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Wisteria
Is it true that Wisteria can grow underneath foundations and cause them to lift? How far do the roots travel?
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#2
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Wisteria
On 21/05/17 00:06, earthstick wrote:
Is it true that Wisteria can grow underneath foundations and cause them to lift? How far do the roots travel? Depends on who you want to believe. No doubt you've already Googled "wisteria" and "subsidence", and come up with numerous hits. The problem is that once one mention is made, this is repeated by others without any checking. You will find many mentions of wisteria, pyracantha, and even roses(!) as shrubs which could cause damage to walls. But as Chris pointed out, wisteria have been grown against house walls for years without apparent problem. About 9 years ago there was apparently a legal battle between Nigel Kennedy and his neighbours over a wisteria growing against his house which was said to be damaging the neighbouring house's foundations (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...wisteria.html). Seems strange to me that it wasn't damaging Kennedy's house, but there you go. So how was it resolved? Who knows? All I can find is a sideways reference two years later in another newspaper article (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/pe...h-1980487.html) which referred to "Nigel Kennedy's pretty, wisteria-hung cottage in St John's Wood". That suggests to me the wisteria was not cut down. Then there is this learned article: http://www.theclayresearchgroup.org/...%20Edition.pdf which suggests that a wisteria was the main cause of damage to a property in London:- "The initial distortion survey suggests the shrubs growing against the wall may have contributed significantly and our recommendation is that they be removed whilst precise levelling continues over the next twelve months to determine if nearby trees are also making a contribution." The problem is that the Clay Research Group have numerous follow-up articles about Aldenham, and, as far as I can see, *none* mention the wisteria again, but do mention a large willow! I have a fairly large wisteria growing less than a metre from my house. The property was underpinned over 20 years ago due to subsidence (due to inadequate foundations). Reading through the documentation, some trees were mentioned, but never the wisteria (maybe it was planted after the underpinning, or was very small at the time). The point I am trying to make is that if anyone looked at a possible "subsidence" problem today, would a finger be pointed at the wisteria, even though there was no evidence for it? -- Jeff |
#3
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Wisteria
On Sunday, 21 May 2017 00:06:30 UTC+1, earthstick wrote:
Is it true that Wisteria can grow underneath foundations and cause them to lift? How far do the roots travel? i planted a wisteria against my brik garage which is attached to the house about 20yrs ago.it's very vigorous, so I cut it back now every other year, but never seen any damage to brickwork, tho' it goes through the roof, had to trim it inside! |
#4
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Wisteria
On 20 May 2017 16:06, earthstick wrote:
Is it true that Wisteria can grow underneath foundations and cause them to lift? How far do the roots travel? We have had a Wisteria literally against our house wall for approx. 40 years. The trunk is huge, the house is still standing with no cracks in the wall around the plant, Considering the age of some wisterias against that walls of even older properties I can't see they can harm buildings with their roots. Getting into roofs and gutters is another matter. -- Regards Bob Hobden |
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