What vines could I plant to grow on the pea's cage that would not be toxic?

[pdbantam]

What vines (flowering? something pretty) could I plant to grow on the pea's cage that would not be in any way harmful to them?

 

[AquaEyes]

What vines (flowering? something pretty) could I plant to grow on the pea's cage that would not be in any way harmful to them?

There was a post asking something similar, but more specifically about fruit-bearing climbers that could be used for a duck/chicken pen. See below:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/623502/edible-vines-for-humans-for-chicken-duck-pen

I am a big fan of antique roses, so I can't disguise my enthusiasm for using some of the climbing types along a pen. There are many suitable types that would work for you. Look at the links I provided in the post above to get some information from Vintage Gardens about the specific classes of roses.

One consideration is the structure of the pen itself. If you use aviary netting, you'll need to avoid heavy woody climbers, but these can work if you have a substantial frame with wire mesh.

Your profile says you're in South Mississippi. Do you know your USDA plant hardiness zone? If not, go to the link below and find out. That will help a lot in plant selection.

http://www.garden.org/zipzone/

 

[Frosty]

Instead of flowers you could always plant some grapes... then they would eat them and get a treat

 

[AquaEyes]

Instead of flowers you could always plant some grapes... then they would eat them and get a treat

I'm not sure if conventional grapes will do well in south Mississippi, but if not, you can go with the muscadines mentioned in the post I linked earlier.

 

[pdbantam]

I'm not sure if conventional grapes will do well in south Mississippi, but if not, you can go with the muscadines mentioned in the post I linked earlier.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I'm planting climbing roses on one end and muscadines on the other. It's 40 ft long and 10 ft wide (chain link). May try some kind of vegetable in the middle!

There's a pic on "my page" I think, or in my photos

. Haven't got this new format figured out yet.

 

[MinxFox]

I planted a little Muscadine on the side of our pen. I am guessing that we didn't put it close enough to the pen and sometimes the peafowl reach through the fence and eat off the leaves. The vine has barely done anything. It is attached to the fence in only a few places but it isn't really climbing. The vine that is doing well is one that I don't want. I had a thorn vine that grew all the way up the fence last summer.

AquaEyes would bougainvilleas be too woody for a pen? I guess I could keep a vine trimmed so they would only stay on the stronger fencing instead of getting on the thin netting. Oh wait I just forgot I tried to grow bougainvilleas up the side of the pen and once again the peafowl reached through and ate them up. I think the real problem is finding a vine that the peafowl won't eat.

 

[AquaEyes]

I planted a little Muscadine on the side of our pen. I am guessing that we didn't put it close enough to the pen and sometimes the peafowl reach through the fence and eat off the leaves. The vine has barely done anything. It is attached to the fence in only a few places but it isn't really climbing. The vine that is doing well is one that I don't want. I had a thorn vine that grew all the way up the fence last summer.

AquaEyes would bougainvilleas be too woody for a pen? I guess I could keep a vine trimmed so they would only stay on the stronger fencing instead of getting on the thin netting. Oh wait I just forgot I tried to grow bougainvilleas up the side of the pen and once again the peafowl reached through and ate them up. I think the real problem is finding a vine that the peafowl won't eat.

I would recommend putting up a barrier between the fence and the birds until the vine can grow beyond the reach of the birds. I'm not that familiar with bougainvillea, but if your pen is based on netting for a roof, I'd try to avoid anything too heavy to grow over the top.

 

[AquaEyes]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I'm planting climbing roses on one end and muscadines on the other. It's 40 ft long and 10 ft wide (chain link). May try some kind of vegetable in the middle!

There's a pic on "my page" I think, or in my photos

. Haven't got this new format figured out yet.

OOOH, which roses have you picked? For your purposes, the ones that will work best won't be found at your local nursery. I'd love to make some suggestions.

 

[flgardengirl]

You could lean a trellis against the fence to add a little space towards the bottom where the birds would pick at it. I did this to provide some shade on the sunny side of my chicken runs. You could grow some gourd vines over it. They grow pretty fast and shouldn't be harmful. Small pumpkins or small 'icebox type' melons might work as well. You could secure the melons to the trellis with pantyhose. etc. making kind of a 'net' to support them. Kiwi vines might work too. Honeysuckle grows wild all over my chicken runs and property.

 

[AquaEyes]

If your primary concern is fast growth and coverage, I'd suggest looking into some of the once-blooming Ramblers. You'll have an outstanding show of blooms for about a month or so, but the rest of the year the plant will put its energy into growth, and so more quickly cover the pen. If you want repeated bloom and less rampant growth, consider some of the climbing Musks, Noisettes, Tea-Noisettes, or climbing forms of Hybrid Musks. I'm putting some suggestions below. Links to information at Vintage Gardens on the classes of roses I mentioned are embedded within the names above, and on the particular varieties below fromt HelpMeFind. If you find something you like at Vintage but it's not currently available, check out Rogue Valley Roses, or find other nurseries by clicking the Buy From tab at HelpMeFind. I'm considering your location, so some of these may not work well for everyone. And this is just to give you an idea -- there are many many more within the classes I mentioned, so have fun exploring varieties.

The nurseries selling these harder-to-find roses typically send out what is known as bands -- young rooted cuttings. I'd suggest first growing them in a 1- or 2-gallon pot to give them extra attention for putting on growth, then planting them out after the peak of summer heat.



Once-Blooming Ramblers:

Belle Portugaise

Fortuniana

Paul's Himalayan Musk Rambler

Veilchenblau

White Lady Banks



Repeat-Flowering Climbers:

Temple Musk

Darlow's Enigma

Secret Garden Musk Climber

Lavender Lassie

Bubble Bath

Alister Stella Gray

Gloire de Dijon

Mme Alfred Carriere

Lyda Rose

Nastarana