In article ,
jetgraphics wrote:
Lou wrote in reply:

snipped
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
[ ... ]
The house in question will have a concrete foam sandwich wall and roof deck.
And the plants would not be anchored to the house or roof, but to amn
offset trellis, wires, or arbor, etc., or suspended from pots hanging from
an armature.

In essence, the foliage will form a shell, with an airspace between.

That's going to have to be a pretty hefty shell, just to be freestanding
all the way around. Are you planning on a wood structure, or steel pipe
and I-beams?

How big is this going to be?

Any suggestions on minimum / maximum spacing between a wall and a trellis?

I'd allow at least four feet, both for ease of access during harvest
and pruning and to minimize the likelyhood of creepers bridging the
gap.

You
want
shade, plant some trees.

Shade trees aren't the best solution in this area. Unfortunately, due to the
clay soil, trees are susceptible to knockdown after soaking rains and
windstorms.

Use trees with tap roots--like pecans. When planting, dig a hole as deep
as you can with a posthole digger (rent a power augur if doing more than
a few holes; much less work, and you can go deeper). Dump a pound or two
of fertilizer into the holes, then add 10-15 gallons of water (I just
fill the hole a couple of times). Break up some of the clay from the
holes, mix with some peat moss, compost, topsoil, and a bit of plant
food; use this to backfill the hole and surround the tree roots when you
plant the tree. Save a bit of the mix for filling in around the trees,
as the mix will settle. Use the leftover clay for landscaping.

This approach gives the tree a good environment to start growing, an
easy path for the tap root to follow, and a great boost at the bottom
to really anchor it.

And, using pecans also means a crop to gather in late fall. Pecans
should be planted at least 40' apart.

Plus the east / west walls need side shading more than overhead shading.

So will the south wall.

Make sure they're not too close to the house.

That's a good point. I know folks who had removed a mature tree, and found
their basement suddenly started flooding. Apparently the tree was sucking
out the excess moisture.

Sounds like a few roots were growing near or into the foundation and
became conduits for water when they rotted out. Roots can leave some
big holes, and they don't close up quickly in hard soil like clay. I
have more filling work to do in my back yard from that very problem.


Gary

--
Gary Heston

Windows is like SUVs; a bad idea, poorly implemented, unsafe, with a
lot of inept users, but a fact of life we have to put up with.