Trelis, climbing roses on siding

[Cheryl]

Will a trelis built against the side of the house with all vinyl siding damage the house? I just got some climbing roses and didn't really plan ahead where to grow them. The side of the house with lots and lots of empty space gets full sun and is perfect for roses except for the sloping grade which may lead to watering problems, but I've got a fancy dancing-water sprinkler I'm going to set up permantly to keep it irrigated. #1, should I keep the trelis away from the siding, and #2, should I redesign the garden that slopes downhill into a stair-step type design for irrigation reasons? It'd be a lot of work, but I've seen it done and it'd be do-able.

[Sunflower]

Moisture trapped against a house, even one sided in vinyl, can lead to internal rot. Vinyl isn't maintainence free, despite the salespersons claims. Also, roses need good air circulation. YOur best bet would be to have a separate STURDY trellis a couple of feet from the house and plant your rose to use that as support. Yes, the slope will cause problems, and yes, you need to terrace it properly. If you don't know what you're doing on that one, you can cause even worse drainage problems or erosion. Get a professional opinion, even if you end up doing the work yourself.

Sunflower MS 7b

[Cheryl]

"Sunflower" dumped this in news:7fzpc.22584$ [e-mail] on 15 May 2004:

Thank you. Who would be considered a professional in this type of situation? Someone from a nursery? Landscapers? Home repair?

[Sunflower]

Landscape architect or construction engineer.