paghat wrote:
The house will be fine.

Maybe. Maybe not.

Everyone plants next to the house.

If everybody jumped off a cliff....

If your siding is wood, anything planted too close to the house will prevent
you from repainting your house. Some climbing vines will latch onto the
wood, and may leave the wood too damaged to simply repaint. Some foliage and
flowers may stain the paint on wood, or aluminum siding, or damage vinyl
siding. Pests can use the plants to get into the siding. And that's just
what can happen above the surface. Below the surface, roots can find cracks,
or even cause cracks, in the foundation.

Now I wouldn't worry about putting some petunias within two feed of the
house, but I would worry about "foundation" shrubs, trees, climbing vines,
and flowers with pollen that stains on contact. The degree which I would be
worried would also depend upon the materials used for the house, and climate
conditions. The two-foot rule is a simple way to avoid most of these
problems in most conditions. It can be broken often, but the effect of
breaking the rule varies.

Tell your wife when it comes time to repaint the house, it'll be her
responsibility to paint anyplace where plants are closer than two feet from
the house, and you'll only take care of places with two or more feet of
clearance.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Care for your landscape with Black and Decker cordless tools
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