Fastest Growing Creeper?

[Spinal]

This is acutally linked to my underground water-tank idea... it's progressing well, but I do need to "hide" an IBC (the one connected to a downpipe). Water will then flow from this one to the underground tanks...

Problem is, being bright white with a metal cage (and having a warning sign saying something on the lines of "Warning Contains : monostereate glycol; moderately hazardous if handled properly" I would prefer to hide it...

I'm thinking of growing a creeper over the metal cage, which should be easy as the cage will provide great support - but I need something VERY fast growing...

I'm thinking some evergreen ivy should do the trick, can anyone suggest something faster growing?

Michele

 

[Dieselman]

Virginia Creeper.

Remove the IBC from the cage and wrap it in black plastic to stop algae growth due to light.

 

[Spinal]

Virginia Creeper.

Remove the IBC from the cage and wrap it in black plastic to stop algae growth due to light.

I was hoping the plants leaves would shade it.... to remove it from the cage I would need to cut the cage it seems... is algae a huge problem? (I might spray the entire thing with some matt black paint... that should stop the light...)

Michele

 

[Dieselman]

Normally the top of the cage unbolts and the IBC can be rolled out.

 

[Beetnik]

Russian Vine - not for nothing known as the mile a minute plant.

Much, much faster than anything previously mentioned.

 

[Spinal]

Russian Vine - not for nothing known as the mile a minute plant.

Much, much faster than anything previously mentioned.

From BBC's Gardening site:

Russian vine
Another common name for Russian vine is mile-a-minute, and that's a conservative estimate.

It grows far too big, too fast and too ugly even for a large garden. In a small garden there wouldn't be standing room after the first season. This plant is probably worth avoiding.

Sounds PERFECT! Ordered a plant... I'm still getting a virginia creeper though - read an interesting article about how it attaches itself to bricks by pads instead of tendrils, and as such can be removed by just cutting the base off and letting it die off... I think I'll put one on one of garden walls and see what happens

 

[Dieselman]

You do realise it will get out of control very quickly. You will be trimming it monthly.

 

[IanA2]

If you want a definitive response try the RHS. If you're not a member, PM me the definitive request & I'll submit it for you.

 

[Spinal]

Ian: Thanks for the offer, I've ordered two plants already... Fingers crossed the IBC will be covered before "She" gets back (I'm already indebted to whoever decided to invent/sell ready-grown turf!)

DM: Trimming isn't a problem, the IBC is touching a wall that is absolutely covered with variegated ivy. Very pretty, but it's just flowing... I was considering "peeling" a chunk of it and throwing it over the IBC like a blanket

EDIT: Found another review:

A rampant and potentially vast climber, useful if you have a few acres of wall to cover! It looks good on a tree, large and sturdy enough to take it but is wildly unsuitable for small gardens - it should really be sold with a machete. Russian vine has small green leaves and quite pretty frothy white flower plumes, on reddish stalks. It grows at the rate of a foot or so a day and intrudes itself everywhere. This climber must be used with care: it comes into its own in large scale landscaping - and has been used to great effect on some of the screening fencing round Heathrow Airport where it has colonised by the mile. It is one of those plants where you should stop and think, before introducing it to the suburban patio! It does provide excellent nesting cover for birds.

I should have popped by heathrow with a machete and grabbed some cuttings I'm sure they wouldn't mind a young chap wielding a large blade cutting away at their fence

I'm really curious to see how this plant lives up to its legendary status!

 

[Carrotchomper]

Ian: Thanks for the offer, I've ordered two plants already... Fingers crossed the IBC will be covered before "She" gets back (I'm already indebted to whoever decided to invent/sell ready-grown turf!)

DM: Trimming isn't a problem, the IBC is touching a wall that is absolutely covered with variegated ivy. Very pretty, but it's just flowing... I was considering "peeling" a chunk of it and throwing it over the IBC like a blanket

I'm just picturing the fireworks when "She" returns and finds your formerly pristine garden consists of a large hole in the ground, and lots of pipes and "Hazardous waste" tanks lying around

 

[Dieselman]

Hopefully one will be large enough to live in..

 

[Spinal]

I'm just picturing the fireworks when "She" returns and finds your formerly pristine garden consists of a large hole in the ground, and lots of pipes and "Hazardous waste" tanks lying around

The large hole doesn't exist My only real concern is the manhole cover... I wasn't too sure how to secure it (I didn't use any concrete/cement) so I made a quick wooden frame with half-meter protrusions and buried the lot just under the turf... You can see "something" happened to the lawn, there is a patch in the center that has no moss, no weeds and is getting greener by the day... (oh and it's surrounded by an "outline" - but I'm planning to throw alot of seeds on all the "joints" tomorrow)

Hopefully one will be large enough to live in..

I did consider leaving some space underground to access the IBC's should anything go wrong - I ended up leaving very very little space under the frame... reason? Hand digging is hard work; so the top of the ICBs is only 20 or 30 cm under the lawn...

