Here are the Best Plants to Cover a Fence. These will help you provide a natural privacy screen and a beautiful view as well.
If you want to screen your fence or wall in style, then you can try growing one of these Best Plants to Cover a Fence. They offer privacy while providing a beautiful outlook to the landscape.
Have a look at the best privacy fence ideas for backyards here
Best Plants to Cover a Fence
Vines
1. English Ivy
Botanical Name: Hedera helix
USDA Zones: 6-9
One of the easiest and good-looking plants, this vine is easy to grow and covers the spot quickly, providing a thick layer of green foliage! However, it can be invasive and you might have to prune it on regular basis to ensure it does not end up becoming a nuisance.
Here are the best English Ivy varieties
2. Curtain Creeper
Botanical Name: Vernonia elaeagnifolia
USDA Zones: 5-11
If you want a vine that beautifully falls over your fence and covers it completely, then you must grow a cotton creeper. Just make sure to prune it regularly to keep it under control.
3. Chilean Potato Bush
Botanical Name: Solanum crispum ‘Glasnevin’
USDA Zones: 7-11
The attractive bright green leaves of the potato vine contrast beautifully with its fragrant blue-purple flowers. The plant grows best in full sun.
4. Garlic Creeper
Botanical Name: Mansoa alliacea
USDA Zones: 8-11
If you are someone who loves the color purple, then this is the plant for you. This low-maintenance ornamental vine also grows funnel-shaped flowers that are highly fragrant.
5. Rangoon Creeper
Botanical Name: Combretum indicum
USDA Zones: 6-10
Popular for its bunch of flowers, Rangoon creeper will keep you happy with its awesome combination of green foliage and red blooms, and scented flowers. It does best in full sun.
6. The Arctic Kiwi
Botanical Name: Actinidia kolomikta
USDA Zones: 3-8
Be it trellises, walls, or fences, this vine will be happy to climb and trail them all. For best foliage color, grow it where it gets dappled sunlight.
7. Crimson Glory Vine
Botanical Name: Vitis coignetiae
USDA Zones: 4-8
As the name suggests, this grapevine cousin looks exceptional with its crimson autumn foliage color. The best part is, it also grows contrasting green flowers.
8. Trailing Abutilon
Botanical Name: Abutilon megapotamicum
USDA Zones: 7-10
The attractive parrot-green, heart-shaped leaves of the plant pair really well with the contrasting bell-shaped red flowers. It does best in direct sunlight.
9. Passionfruit Vine
Botanical Name: Passiflora edulis
USDA Zones: 8-12
Passionfruit vine has many different varieties that can be used to brighten up a fence under full sun.
10. Boston Ivy
Botanical Name: Parthenocissus tricuspidata
USDA Zones: 4-9
This beautiful climber is an excellent choice for covering fences and connects itself to the area with tendrils. The best thing about this climber is the foliage that changes the colors from yellow, orange, and red if grown in full sun.
11. Jasmine
Botanical Name: Jasminum
USDA Zones: 6-11
Many jasmine varieties are ideal for covering fences. Pick Jasminum officinale that offers white fragrant blooms with a dash of pink. It grows fast, so keep it under control with regular pruning.
‘Chinese Star Jasmine’ is another great choice for covering a fence – it shows off fragrant small white blooms and bright green vine and leaves.
12. Coral Pea
Botanical Name: Hardenbergia violacea
USDA Zones: 8-11
It’s a beautiful evergreen climber with pea-like flowers in the shades of pink, white, or purple. It prefers sunny or partially shaded areas.
13. Chinese Wisteria
Botanical Name: Wisteria sinensis
USDA Zones: 5-9
Wisteria is admired for immensely fragrant lilac blooms and is a great choice for covering fences, archways, pergolas due to its draping flowers.
14. Dutchman’s Pipe
Botanical Name: Aristolochia macrophylla
USDA Zones: 7-11
This deciduous flowering vine can grow up to 20 or 30 feet long. The vibrant, heart-shaped large green leaves fill up densely and cover fences where you need privacy and exotic flowers.
15. Bougainvillea
Botanical Name: Bougainvillea
USDA Zones: 7-12
This tropical plant with twisting branches covered in thorns with heart-shaped, oval leaves and clusters of blooms is an apt choice for covering fences.
16. Clematis
Botanical Name: Clematis spp.
USDA Zones: 4-9
Clematis grows rapidly if it finds support for the vine to climb on fences, poles, or trellis. This versatile vine grows up to 20-30 feet in several months and gives perfect coverage.
17. Climbing Hydrangea
Botanical Name: Hydrangea petiolaris
USDA Zones: 4-8
This beautiful flowering vine climbs on fences, trellis, trees and grows up to 30-50 feet tall. It takes few years to establish and flowers from early summer to mid-fall.
18. Honeysuckle
Botanical Name: Lonicera
USDA Zones: 5-10
Honeysuckle vines are heat-tolerant fragrant plants that bear well to a sturdy fence, trellis, or post and cover the area fast in a short span of time.
