How close to the house can I plant G. mannicata? I know it's very thirsty
and I'm worried about subsidence.

in article , Martin Sykes at
wrote on 6/2/03 8:03 am:

How close to the house can I plant G. mannicata? I know it's very thirsty
and I'm worried about subsidence.


You'd probably need to worry about shade, too! Ours has its feet in water,
admittedly, but it grows to 9 or 10 feet tall each year, with at least that
spread! I don't know about the root system and subsidence, sorry.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

On Thu, 06 Feb 2003 10:15:41 +0000, sacha
wrote:

in article , Martin Sykes at
wrote on 6/2/03 8:03 am:

How close to the house can I plant G. mannicata? I know it's very thirsty
and I'm worried about subsidence.


You'd probably need to worry about shade, too! Ours has its feet in water,
admittedly, but it grows to 9 or 10 feet tall each year, with at least that
spread! I don't know about the root system and subsidence, sorry.

As they need their feet in water - or at least very damp - wouldn't it
get a bit thirsty? Unless you had a bog next to the house in which
case you'd probably get rising damp.

You could try planting it in a large buried container I suppose;
that's what's going to happen to mine when I plant it out. It's
overwintering in a pot in the cold spare room ATM.

Andy

"Andy" wrote in message
...
As they need their feet in water - or at least very damp - wouldn't it
get a bit thirsty? Unless you had a bog next to the house in which
case you'd probably get rising damp.

It is in a shady, damp corner of the garden next to the house. The garden
has a natural slope so water runs down and puddles before draining away very
slowly although quick enough that the house shouldn't be affected. Surface
water rarely stays for more than 24 hours. The gunnera is planted in a hole
lined with pond liner with a few holes in it so it doesn't turn into a
puddle.

Martin

"Martin Sykes" wrote in message
...
"Andy" wrote in message
...
As they need their feet in water - or at least very damp - wouldn't it
get a bit thirsty? Unless you had a bog next to the house in which
case you'd probably get rising damp.

It is in a shady, damp corner of the garden next to the house. The garden
has a natural slope so water runs down and puddles before draining away
very
slowly although quick enough that the house shouldn't be affected. Surface
water rarely stays for more than 24 hours. The gunnera is planted in a
hole
lined with pond liner with a few holes in it so it doesn't turn into a
puddle.


I doubt you'll have a problem with the gunnera drying out the subsoil below
foundation level and causing shrinkage (assuming a 'shrinkable' subsoil)
because it sounds like it is in a very wet area, and, presumably, you'll be
sloshing loads of water onto it in dry spells. If the soil around it starts
to look parched and cracked, you could always get rid of it.