North facing fence - What to plant to cover it?

Oh no, sorry to hear this. In what way?

 

Have to disagree. Having seen it done with Gloire de Marengo it formed a beautiful, flat sheet of foliage that just required occasional tucking in or snipping to control it. I grow both GdeM and Sulphur Heart to cover 1000l water butts and neither of them is over-vigorous even though the soil is good and they're in shade.

 

I've also had S. Heart on a screen and have G. de M on a fence where I have access to it from both sides, so maintenance is easy enough. H. helix is a bit more vigorous though. If there was a good gap between the fence and trellis so that you could trim from both sides, it would be ok, but I didn't think that was what was being suggested. I thought the fence was a boundary with a neighbouring garden, and the trellis was just being attached to it - unless I've completely misunderstood, which is quite possible!

A garden near me has H. helix as their basic boundary on the fence and they just trim it as you would with a hedge, so it's fine.

 

I was planning exactly as you suggest. It seems like to ensure that it doesn't go through I could attach a water breathable membrane over the fence as once the Ivy has grown you will not be able to see the fence anyway. I will look into it.

 

Ivy marks a wall when you try and remove it. It also damages the mortar. Any small holes in a fence or shed roof it will find its way through. Yes you can cut it like a hedge but the main trunks are becoming thicker and thicker every year hidden by the foliage and eventually your fence will collapse. Disgusting stuff.

 

Shouldn't there be an 'in my opinion' in there somewhere? I would quite agree with you concerning the species Hedera helix but have simply never found the cultivars that I proposed to be a problem.

 

Hmm yes, hearing things like this makes me a little cautious. The last thing I want to do is annoy my neighbours at the back. They recently removed some Bamboo that was running into my garden so I know what it's like having an invasion

 

I quite like the look of the Hedera Sulphur Heart so maybe I’ll go with that. I will have to think about it. Shame a Jasmine won’t go there as I like that.

 

I completely agree that ivy leaves marks when removed and eagerly seeks out the tiniest gaps but it doesn't damage mortar unless the mortar is in a poor shape to begin with.

This is mentioned on the rhs website under frequently asked question, Does ivy damage buildings?

Ivy on buildings and fences / RHS


I must admit I'm fond of ivy which is why I wanted to dispell a myth, it was amazing the amount of bees, and the sound of them, when the ivy flowers were out in our local woods recently. I wouldn't want it growing up a fence though.

 

I've always found G de M a well behaved plant. I've used the hard green wire netting to grow it up in my current garden to camouflage my oil tank.
I have plenty of common Ivy too and agree with @Thevictorian that the flowers are very attractive to bees and other insect life. Not always suitable in some instances tho.