Will planting vines on fence impede drainage ditch flow?
Sandra Matula
8 years ago
I'm wanting to plant about 3 or 4 blaze climbing vines to eventually cover my fence. Right in front of the fence on yard side is a drainage ditch running the entire length. We do not have flooding issues and water never stands in the yard or in the ditch. They recently installed drainage pipes behind the fence. My husbands concern is if I plant anything along the fence it will impede flow of other residents.
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Comments (12)Nepenthes flowers are NOT rare in cultivation. They are rare possibly because plants are so malnourished that flowering would be a form of suicide if they did use up energies to make a spike. I have nepenthes flowering all the time and they do not get small pitchers during flowering because they are strong and healthy because they use their roots to absorb nutrients present in the soil. First of all planting your plants in peat, perlite, and media other than the "soils" they grow in is already a direction for mistake to begin with. Nepenthes soils are usually a mixture of sediment, rock origin-volcanic and a mixed media of decomposed particles. Moss being a common media that cements this together. This rarely occurs in captivity and the way nutrients are gathered in the wild would be impossible to replicate in captivity. And YES they absorb nutrients through their vast root systems in the wild. Unfortunately most nepenthes in captivity almost doesn't need a root system because many are retarded because they are not in use. This is why your plant has such a small tiny weak system. Plants that have active roots (active in a way to absorb NUTRIENTS-fertilizers) keep actively growing and expanding. Roots in search of NUTRIENTS keep growing and growing expanding to new areas to sweep what they can when they can. Upper pitchers are huge and well developed on plants that are feeding well. They are NOT sacrificed for new growth and do not become weak and lost over time, but rather have many many pitchers (both aerial and ground pitchers at the same time). Flowering is just an extension of growth that leads to sexual propagation of the species. Many produce spike after spike in a succession of multiple spikes to ensure that the species is perpetuated through pollination. Large pitcher development is only obtained through root nutrient absorption you cannot get large pitchers from insect food alone. The pitchers of such giants as N. merrilliana, rajah, etc. is only obtainable if the plants have an active healthy root system and able to absorb and process nutrients in the soil. Even N. rajah come from soils high in somewhat high doses of ultramafic soils high in nutrients, while harmful to other species of weeds, grasses, etc., is beneficial to nepenthes when mixed with rainwater and other solubles present in the soils....See MoreHow to make a drainage swale look decent?
Comments (6)Hi bunkers, I guess I'm not the only one who's been hovering around the edges of this one! I agree with stevation about the photos! I don't have a clear picture of what you're trying to do. Are you looking for something to plant along the edges of the swale---or in it over/around the cobbles----or none of the above! I lived in the hilly area just north of Parker for 20 years and there was a flood plain that ran across the lower part of the neighbor's property just below me. One year we DID get a 100-year flood in the Parker area, and it was amazing! The gully filled up to the top and over the banks and in a wide swath across the road. When the rain stopped, the kids had a ball---briefly! All the houses were above the water line, so no one had structural damage. And in a couple hours it was all gone! And, even though we had some really hard rainfalls at other times, that's the ONLY time I ever remember seeing water in the gully! There was probably some at times, but not enough to make much difference. Unless this is an area where you have reason to expect wet conditions outside of flooding rain conditions, I think you need to plan for more typically Colorado xeric stuff! Even most of the xeric stuff will love an occasional good drenching! And unless we get a VERY unusual year--like 1965, when it rained daily for a week and THEN we got a "catastrophic" downpour, when we had the flood that washed out all the bridges into downtown except one and large sections of I25 going down to the Springs--you're not going to need to worry about too much moisture! I don't remember for sure, but I think that was a 500-year flood! (Still have the newspaper pictures of it---and my own!) But even after THAT, except in the very localized Platte basin, everything else dried out again in short order! If you can, post pictures, or try to give us a better idea of where/what you want to plant, Skybird Here is a link that might be useful: 1965 Denver flood!...See MoreDitch Garden?
Comments (8)I work for a civil engineering firm. You have what are called Bar Ditches, which are paralleling the edge of road. These drainge ditches are normally used where there is no curb and gutter (a curb), therefore there are no curb inlets for water drainage. If this is the case, no, you don't want to plant anything in there as it will impede the drainage of your street. If you have a big storm come through, that bar ditch can back up and cause flooding in yours and your neighbors yards until it finds an alternate path to flow. On the upkeep side of them, it depends on your neighborhood. If in a HOA, they usually keep these up. If not, the city is usually responsible, however, it will take phone calls to the city to get them to come out once a year to do so. The best plan of action is to just mow it yourself when you see the grass/weeds getting high. Either way, the bar ditches fall within a drainage easement that is legally recorded on the lot/subdivision plat. This means you cannot legally encroach this easement with permanant items....See MoreLandscape ideas needed with several obstacles (deer, drainage easement
Comments (1)I'd start by researching with your town what can be done on your easement. For instance, can you put up a fence of any kind such as a wire fence that would restrict a dog but allow sight and water flow? Are there limits on what you can plant? Woodies, herbaceous? Does the backyard easement start where the dirt ends or is that the property line? I can't tell if the star is giving both the side and back boundary or just the side. What do you want to do with your backyard other than have a dog? A patio or entertainment space or a spot for kids to play or lush gardens or . . . For now, have your meeting with the engineer and find out if the city has a written policy on drainage easements so it's clear what you can and cannot do in those spaces. Get grass seed and preferable straw down quickly so that you keep erosion from happening and seed can start growing before it gets too hot. Consider mixing in some annual rye grass to help with protecting the soil while perennial grasses fill in. Once you have a clear idea on the limitations the easement will create and have a wish list beyond the dog and screening from the neighbor's slider, come back and let us know so you can get suggestions....See MoreSandra Matula
8 years ago
TxMarti
8 years agomiradus01
8 years agoSandra Matula
8 years agoSandra Matula
8 years agos8us89ds
8 years ago
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