"jetgraphics" wrote in message
...
I would appreciate any suggestions, ideas, or criticisms of the idea of
using a trellis & wire system to support vines (climbing or drooping) to
shade a rooftop and house side walls in Zone 7 (hot & humid).

Would suspended planters for droopers also work?

Furthermore, if anyone has information on suitable candidates for an
edible
sunshade, please post it.


You said you'd be interested in criticisms as well as suggestions. I've
tried planting a couple of viny things near the house will less than ideal
results, though neither was edible.

One was ivy. The stuff crawls everywhere, and the day I found it growing
_into_ the den on the ground floor was the day I decided to get rid of it.
It managed to get a tendril into the house where the frame meets the
foundation. The other was a fast growing vine that put out masses of small
white flowers, don't remember the name. Pretty, but it managed to work it's
way up the house behind the siding and into the cellar both by the same way
the ivy got into the house and by growing through the space where the cellar
windows met the window frames.

My Dad planted wisteria so that it would climb up the pillars supporting the
little roof over the front door. He had the same sort of problem - the
plant is invasive and persistent, it doesn't stay just on the outside of the
house, it'll worm it's way through any little crack or gap.

You apparently want something pretty hefty if you want to shade the roof as
well as the sides of the house, and I'd guess you don't want to start fresh
every year so you'd also want it to be perennial.. I can see it prying off
the siding. If you have a brick or stone house, it'll try to creep in the
windows. If it makes it to the roof, it'll pry the shingles off. You want
shade, plant some trees. Make sure they're not too close to the house.