I've gone and done it...

When some years ago, as novice gardeners, we planted a Russian Vine (partly to hide an unsightly domestic oil tank and partly to cover our neighbours leylandii), we were delighted at the speed with which it began to fulfil its purpose. The oil tank disappeared beneath foliage almost before we'd put the tools away (OK, so that's a bit of an exaggeration :hehe, but within a couple of years the thing had grown well up into the leylandii - trouble was, it didn't seem to realise that we wanted it to grow in front of the laylandii, not necessarily through it and thus, not only did the neighbour's hedge still look a mess, but our Russian Vine looked a mess too! It took 5 years to finally rid our garden of this 'plant', but not before it had swallowed up our neighbour's apple and pear trees and brought down a whole panel of said neighbour's fence, which of course we then had to replace. On the positive side, we certainly got a lot of plant for our £3 or £4!

 

I am not filled with confidence by these responses!

Decided to plant it in the chicken run, where there is a fence it can scramble up, a tatty looking leylandii fir that we butchered earlier this year and could do wih covering and of course the chickens who will happily eat any errant off shoots (yes, I know there will be a few of them). I can fence it in until it reaches a suitable, out of chicken head height, although from what you've said, that shouldn't take too long!

However this means I still have to find a clematis for the front garden...

Fidget, this plant only cost £3.49

 

Just hope that the chickens don't stand still for too long or...:hehe:!

Chris

 

... they'll be more battery than free-range :hehe:

 

Actually...I am hoping the Russian Vine will grow up and over what we call, 'the ghosts of Christmas Past' - old Christmas trees that have been planted out and the lower branches massacred by the chickens. If it grows as I'd like it to, it might create a shady cover for them in summer and give them some protection from the rain, as their dust bath area would be underneath it.

Well that's the plan. And I still have to go back to the garden centre for a clematis! But I am stopping smoking next week and my reward to myself for two days of no cigarettes is a Clematis I saw there

 

Aaron... do I detect a little tinsy whiff of impatience creeping in with the purchase of a russian vine!! The number of times I have considered it for my damn chain link fence.

I thought it was only me that admitted to being impatient! :hehe:

 

Perhaps just a smidgen of impatience then...

 

:hehe: I love it!

A clematis montana rubens would do it quickly wouldn't it - and with flowers? I have put three on my chain link fence, and even though people told me it was a quick grower I didn't realise it would start growing as rapidly as it has. I'm really chuffed.

 

Yes, but it won't flower this year now...and I want some flowers this year! See, impatience!

I have a montana climbing through a rogue willow in the back garden, only planted last spring and already quite a few flowers on it. Should look even better next year...drums fingers...

 

I bought this recently for an arch - it is absolutely beautiful - I bought it with two buds on and one has come out - planted it only a week ago. Flowers all through until autumn. There are wonderful clematis on this site. And they are well worth the extra cash as they are really nice and big.

http://www.raymondevisonclematis.com/main/product.asp?productId=26

 

Having made some monumental mistakes - Russian Vine, bamboo, foxgloves to name but three - I have a theory .... the less a plant costs (relative to the size of pot it comes in), the more invasive it's going to be :lollol:

 

This is the clematis 'Josephine' I was telling you about. It had two big buds when I bought in and just over a week later it looks like this.

 

Aaron, in perfect conditions it can grow 45ft IN A SEASON.:lollol::lollol::flag:

 

Knowing my chickens, they'll probably manage to keep it under control! They've destroyed two old Christmas trees, even jumping up to a height of 3 foot to get the new buds. It had better grow fast to avoid them!

 

Only if the chickens are the size of Ostriches and you've got 50 of them.:hehe: