Does anyone know anything about using an ivy vine on a brick house to provide natural shade?? Where would I go to find out what kind/how to manage it without damaging the house. It would seem to me that ivy would provide shade so that the brick would not heat up so much during the summer and then defoliate in the winter so that we can enjoy heat-gain in the winter. Does this sound dumb?
Shade for a brick house
- Thread starter SE Iowa
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It would probably work...though the ivy I have creeping around my house doesn't loose it's leaves in the winter...they just turn a darker shade of green and it slows down/stops growing. There are probably other vines that would serve similar purpose - or even installing some type of shade material. Shade trees would really be ideal, but of course they take a long time to grow and then you have leaves/gutter issues.
But overall, shade should work pretty well. My house is basically surrounded by mature shade trees. I couple years ago I was talking with a neighbor and he ask how my electric bill was. I mentioned that it topped out at about $140-150 in the summer running the AC. He said, "WOW, that's it? Mine is running 250-260! and will probably be higher once the real heat gets here" Keeping in mind that his house is about 8-10 years newer and 2/3 the size of mine - but his bakes out in the sun all day long with almost no shade at all.
But overall, shade should work pretty well. My house is basically surrounded by mature shade trees. I couple years ago I was talking with a neighbor and he ask how my electric bill was. I mentioned that it topped out at about $140-150 in the summer running the AC. He said, "WOW, that's it? Mine is running 250-260! and will probably be higher once the real heat gets here" Keeping in mind that his house is about 8-10 years newer and 2/3 the size of mine - but his bakes out in the sun all day long with almost no shade at all.
- Feb 2, 2007
- 16
Ivy does grow well on brick, but its roots will deteriorate the mortar and, as noted above, is evergreen. You might look in to other climbing vines, such as clematis, that lose their leaves in the fall. These need some structure such as wire stretched across the wall to cling to, as they will not attach directly to the brick like ivy. There are many varieties, some that will only grow to 6' tall, some that will grow to 60', some need to be cut back to 1' from the ground in the winter and others that don't need pruning. Someplace like gardenweb.com or davesgarden.com would probably be more helpful in figuring out what would work best for you.
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