wind break plants

[hedgerow pete]

heres an idea i need working on.

due Mr fox (now sadly deceased)

i have rebuilt the chinken run to which the wind now whistles right through as i have used chicken wire on all the sides and the roof.

i was thinking of frowing a climber up and around some of the sides that if it wanted to climb up and on to the wire roof it could.

what should i use, any suggestions, and keep the answers cheap??

i was thinking honey suckle, good for the bees? and not posionous if the chickens peck at it?

hops, i could make a beer after the seasons finished, no nector but what about pollen?

what do you lot think

yes sorry hops

 

[Cazza]

Hi HP
Do you mean Honeysuckle to make beer? I'm thinking you mean hops?

Hops would probably be a pain because they die off every year and you would curse the job of unwinding them from the chicken wire each season. I know I do when I take mine down from a lattice style fence.

Honeysuckle would be better because it doesn't need cutting back so much. Never seen bees on mine??? Wrong shaped flower? Not sure?

I'm sure someone else will come up with a better idea given some thinking time.
Cazza

 

[Erichalfbee]

You could try a Russian Vine but you will have to chop it back. It's a relative of Japanese Knotweed though nowhere near as invasive. The autumn flowers are attractive to bees. Or you could go with a Clematis Grandiflora which grows quickly and flowers in the spring. Plant it with a species rambling rose which has a simple flower with pollen and nectaries and will give you blooms from June to August.

 

[Headnavigator]

Pyracantha? Grows fast and can be clipped/trained however you like, trimmed into short hedge/tall hedge, bushes or natural. Evergreen, lots of flower, bees seem to like it though I don't know if it has any particular properties, and berries the birds love.
Oh - and if Mr Fox or his rels come calling they'll get scratched to bits on the thorns if they try and get through.

 

[Ervyne]

I would think that a Russian Vine ('mile a minute') would possibly be too vigorous, and they take some killing off when they get established in the wrong place. Honeysuckle, especially the 'montana' variants grow well, but die back to the wood in the winter, so don't give such a great wind break.

A winter jasmine would be a good choice, it gives good cover, is evergreen and the flowers are much needed winter/early spring support for the bees

 

[tonybloke]

It's got to be passiflora, the bees love the flowers, it's evergreen, and very vigorous. oh, and the fruit is edible ( in a good year)
I'll send you a rooted plant if you like

 

[RoofTops]

Clematis montana should be cheap to buy or you could probably snip off a cutting if you can find one when no one is looking. Details here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/6827.shtml

It is very vigorous but I don't think it is much use to bees.

 

[Ervyne]

I would think that a Russian Vine ('mile a minute') would possibly be too vigorous, and they take some killing off when they get established in the wrong place. Honeysuckle, especially the 'montana' variants grow well, but die back to the wood in the winter, so don't give such a great wind break.

A winter jasmine would be a good choice, it gives good cover, is evergreen and the flowers are much needed winter/early spring support for the bees

Look at me talking rubbish about the honeysuckle! I thought mine was a Montana, but I remember it is a clematis now!!

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have a couple of winter flowering honeysuckles which the bees are working. Pretty little bushes but I don't think they grow very quickly.

 

[psafloyd]

What ever you do, DO NOT plant a Russian vine. Your neighbours will not thank you for it.

Why not try sweet peas?They are fairly hardy and will grow all season if you take the flowers off. They also smell fantastic, like honeysuckle, jasmine, etc.

 

[psafloyd]

Also, HP, Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes in the US, I understand) make a good wind break. They can also be recycled as delicious when roasted. THough in addition to wind break, they can be used to break wind in copious amounts...

 

[hedgerow pete]

the wife has banned me for ever fron eating or growing thoses!!

 

[Hombre]

My neighbours grew pyrocantha (fire thorn) against the fence (the one that the plants eventually pushed down) a good few years ago. Since then, trying to re-establish the fence line has been difficult and the clipping and pruning regularly results in multiple puncture wounds to the hands.

It is certainly biological barbed wire and has some nice flowers and red berries, but I have to say that I can't recommend it for any social properties. The previous neighbour used to have a bassett hound and it used to stick it's head through with alarming regularity. The thing must have had thorn proof eyeballs.

 

[psafloyd]

the wife has banned me for ever fron eating or growing thoses!!

But they are beautiful plants with a nice flower which the bees love.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes, it's a type of sunflower.