"Travis" wrote in message
news:JgQ9e.78239$B12.50235@trnddc09...

I discount trolls.

Sorry if the message appeared troll-like. My original subject line was:
"Plants next to the house?", but changed it before posting. I guess I
should have reprhrased the entire post, but the gyst of it is still whether
there are guidelines about planting directly next to a house (or why not
to), or whether to leave the entire thing alone.

--Cheers!
Duke (wondering if posting "I discount trolls" as a reply to a message
(troll or not) is acknowledging them?)

In article , "Dukester"
wrote:

"Travis" wrote in message
news:JgQ9e.78239$B12.50235@trnddc09...

I discount trolls.

Sorry if the message appeared troll-like. My original subject line was:
"Plants next to the house?", but changed it before posting. I guess I
should have reprhrased the entire post, but the gyst of it is still whether
there are guidelines about planting directly next to a house (or why not
to), or whether to leave the entire thing alone.

The house will be fine. Everyone plants next to the house. If you're
kvetching at your wife because you don't like her methods of gardening, &
she's responding with a go-to-hell attitude, then you both need marriage
counselling not garden tips. Seriously, you can get help now before it's
definitely an emergency, or you can wait until the only thing remaining is
to beg for that chance to pursue belated & neglected options to divorce.
It'll be too late when one or the other of you are either enraged or
grovelling & no longer even slightly appealing to the other. So do it now.

-paghat the ratgirl
--
Get your Paghat the Ratgirl T-Shirt he
http://www.paghat.com/giftshop.html
"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden
people maintaining a free civil government." -Thomas Jefferson

"paghat" wrote in message
news

The house will be fine. Everyone plants next to the house.

Ok, if everyone does it.

If you're kvetching...

I'm not.

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
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blac...ker/index.html

"Warren" wrote in message
...
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,

Thanks! Real advice from someone here! (And not a guide to marriage
counseling.) We do have wood siding. What you told me confirmed things I
thought I knew, but the "everyone does it" attitude seems to prevail
anymore.

--Cheers!
Duke

"Dukester" wrote in message
Thanks! Real advice from someone here! (And not a guide to marriage
counseling.) We do have wood siding. What you told me confirmed things I
thought I knew, but the "everyone does it" attitude seems to prevail
anymore.



Don't recall any climate/zone info, but in my area planting underneath the
eaves is just asking for a spider mite infestation. The plants foliage stays
too dry because rain can't hit them to wash away the critters.



--
Toni
South Florida USA
Zone 10

planting too close to the house is something a great many of us do precisely because
we havent checked out what plants can do to houses, or because we are over zealous.
My mother was a master gardener and our house suffered.
deep rooted shrubs/trees over the septic system
vines that pried the mortar between the bricks and pried clapboards loose
trees with roots from hell too close to the foundation and one that we found out
would explode if hit by lightning. during an ice storm big branches of this tree did
fall dangerously close to the house and it had to be removed.
and as you say, failure of some plants because they didnt get watered from being
under the eaves.
OTOH, house builders would like to see this minimum of 3 foot "zone" of crushed rock
around the perimeter of the house. I think that might be too much in the other
direction.
I occasionally watch these "curb appeal" shows and basically they all involve
whacking the bushes that are next to the house and/or hiding it. Now if the outside
of the house is really ugggggly, maybe greenery helps hide it.
around here is seems some people are using bushes on the outside instead of blinds on
the inside. or maybe using bushes to prevent burglars from using windows to get into
the house???? anyway, they seem to be hiding in their houses.
OTOH, nice plantings near the house can accent it beautifully. I just know I dont
have the best eye for this. Ingrid


"Toni" wrote:
Don't recall any climate/zone info, but in my area planting underneath the
eaves is just asking for a spider mite infestation. The plants foliage stays
too dry because rain can't hit them to wash away the critters.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://list.lovemyoldhome.com/puregold/
WEBSITE AT: http://www.mu.edu/~buxtoni/puregold/home.html
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for
any of the recommendations I make.
AND I DID NOT AUTHORIZE ADS AT THE OLD PUREGOLD SITE

In article , "Dukester"
wrote:

"Warren" wrote in message
...
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,

Thanks! Real advice from someone here! (And not a guide to marriage
counseling.) We do have wood siding. What you told me confirmed things I
thought I knew, but the "everyone does it" attitude seems to prevail
anymore.

