CURBING PLANTS TO AVOID

Evening Star, Issue 22631, 24 April 1937, Page 23

CURBING PLANTS TO AVOID

Great care must be exercised when choosing plants to grow_ against the house walls, as some kinds will not only damage the walls, but the chimneys and the roofs as well. Ivy is a great offender in this respect, beautiful though it may be. Tha damage is especially pronounced if tho plants are not clipped every spring, us they will, in the cohrse of time, reach the gutters, roofs, and chimneys, and do considerable harm. Moreover, old leaves, when the plants are left unattended, drop off and lodge at the back of the stems and new foliage. Hero they will collect and rot and create damp in the walls. The roots also grow very large and work their way into the drains, causing much damage and expense. Only those who have suffered from the ravages of ivy can appreciate the harm it is capable of doing. The only places where ivy can be grown safely are on ruins, banks, as 'a ground covering, on old tree stumps, or on arches specially prepared for tho purpose. , Houses built of soft red brick ara particularly liable to be damaged by American vines, the tendrils of which, work into the brick, and eventually cause them to rot. When such damage is observed, the only remedy is to remove the vines, and to rough-cast the walls with cement. If the creepers have reached the roof and chimneys, these also must receive attention. Tha roots of these creepers may also extend into the drains. All creepers, however, are not harmful, but it is- advisable to avoid selfclinging subjects. By arranging trellis work or standards some distance from the walls it is possible to grow soma of tho most beautiful roses,' pyracantha, or firethorn, honeysuckle, and others.—‘Popular Gardening,’ London.