Planting vines on house for sun shade?

My backyard faces southwest and is quite long. Nothing around for shade. Consequently, that southwest wall gets BAKED all day by the sun. It is brick and manages to hold a whole lot of heat. Well into the evening darkness you can still feel quite a lot of heat radiating off it if you stand outside by it. I don't want to put in trees.

I'm trying to find a good way to cut down on this heatsink. Being energy conscious I try to run the air conditioning as little as possible. At the time the house was built I didn't think of asking to have extra insulation put in (higher than whatever building code specifices) but I wish I had. Now i'm looking for alternatives. I could install one of those backyard house awnings that are easily retractable but i don't want anything like that. My thoughts were that if i had a nice layer of leafy vines all over that brick wall, they'd be an extremely effective sun shield and do the trick.

Some people seem to say that vines are bad and can damage walls. Others seem to love them. I'm really not sure.

I know that any vine solution will probably take 5 years or more before they're thick and large enough to be effective but this house is a long term plan so that doesn't matter. Is this a good idea? And are there any particular plants i should be looking for? I don't even know where i would start looking. I assume the nursery where i buy tomato plants in the spring would be somewhere to look.

House built new in 2002. Waterloo Ontario (Southern Ontario. Canada. Near Toronto)

Any thoughts appreciated

Kevin

Reply to
kevins_news
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Actually, have you considered annual vines? Some like Scarlet Runner Beans or the ilk? You then get the advantage of the heat sink in the winter!

OR (I have a passive solar house) extend the eaves to shield out the sun on that side over the summer when the sun is high in the sky.

Cheryl

Reply to
Cheryl Isaak

I know nothing about vines/flowers. I just assumed that nothing would grow tall enough in a single season to be effective so i was just assuming a permanent type of vine. I grow snow peas in my garden but they don't get much higher than my 6 foot trellis thing. And the house is a two stories. Maybe these scarlet runner beans grow fast enough to be effective? I'm open to any type of suggestion as long as it might help do what i want.

And if i got a perennial vine, do they keep their leaves in the winter? I thought they would drop their leaves allowing the brick to absorb sunlight in the winter. But i admit i really have no idea.

I've only been in the house for one year. Don't want to think about major rennovations yet :-) If i could go back to when construction started i'd put in extra insulation, buy a higher efficiency furnace instead of the default 'builder model', put in a whole house air exchanger, and not fall down the stairs. But i can't.

Kevin

Reply to
kevins_news

One solution is to construct a free-standing trellis next to the wall and grow the vines on THAT, because some vines do damage structure. I believe you will find that such a planting, or ANYTHING which screens the house itself will have considerable benefit in lowering the heat load.

snipped-for-privacy@endangeredspecies.com

Reply to
hermine stover

Hi Kevin!

Yes they can - do a little research on what grows well near you. I remember reading in Organic Gardening (way back, when it was still worth reading) some one using runner beans and lab labs (? Long time ago) to shield a sunroom that too much summer sun making it unusable.

Like I said, do a little research!

Been there, done that, have the t-shirt! oh the things I'd do differently!

But - do the research for a good vine that would grow quickly up a simple trellis - string would work!

Or maybe a pergola along that side for the vines? - are there lots of windows on that side>

Cheryl

Reply to
Cheryl Isaak

I'm doing something like what is suggested below. The roof over my porch is too high to shade the windows and it gets so hot plants on the porch actually burn to a crisp!

I bought two welded metal garden art forms (that look like the branches of a bush) and placed them in front of the porch. On them I planted rambling roses - Albertine

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covered the forms and are drooping over beautifully within one season!

On the same side of the house, on the wall without the porch I ran steel strand in a narrow W pattern from ground level to eaves, and on the strands I am growing climbing roses - Portlandia

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roses that grow like gangbusters and are very hardy:

Darlow's Enigma

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is a vigorous grower, blooms all season and the fragrance is superb - a real bonus.

Paul's Himalyan Musk

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'm growing this up a tree and in it's first season it grew about 15 ft!

One benefit of using roses, of course, is that you can capture the heat in winter. If you go the rose route I recommend Heirloom's own-root roses. They are hard to kill!

Karen

Reply to
AnonnyMoose

I have a wall like that and I grew thunburgia on it this summer. It's in full flower now and looks beautiful. It grows very rapidly, but doesn't attach itself. I put in a trellis where I wanted it to grow. Other annual vines which can be used effectively are hyacinth bean vine, morning glories, Ipomoea alba (moonvine), cypress vine, Mina lobata.

I wouldn't put a vine which attaches itself to the mortar. That will indeed cause problems and you won't get the advantage in winter of that warm wall. I have seeds for hyacinth bean vine is you want. Do a search for the vines I mentioned and see what you think. Maybe we will have seeds for you.

