Hello Toronto Master Gardeners, we are renting a place. Ideally, we would like to plant something that provides privacy in the shortest possible time. Maybe planning for next year.
The area is large and very sunny. There is fence, perfect for some vines or similar, I believe. I’m attaching a picture for more information.
Do you have any recommendations? We are located in the Mississauga area.
Thank you
Thank you for contacting the Toronto Master Gardeners about what to plant along your fence for privacy. Do you want your fence to provide coverage and therefore privacy year round ? A vine that is an annual eg. morning glory will die with the first frost and will need to be replanted each year, and then need time to grow each season in order to provide enough coverage for privacy. There are lots of perennial vines to consider, however there are none that are hardy for the planting zone for the Toronto area (Mississauga is zone 6b) and that will hold their leaves all winter.
We have responded to a couple of previous questions about climbing vines for privacy that includes a list of perennial vines from Landscape Ontario and other useful information. Here are the links to these questions :
Evergreen Climbing Vine for Full Sun
For further reading, this is a good article from the CBC about climbing plants :
Everything you need to know about climbing plants and how to choose them
If you are looking for year round privacy, an alternative to vines is evergreens (an investment that you may or may not want to make for a rental property). Our Garden Guide about Evergreens Suitable for Hedging is a good source of information.
The Toronto Master Gardeners have answered many questions about privacy screening. You can see all of our responses by entering privacy (or fast growing privacy or privacy screen or privacy fence etc.) in the search box under Find it Here on our homepage.
Good luck with your search for the best plants for your privacy fence !