Anyone else love vines? (Minneapolis: house, live in, backyard)

[Radical_Car]

Driving around Minneapolis and such I love seeing old brownstone buildings covered with vines, I think they are so cool

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Radical_Car

Driving around Minneapolis and such I love seeing old brownstone buildings covered with vines, I think they are so cool

I love seeing that sort of thing everywhere. As long as the vine isn't kudzu, something Minnesota doesn't have to worry about.

[Radical_Car]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

I love seeing that sort of thing everywhere. As long as the vine isn't kudzu, something Minnesota doesn't have to worry about.

Im curious, what is Kudzu? I did a google image search and it doesn't look good.

Is it harmful to anything or something?

[Camden Northsider]

I'm a big fan of vines myself- a lot of the brick/stucco homes in my n'hood are covered in vines and there is a lot of use in yards on fences, arbors, etc. One trend i see a lot of around here is training vines up light poles on the street and in alleyways.

Kudzu's invasive and takes over whatever it's growing over (and kills other plants/trees in its way). There are other commonly used vines that are considered invasive, including English ivy i believe.

[golfgal]

I've heard that having vines growing on your house is not a good thing. They trap moisture and can deteriorate your siding or the grout between bricks. It does look nice though.

[JCav]

Originally Posted by Camden Northsider

I'm a big fan of vines myself- a lot of the brick/stucco homes in my n'hood are covered in vines and there is a lot of use in yards on fences, arbors, etc. One trend i see a lot of around here is training vines up light poles on the street and in alleyways.

Kudzu's invasive and takes over whatever it's growing over (and kills other plants/trees in its way). There are other commonly used vines that are considered invasive, including English ivy i believe.

Kudzu, from Asia, is a big problem as an invasive species in the South. It doesn't live in colder places. I've never heard of English Ivy causing such problems, but here in the Northeast there is an invasive vine commonly called Asiatic Bittersweet that can be a nuisance. In the right conditions (like my backyard ;-) it can climb to the top of tall trees, and become strong enough to literally pull a tree over and strangle it.

[Radical_Car]

Originally Posted by golfgal

I've heard that having vines growing on your house is not a good thing. They trap moisture and can deteriorate your siding or the grout between bricks. It does look nice though.

Ya sadly they probably aren't good

[cheddar]

We stripped the vines off our house in Saint Paul when we bought it a few years ago. It is hard to do a good job because they leave their sticky feet behind on the walls.

[Radical_Car]

Originally Posted by cheddar

We stripped the vines off our house in Saint Paul when we bought it a few years ago. It is hard to do a good job because they leave their sticky feet behind on the walls.

That must of been a lot of work.