Victoria

Reply to
animaux

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Now i have to do some research. Other than plugging the names of these flowers/vines into a google search, is there a good way to research them? I guess that or plunking myself in the gardening section of Chapters and flipping through gardening books.

Sound like growing something on a trellis against the house will be my eventual plan. Thanks again.

Kevin

Reply to
kevins_news

One last question. I know i can look up what climate these roses prefer. And i know many people who grow small rose bushes around here. But hopefully someone can speak from experience and tell me if these climbing roses will survive in my type of climate?

By november we're getting days below freezing. We get snow and it says during the winter. Down to -20 Centigrade (-4 F) regularly. March we start going above freezing and it's april/may before we hit

+20 C. During the summer we get stretches of 20 C at night with 35 C during the day ( 77 F - 95 F).

Kev>I'm doing something like what is suggested below. The roof over my porch is

Reply to
kevins_news

You have better choices than roses. I would recommend hardy kiwis. They will cover your trellis in no time, they are a pretty plant, and you will get fruits in 5-6 years (which are better tasting than regular kiwis). They also have a high foliage-to-branches ratio, so the wall will be fairly uncovered in the winter. Make a sturdy trellis as they are very prolific once mature. They are easy to manage during the growth phase as these vines are very pliable. Once they cover everything, you will have to prune or they will cover EVERYTHING.

Reply to
simy1

The Heirloom catalog lists zones for their roses. They also have a group of roses particularly hardy that they recommend for cold areas (the Extra Winter Hardy Roses). What's your location? Do you know the zone?

Zone map here:

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you will find several articles about growing roses in cold winter locations (Montana, Minnesota and Iowa) with recommendations here:
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is the link to their hardy climbing roses.
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looks like they don't include zone info for each rose in the online catalog, but the print catalog is more complete. You can always send them an email if you have questions. I've found them very helpful

Karen

season!

a
Reply to
AnonnyMoose

5-6 years? I was wondering what were wrong with mine. Maybe they are just not mature enough to fruit. I have both boys and girls and they are profific growers but they have not even produced a blossom. This summer was the fourth year. Can they be propagated from cuttings?
Reply to
Paul E. Lehmann

Near toronto ontario canada. Judging by that map i seem to be on the

4b 5a transition.

i'll do some research. i have all winter to think about this.

Thanks

Kev>The Heirloom catalog lists zones for their roses. They also have a group of

Reply to
kevins_news

something that fruits would be great. But i think i'm on the 4b 5a transition for my zone. i'll have to see if these things would survive.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to be researching this all winter.

Kevin

Reply to
kevins_news

Mine took 6years. Yes, they are easily propagated from cuttings - I have done it myself.

Reply to
simy1

Mine survived last winter just fine, and it went below 0F every week for ten weeks starting around January 1st. Yours would even have the southern exposure to help them.

Reply to
simy1

Something I saw at a clients next door neighbor was treated wood 4' X

4' with the feet sunk in concrete and away from the house 2 1/2 feet and welded wire fencing for the supported nail stapled in. Very stirdy and this one had a Carolina Jessamine growing on it. Contact your native plant society and see what vines or such they'd recommend. J

kev> =

Reply to
J Kolenovsky

The fastest and easiest thing you can do to improve the solar gain o this wall is paint it white with ordinary masonry paint.

However, a vine would look nicer in most cases. I am certain that sel climbing vines such as ivy do nothing to damage walls, my own house ha been covered in ivy since the 1970's and the brownstone cladding an old mortar is in perfect condition after 25 or more years under thic growth. However, it does grow fast, and should it get in to you gutters it may cause water damage to the house, and if it is left t grow on the roof it can damage slates. Unless you like heights an trimming, self climbers aren't the right choice. I normally advis people to avoid growing them on houses as the long term maintenanc makes them a poor choice for most people.

Vines that are suported by trellis and wires, such as wisteria, tend t be much better behaved on houses with less trimming needed. Try to kee the supporting wires away from gutters and overhead electric/telephon wires though, as they will cover these given the chance. The onl damage growing such vines can cause is screwing fixings in to the wall and if you do this properly it's harmless.

No vine either self climbing or grown on wires will burrow in betwee bricks, dislodge any part of the wall that is not allready dangerousl lose, or cause damp problems. The old myths are just not true Ironically, it's not uncommon to remove an old vine and discover th wall behind it is better preserved than other parts of the sam wall/house left uncovered to the elements. However, let it grow on th roof slates or in gutters at your own risk, as these situations can an probably will cause damage of some kind

- Br

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Bry

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