» Climbing Ivy, Good or Bad for Walls?

Climbing Ivy, Good or Bad for Walls?

June 28th, 2006

It’s not uncommon to see Ivy crawling up an outside wall of a house, and/or spreading itself over an entire wall so I decided to find out if this was a good thing.

Ivy has tiny suction cups for roots that attach themselves to the surface they are crawling on in order help spread out. If a building is in good shape, and doesn’t have a lot of lose bricks and mortar, this should not be a problem. In fact, it can actually protect the wall from the elements outside. However, if there are loose pieces of brick on the wall, the ivy will get into the loose areas and cause more damage. Also, if there are windows, the ivy can get heavy and the roots could possibly damage any woodwork that is around the window frames. Ivy can also hold moisture against the house, which will cause damage on an untreated wall.

I guess the answer to my question is not easily found. If you’re going to use Ivy as a wall covering, be sure the wall is in excellent shape, and not made of material (like wood) that holds moisture. Also, those little suction cup roots are almost impossible to remove, so if you are going to paint that wall, definitely do it before you start the ivy!

You might be better off with a nice Wall Plaque or Egyptian Statue!

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