Trellis design/material

There may be some older houses in your city with real cedar siding. These days they may be painted with latex, but for centuries the paint of choice was oil based. Note how well the cedar has withstood the weather all these years and you will have your answer. HTH

Joe

Properly primed and prepared, almost anything holds paint well today. While oil is traditional, latex has become a paint of choice for many and the quality latexes are exrtremely durable. I like an oil-base primer and latex topcoat for this type of thing, especially since anything covered with plant material will never be repainted.

As an alternative, think of non-wood pre-finished materials, plastics, extrusions and so on.

Jeff

Use cypress. But getting back to your question, yes. Use a primer. it doesn't matter if you use oil or latex.