I have a wooden fencing surrounding my yard. My yard is long and narrow so I have lot of vertical space. I'm thinking of growing the beautiful looking Dipladenia against part of my fence to beautify it.
Is it going to damage my fence?
1 Answer
It is conceivable that a true vine will damage your fence, simply because they're heavy once they get mature, and all that weight and trapped dampness on a fence will eventually cause it to rot and collapse. However, you should consider how a plant climbs or vines - many (Honeysuckle and Jasmine for instance) twine around vertical supports, so erecting a heavy duty trellis panel (fence panel type) on its own fence post supports in front of the fence is a good idea prior to planting, and that should prevent your fence from collapsing. Another consideration is the fact that the presence of a climbing plant directly in front of a fence panel means you won't be able to access it to paint on preservation treatments every now and then to keep it protected.
In regard to Dipladenia, it's not really a vine; it only reaches around 2 feet, and its flowers hang downwards. There is a similar looking plant called Mandevilla, and that is a vine; it gets around 10 feet in areas which don't have hard winters, and may be the one more suited to covering a fence - but do erect a trellis prior to planting. Information here in regard to Dipladenia and Mandevilla and the differences https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/mandevilla/growing-a-dipladenia.htm
Finally, unless your garden is tiny, there are other ways to obscure a fence by making a reasonably deep border or beds in front of it and planting a mix of shrubs, trees and perennials of varying heights. Once they mature, you won't even notice the fence behind, it will be the planting that gets noticed. That way, you can still access the fence behind the plants.
