. They are rather stiff, no one will bend one into a roll for sure.
I did notice that it didn't act particularly excited to climb, but one strong stem did after the lilies shaded it out. Give a Lonicera a bit of shade, and the genetic message clicks "It's shady, I must climb a tree to get to the sun"- this is just my theory. A little extra nitrogen may encourage slender (twining) shoot growth. Again, just a guess.

For vines that don't have a clue around my garden, I use a lot
of cable ties. I even tie wads of vines to the fence. Then, when they
fill in or get a clue, I remove the ties if need be, but they are typically
hidden with foliage, so no need to.

Fun thread!

Thanks again all...will continue to work at these pretties!!

What a doll, Chantell! You must be having a blast! so, how many pictures are your carrying around in your purse? I'd have at least a 100.

I picked up lattice at my Lowes...gonna lean that against the fence and "help" the vines along...more on this to attach them to.
Kristi - I have a "couple" LOL

That's what we did too....for the passies and the rangoon creeper. For the price, the lattice works very well.

A couple? Hehehehe......yeah....right! I'd have them on a roll!!!!!

Oh did you mean you wanted to see more? :)

How precious! I can never get oo much of cute babies. You lucky lady!