DrLith wrote:
"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.


Kiwis would be a good choice (if you're willing to consider perennials).
There are hardy varieties than can be grown to zone 4, or the more familiar
fuzzy varieties, which are hardy to zone 8 and might be ok in zone 7 if you
got lucky. They're fairly attractive and grow quickly, but take a while
before they'll start giving fruit. But would be lower maintenance than
annual vines, and you'll eventually get a lot more height out of them.

The problem you will run into with most typical climbing vegetables is that
they don't grow *that* tall. You might be able to get about 8 ft out of pole
beans, and 10-15 ft out of some types of runner beans, but that'll be about
it. Curcubits (squash, cukes, pumpkins, etc.) will probably top out at
around 6-8 ft.

don't know about that, but I'm in zone 11, and kabocha and chayote grow
much much longer than that here. I have kabocha vines that are more
than 50 feet from where I planted them (but they are on the ground).

They (both beans and curcubits) also are fairly prone to a
variety of pests: leaf-eating insects, soil dwelling insects, and various
mildews and so on. Doesn't mean you shouldn't try them; just means they're
one of those plants that can be hit-or-miss, even for experienced gardeners.

add slugs and fruit flies, at least here.

If I were you, I'd experiment with the edible shade concept for now, but
also plant a proper row of quick-maturing shade trees.

what isn't clear to me in the question asked is whether this was only
for verticals (walls) or also for horizontals ('celing') in which case
cucurbites may be somewhat counterproductive as they may fall on your
head (so will of course passion fruit) eventually, and they can get
heavy.

Maren, in Hilo, HI (I don't think kiwis grow here, otherwise I'd love
to have some of those too)