--Cheers!
Duke

And I knew you'd be open to the worst-case scenario by a paranoid
alarmist, cuz you made up your mind without need of knowledge & just
wanted to hear what you "already know" rather than the facts. It remains,
if you're only fishing for excuses to assault your wife for her gardening
practices, marriage counselling remains your best option, & her
second-best option (running off with a gardener would be her first-best).

-paggers
--
Get your Paghat the Ratgirl T-Shirt he
http://www.paghat.com/giftshop.html
"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden
people maintaining a free civil government." -Thomas Jefferson

"paghat" wrote in message
news
In article , "Dukester"

And I knew you'd be open to the worst-case scenario by a paranoid
alarmist, cuz you made up your mind without need of knowledge & just
wanted to hear what you "already know" rather than the facts. It remains,
if you're only fishing for excuses to assault your wife for her gardening

Ummm... let me get this straight. It is okay to go by the one extreme that
"everything will be fine, just let it all go (grow)", but not the other
"extreme" that roots can cause foundation problems, or shrubs, and the mulch
under them up to the siding hides termite tunnels. At least the latter item
I was correct about and the end result was expensive termite treatment and
having to replace an entire wall of siding. When you see termites in your
house, you'd be alarmed also. Hmm. On the other hand, I could just go by
what you say and do nothing. Wait, except that, according to you that in
wanting to maintain my house, and by seeking information to do so I must be
abusing my spouse. Sounds like someone here is a paranoid alarmist alright.
Hmm..Sigh. Plonk.

Get your Paghat the Ratgirl T-Shirt he
http://www.paghat.com/giftshop.html

*T-shirts are $20, marriage advice is free*

In article , "Dukester"
wrote:

"paghat" wrote in message
news
In article , "Dukester"

And I knew you'd be open to the worst-case scenario by a paranoid
alarmist, cuz you made up your mind without need of knowledge & just
wanted to hear what you "already know" rather than the facts. It remains,
if you're only fishing for excuses to assault your wife for her gardening

Ummm... let me get this straight. It is okay to go by the one extreme that
"everything will be fine, just let it all go (grow)", but not the other
"extreme" that roots can cause foundation problems, or shrubs, and the mulch
under them up to the siding hides termite tunnels. At least the latter item
I was correct about and the end result was expensive termite treatment and
having to replace an entire wall of siding. When you see termites in your
house, you'd be alarmed also. Hmm. On the other hand, I could just go by
what you say and do nothing. Wait, except that, according to you that in
wanting to maintain my house, and by seeking information to do so I must be
abusing my spouse. Sounds like someone here is a paranoid alarmist alright.
Hmm..Sigh. Plonk.

Looks like the first response to this wackjob was the correct one: A troll.

-paggers
--
Get your Paghat the Ratgirl T-Shirt he
http://www.paghat.com/giftshop.html
"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden
people maintaining a free civil government." -Thomas Jefferson

"Dukester" wrote in message
...


Ummm... let me get this straight. It is okay to go by the one extreme
that
"everything will be fine, just let it all go (grow)", but not the other
"extreme" that roots can cause foundation problems, or shrubs, and the
mulch
under them up to the siding hides termite tunnels. At least the latter
item
I was correct about and the end result was expensive termite treatment and
having to replace an entire wall of siding. When you see termites in your
house, you'd be alarmed also. Hmm. On the other hand, I could just go by
what you say and do nothing. Wait, except that, according to you that in
wanting to maintain my house, and by seeking information to do so I must
be
abusing my spouse. Sounds like someone here is a paranoid alarmist
alright.
Hmm..Sigh. Plonk.

It's like you're coming here seeking justification to fight with your
spouse, or perhaps beat on her, anyways, I don't like your tone. You sound
like everybody's victim. Grow up.

In article , "Warren"
wrote:

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.

