Hello,
We are looking to plant Ivy on a high chinlink fece. See attached picture of the fence to be covered. We have a couple of questions and they are the following:
1- What is the best Ivy to survive our winter?
2- How long would it take for the Ivy to provide full coverage?
3- Where can we buy it?
Thanks for contacting Toronto Master Gardeners. Ivy is considered an invasive vine in Ontario therefore we do not recommend that you plant it. There are two native vines you might consider. Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is a vigorous vine that grows up to fifty feet when mature. Wild birds like to eat their berries. The vine turns a vibrant red in the fall. It will cover your fence within a few years. Eventually you would have to prune it to keep it under control. Dutchmans pipe (Aristolochia macrophylla) is another vigorous grower that reaches 30 feet wide when mature. It’s flowers attract birds and butterflies. It will cover the fence within three to four years.
Toronto Master Gardeners do not recommend businesses but if you do an online search for garden centers in your area, you will find that they often carry these two vines.
For more information about these vines, please review the following sites:
https://www.ontarioinvasiveplants.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Southern-Grow-Me-Instead-1.pdf