I have a 80 foot stretch of a concrete wall which is only about 3-4 feet tall. What fruit varieties would you suggest to cover this wall up? The wall faces east but gets 10 hours of sun in the summer. I’m in zone 9B and it gets down to the 20s on the coldest nights. The soil is hard clay, slightly alkaline but is on a hill so drainage shouldn’t be a problem. There is one big ash tree nearby and I have planted some shade trees but there is plenty of space with sun exposure.
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how about kiwi or passion fruit vines?
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Maypop is perfectly happy with bad soil, as long as it gets lots of sun. I assume the more tropical passifloras which you can grow there would be similar.
I should have asked earlier. How would these vines crawl up on a wall? I don’t think kiwis or passion fruit vines are climbers.
Do you reall want vines that will cling to the concrete, if they get out of hand they can be a pain to remove, and then there is the potential of concrete damage if they get into cracks and root. If you are just wanting to cover up the view, I might suggest adding a lattice or trellis ( 4x4 or 6x6 wire mesh panels are cheap enough, well under $1 per ft of length at 36-40 inches high))in front of it that non clinging climbers could grow on. My pick would be a trailing thronless blackberry for this, perhaps Sweetie Pie (a recent USDA release) as they are noted as drought resistant and heat tolerant. I have 4 of them growing now and they seem to be a slower grower than my other varieties of thornless blackberry though, however all my others are either erect or semi-erect varieties, not trailing like Sweetie Pie.
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Grape vine will work too
I’ll put in another vote for passion fruit. I’m zone 9 and mine grow on my chain link fence very well. You might need to put in a few things that the vine can grab onto, but it’s totally worth it. They’re beautiful, prolific, and the fruit is fantastic.
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If you have some sort of trellis, Gac would do well. Probably won’t survive the winter, but it’s a fast grower. Some growers dig up the roots and store them in the garage for the winter.
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Passion fruit is twining; it has tendrils which wrap around supports. A simple lattice leaned against the wall will do the trick. Personally, I think this is better, since clinging vines like ivy will do damage to the wall. I don’t know offhand any clinging fruiters, but you’re in a warmer zone than me.
But let’s look at this rationally. You’ve got 80 feet to work with. Why not all of the above?
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Ok, hate to let you all know piece by piece. The wall is like a highway for squirrels, raccoons and possums. What fruit would they be least interested in? BTW, here’s how it looks.
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Passion fruit, Passion fruit and more Passion fruit. 
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I like passion fruit for the visual appeal as well as the fruit. However, that comment makes me think that some wildlife speed bumps might be useful. What’s the most nastily thorned vine you can think of?
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I’ve seen some wicked blackberry thickets i wouldn’t cross w/o Kevlar and a motorcycle helmet. However I don’t think it bothers most wildlife, certainly not birds or squirrels.
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Yeah, I’m not too fond of thorny bushes that only keep me out. 
Passionfruit it is then. I have a redwood lattice lying around. I’ll lay it on the wall and guide it up. Thanks y’all!
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How about kiwi vines?
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I’m a bit vary about Kiwis. They need a male and a female. And the male gets pretty big.
I’ve heard kiwi growers recommend grafting a male limb onto a female. Otherwise you have that fat lazy male kiwi just sitting there doing nothing 99.9% of the time grin
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There was a member on garden Web, called '‘melikeeatplants’. He lived somewhere in CA. and photographed his passion fruit vines growing on a wall then over a ‘pergola’ he built. The photograph was stunning, as it had these large dangling passionfruits en masse. They were like Easter eggs and looked beautiful. From green to dark purple. Obviously I’ll never forget the picture. Hope yours will look the same!
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That sounds like a good idea. How easy is it to keep the male limb in check? Will it flower enough if cut back hard?
MrsG, what a small world! “melikeeatplants” is a friend of mine and lives not too far from my house. I was going to ask him next. I actually got this idea from his pergola! I should get him on growing fruit!
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