Michele

 

[Gollom]

The large hole doesn't exist My only real concern is the manhole cover... I wasn't too sure how to secure it (I didn't use any concrete/cement) so I made a quick wooden frame with half-meter protrusions and buried the lot just under the turf... You can see "something" happened to the lawn, there is a patch in the center that has no moss, no weeds and is getting greener by the day... (oh and it's surrounded by an "outline" - but I'm planning to throw alot of seeds on all the "joints" tomorrow)


I did consider leaving some space underground to access the IBC's should anything go wrong - I ended up leaving very very little space under the frame... reason? Hand digging is hard work; so the top of the ICBs is only 20 or 30 cm under the lawn...

Michele

I so want to see pics of this - did you do a series?

 

[carnut]

Russian Vine - not for nothing known as the mile a minute plant.

Much, much faster than anything previously mentioned.

Dont even think about it!!! Once you plant this it you wont ever get rid of it and it will try to take over,not just your garden, but your neighbours too!
I suggest you use fencing panels and something more aesthetically pleasing such as roses or evergreen plant

 

[Will]

A related question for some of the green fingered members we have here - 'normal' Ivy - will all types grow as an effective climber to cover a trellis and an outbuilding?

How quick does it grow? To grow from ground level to cover an area, say, 10ft wide, 6/7ft tall are we talking months/years etc? How about to run along a 1ft trellis that sits about 6ft tall and spans right along 30ft or so?

How many plants would I need - any rule of thumb for 'spacing' or whatever?

I can understand the appeal of the very fast growing climbers (like that Russian Vine), but am reluctant as I feel the initial benefit of quick coverage would soon lead to frustration and regret if it is as ruthless as it suggests!

Many thanks

Will

 

[pammy]

A related question for some of the green fingered members we have here - 'normal' Ivy - will all types grow as an effective climber to cover a trellis and an outbuilding?

How quick does it grow? To grow from ground level to cover an area, say, 10ft wide, 6/7ft tall are we talking months/years etc? How about to run along a trellis 1ft high that spans right along 30ft or so?

How many plants would I need - any rule of thumb for 'spacing' or whatever?

I can understand the appeal of the very fast growing climbers (like that Russian Vine), but am reluctant as I feel the initial benefit of quick coverage would soon lead to frustration and regret if it is as ruthless as it suggests!

Many thanks

Will

You need to be clear about what you want to cover and why? Do you want evergreen cover or do you want something that sheds its leaves in the autumn? Plain green or flowering? What's the aspect? Sunny, shady etc.

Are you prepared for the potential damage it might cause? How do you want it to "fix" ie self fixing or with trellis, wire runners etc.

Climbers are lovely. I have a Honeysuckle, Clematis, Jasmine and Wisteria. I won't have ivy or anything like that as it's just to invasive and damaging and it's not right for my teeny garden.

Have a look at the RHS website and also the BBCs gardening bit. They have loads of info of this ilk.

 

[Will]

You need to be clear about what you want to cover and why? Do you want evergreen cover or do you want something that sheds its leaves in the autumn? Plain green or flowering? What's the aspect? Sunny, shady etc.

Are you prepared for the potential damage it might cause? How do you want it to "fix" ie self fixing or with trellis, wire runners etc.

Climbers are lovely. I have a Honeysuckle, Clematis, Jasmine and Wisteria. I won't have ivy or anything like that as it's just to invasive and damaging and it's not right for my teeny garden.

Have a look at the RHS website and also the BBCs gardening bit. They have loads of info of this ilk.

I basically want to cover some trellis which is 1ft high and runs along above a perimeter wall (about 5 or 6ft tall), to provide better screening and provide some greenery to my (currently bare!) back garden.

The garden is south facing, so there seems to be plenty of sunshine for stuff to grow. I don't have masses of time for gardening duties, so would like something fairly user-friendly to maintain (hence me thinking that the Russian Vine would be quite a handful). I guess an evergreen type would keep looking good all year round and save the mess of loads of fallen leaves in the autumn?

I don't currently know what the best/preferred fixing methods are - although I have obviously seen wires/trellis etc in the past on walls/sheds/fences etc.

The outbuilding is a sectional garden shed. It has a pebbledashed finish which isn't all that pleasing to the eye so would be nice to blend it away into the garden by covering some/most of it with some sort of climber.

Will

 

[pammy]

Have you thought about stuff like Clematis? So many varieties that would grow nicely along a fence top trellis or on a pebbledashed wall. Just keep Clematis roots cool - so in the shade but the top in sun and it'll do very well. Bear in mind the potential weight and resistance to wind putting extra strain on the trellis if it's on top of fencing.

Some Clematis is very prolific so avoid it uness you really don't mind it going a bit crazy then hacking it back at the end of the year.

A waxy leaved Ivy would grow well too. The large leaved varieties tend to be faster growing. Don't discount climbing roses either - but they're not very dense to be fair - but look very good against pebble dash as does Wisteria but that's hard to get established and can take years.

hth

 

[Frank O' Phile]

This is my Russian Vine. I hack it back twice a year + the occassinal trim, and it never becomes unmanageable. (though it did eat the roof of the shed one time)

It needs no other maintenance and when it flowers it looks beautiful.

 

[Will]

Hi there - thanks for the picture although looking at it I'm not sure that it's quite what I'm after? I have nightmare visions of it growing out of control and taking over the garden!

I do like the look of regular Ivy, just wondering if anyone knows how well/fast it would grow to cover the items I mentioned (trellis, shed/outbuilding)

Will