I have repainted a house that was surrounded by old large shrubs. Anyone
can do it. You tie the shrubs in rope, you pull them forward, you paint
the wall, the next day you let the shrubs pop back where they belong. For
vines, you cut them down, they grow back fine.

Some climbing vines will latch onto the
wood, and may leave the wood too damaged to simply repaint.

Some climbing vines will kill your kids & the dog. It's hardly rational to
therefore never plant vines. What your house is made out of will certainly
help to define what sort of climbing vines are suitable. If it was
inherently harmless, there wouldn't be such a driving market for vines
that do so well climbing on houses. It's standard. It's traditional. All
the great manner houses do it.

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.

Humbug. And trees destroy sildewalks, therefore no city should have trees.
A Japanese maple's feeder roots can travel twenty, thirty feet from the
tree, so no one could plant a tree any closer than the next property over,
if destroying the foundation is so likely. Even a moron could figure out
how to do it right. It is paranoid worry warts with excuses like these who
pave over their entire property & paint the concrete green. If you
planted a honey locust one foot from the house, or thirty feet away from
the house, its roots would in either case find the basement, provided the
foundation is already shot to hell. And if live in a butt-ugly aluminum
house, a little pollen isn't going to make it worse.

Your worries are nonsensical if they become excuses not to plant around a
house. If are only sensible if you take such possibilities into
consideration & plant sensibly.

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.

Or just tell your wife "**** off & die, & your little garden too," it
amounts to the same thing. Though that WOULD fit the tone of the original
complaint, to take the approach of making a non-problem into a sound
reason to find a nicer sweety to share one's life with. When a garden
becomes a point of contention with one's spouse, it's a clue the spouse is
a butthead, not that some roots are going to tip the house over.

-paghat the ratgirl
--
Get your Paghat the Ratgirl T-Shirt he
http://www.paghat.com/giftshop.html
"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden
people maintaining a free civil government." -Thomas Jefferson

paghat wrote:
Your worries are nonsensical if they become excuses not to plant around a
house.

Just as lung cancer is an excuse not to smoke, and not wanting to drive off
the cliff is an excuse for slowing down when driving around a curve.

--
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
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blac...ker/index.html

In article , "Warren"
wrote:

paghat wrote:
Your worries are nonsensical if they become excuses not to plant around a
house.

Just as lung cancer is an excuse not to smoke, and not wanting to drive off
the cliff is an excuse for slowing down when driving around a curve.

More like not wanting to drive anywhere ever, at any time, for any reason,
because some paranoid loon decided the plants were going to eat his house.

Or like never eating food, ever, under any circumstance, because a lot of
what you eat could cause cancer. Or never drinking water because you could
drown even in a teaspoon of the stuff, & it is often contaminated besides.

Or living in an aluminum "house" with no plants anywhere near it because
that's ever so much nicer than an old English mannerhouse covered top to
bottom in vines. And living in it all alone after the wife moves to the
mannerhouse & files for divorce.

People do find their own water level after all.

-paggers
--
Get your Paghat the Ratgirl T-Shirt he
http://www.paghat.com/giftshop.html
"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden
people maintaining a free civil government." -Thomas Jefferson

paghat wrote:
In article , "Warren"
wrote:

paghat wrote:
Your worries are nonsensical if they become excuses not to plant
around a house.

Just as lung cancer is an excuse not to smoke, and not wanting to
drive off the cliff is an excuse for slowing down when driving
around a curve.

More like not wanting to drive anywhere ever, at any time, for any
reason, because some paranoid loon decided the plants were going to
eat his house.

Or like never eating food, ever, under any circumstance, because a
lot of what you eat could cause cancer. Or never drinking water
because you could drown even in a teaspoon of the stuff, & it is
often contaminated besides.

Or living in an aluminum "house" with no plants anywhere near it
because that's ever so much nicer than an old English mannerhouse
covered top to bottom in vines. And living in it all alone after
the wife moves to the mannerhouse & files for divorce.

People do find their own water level after all.

-paggers

Some people think aluminum causes Alzheimers.

--

Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8
Sunset Zone 5