19. Trumpet Vine
Botanical Name: Campsis radicans
USDA Zones: 4-9
It can grow in a range of conditions like heat, cold, sunny, or shade. The bright orange and red blooms enhance the overall look of the wall.
20. Black-Eyed Susan Vine
Botanical Name: Thunbergia alata
USDA Zones: 3-10
Black-Eyed Susan Vine makes for a spectacular focal point when grown to cover fences, trellis, or arbor. It makes a rapid privacy screen, and you can also combine it with purple hyacinth bean or morning glory for a fantastic look.
21. Hyacinth Bean
Botanical Name: Dolichos lablab
USDA Zones: 7-11
This vigorous annual vine with pink-purple blooms and red-purple pods can add a pop of colors to your fence or trellis. It can grow up to 10-15 feet high and does best in full sun.
22. Hops
Botanical Name: Humulus lupulus
USDA Zones: 5-9
The attractive climbing vines of hops are an ideal choice for covering shabby fences, as its tendrils connect themselves to frames. Growing up to 15-20 feet in length, it offers dense foliage and provides superb privacy.
23. Morning Glory
Botanical Name: Ipomoea purpurea
USDA Zones: 3-10
Morning Glory is an old-fashioned flowering vine with thin tendrils that wrap around poles and wires when climbing over fences or trellis. It is easy to grow; plant it under full sun.
24. Climbing Rose
Botanical Name: Rosa
USDA Zones: 5-11
You can grow climbing roses to cover fences, providing adequate support to its canes. Train the long cane to grow in a horizontal position, the flowers spread out and give great visual and coverage.
25. Carolina Jessamine
Botanical Name: Gelsemium sempervirens
USDA Zones: 7-10
This beautiful twining vine with deep green foliage and matching yellow flowers can grow up to 15-20 feet. It does well in both full and indirect light.
26. Mandevilla
Botanical Name: Mandevilla spp
USDA Zones: 8-11
This flowering vine is great for small fences and trellises, as it has tendrils that help the plant to attach to anything.
27. Virginia Creeper
Botanical Name: Parthenocissus quinquefolia
USDA Zones: 4-9
If you want colorful foliage, then go for ‘Red Wall’ and ‘Yellow Wall,’ which have leaves that take color according to their names in fall! It does well in part shade.
28. Sweet Autumn Clematis
Botanical Name: Clematis terniflora
USDA Zones: 5-9
Come summer and this vine will greet you with exceptional small white flowers that contrast really well with the dark green foliage.
29. Chocolate Vine
Botanical Name: Akebia quinata
USDA Zones: 4-9
Also popular by the name Five Leaf Akebia, it can grow up to 30-40 feet and works as a great screen plant for the fences. It does well in both sun and shade.
30. Moonflower Vine
Botanical Name: Ipomoea alba
USDA Zones: 8-12
The vine grows 5-6 inches wide white flowers that look like the shape of the moon. It grows up to 15-20 feet and does well in the sun and partial shade.
31. Crossvine
Botanical Name: Bignonia capreolata
USDA Zones: 5-9
This vine is native to the US and grows orange trumpet-shaped flowers that look really beautiful with the green foliage. Grow ‘Tangerine Beauty if you want to attract hummingbirds!
Trees and Shrubs
32. Bamboo
Botanical Name: Bambusoideae
USDA Zones: 5-8
Create a green and lush privacy screen by growing multiple bamboo plants together. They are also one of the fastest-growing, so grow them in raised planters to control the growth.
33. Arborvitae
Botanical Name: Thuja
USDA Zones: 3-11
The dense and thick foliage of these evergreen plants is an excellent choice for privacy screens. It does well in a variety of climate types and is also easy to maintain.
34. Privet
Botanical Name: Ligustrum
USDA Zones: 3-8
The lush foliage of this semi-evergreen shrub is an ideal choice for privacy. Given the right care and growing conditions, it can grow up to 2-4 feet each year.
35. Boxwood
Botanical Name: Buxus
USDA Zones: 5-8
A popular choice for borders, it also makes for a great privacy plant. Do not be too aggressive when it comes to pruning, and it can grow up to 15-20 feet tall in no time.
36. Holly
Botanical Name: Ilex
USDA Zones: 3-11
Coming in different types that range from green to variegated, holly can be a good choice as a privacy screen. Sky Pencil Holly is the one you should go for.
37. Hicks Yew
Botanical Name: Taxus × media
USDA Zones: 5-8
The plant may not be as personable as the others on the list, but it does the work with its evergreen backdrop of soft needles. Come winter and it’ll be laden with berries!
38. Euonymus
Botanical Name: Euonymus japonicus
USDA Zones: 6-9
The best thing about this genus is it comes in green, gold, and variegated varieties. The plant does well in all weather types and provides a lush hedge.
