Re: bouganvillea on wall
- Subject: Re: bouganvillea on wall
- From: D* K*
- Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 14:51:51 -0800
Hi Angela!
Do you remember the bougy WALL I had on the south side of Stanley Avenue? In summer, we left the bathroom windows open and it would send canes
inside that would flower. I loved that.
We had no critters in ours. One could say we had dogs, but then that didn't stop varmits from having delicious tomato salads all summer at my expense.
It attaches itself via those itty-bitty thorns that can double as skewer sticks in a pinch. However, they - that is the canes - wander. I used some green Velcro
from Gardener's Supply to attach various errants to stakes, wires or slow moving animals if one happened by.
Of course, when I moved in, Deborah, being just over 5 feet tall and I'm over 6, my first pruning job was making a hole through the "forest" so I could walk only
slightly stooped. Because of the need to keep a walk way through it, this was NOT low maintenance - in fact, I believe that the term "vine" precludes the
concept of "low maintenance." Anything that is called "fast growing" isn't low maintenance and one would do better to accept that as fact and be done with
it.
When one paints, one cuts it back somewhat. Put up some sort of trellis system - I can draw it out for you for a cup of coffe - that keeps at least a portion of it
directly off the wall. This will allow for some room for painting and house upkeep. I don't believe the bougy inherently is bad for buildings except to obfuscate
that which needs to be done before becoming a major problem.
Anyway, go for it. It looks grand and one annual sweep with machete wielding teenagers is all you need to keep it from taking over house and home.
More gory details over coffee...
:-)
david
2/22/02 1:58:18 PM, "LEE,ANGELA IUE-CHIH" <angelale@ucla.edu> wrote:
>
>Hi,
>
>Does anyone have experience growing a large bouganvillea on the side of a
>house? Does the vine need to be attached to something, like guide wires
>or some type of structure? and what happens if the house needs to be
>painted? Does the plant ruin paint or stucco? Do pigeons or rats nest in
>the vine? Those homes with vines dangling off balconies and draped around
>windows look terribly picturesque in books but how does it work in real
>life?
>
>We are going to add a second story with the result that one side of the
>house will be tall and bare. I would like to add a low maintenance and
>colorful vine that reaches up to the second story as a budget way to perk
>up our very plain house.
>
>Thanks for any advice,
>
>Angela
>sunset 24
>coastal Los Angeles
>
>
