Gardening and Horticulture - Growing Ivy

I recently purchased two tressels (at least what I think they are called) and placed them in the front of my house against a brick wall. If I'm using the incorrect term here, these are the wooden fan gates that you see people commonly grow roses on.

Anyway, I decided to grow some Ivy on it, mainly because I was told Ivy thrives here in Texas.

I'd like some advice on the best way to perform this. i.e., When is the best time to plant the Ivy, how (if) should I fasten it to the tressels once they start to grow, etc.

Thanks in advance for your help!

I believe what you bought were trellises. A trestle is what a train travels across.

Anyway, I would never put ivy near a brick wall. The climbing roots of ivy will penetrate the mortar holding the bricks and deteriorate it over time. A trellis is a good idea as long as the ivy cannot attach itself to the brick.

Now is a good time to plant it, as long as hard frost is not expected anymore in your area. To check on this you can get in touch with your county agricultural agent and they will be able to tell you the frost dates.

I agree with tea 100% , you are asking for troble. But if you really like that look and are up for high maintance go for it. At least return the trellises, you won't really need it, the ivy will go up the wall by itself.
Either way you go, trellise or not. The ivy will be a slow grower in the beginning. It may take 3 years before it starts to get nice and thick, but once it gets rooted real good, there will be no stopping it. If your going to limit the hight it grows and are will to go out there and cut it back biweekly, you should be fine but you will still have problems with the roots penetrating the mortar.
But if you lose interest and let it go wild, it will over take the house and if it reachs the roof you have a whole new set of problems. Good luck

If you can contain ivy to your trellisses, then you will have accomplished your goal. You will find that it takes multiple prunings during the growing season to keep it contained on trellisses and prevent it from pervading into yard and onto nearby structures. As indicated, it is not recommended to allow ivy to climb brick structures, despite all the romantic notions of ivy covered cottages. Ivy can root into and deteriate mortar joints and brick. Keeping ivy pruned and contained on trellisses will keep you busy, but it may be worth the effort if it provides the look to accomplish what you desire in your garden landscape.

Okay. So many of you are suggesting NOT to do this. My question then, what do you suggest to plant on the trellises?

They look quite "bare" without anything on them. I'd like to grow something that looks nice and wraps around them.

Please advise. Thanks!

p.s. I am in Texas, so need something that can stand the heat!

Try anything but ivy. :)

Talk to a local nursery about climbing plants that aren't as invasive as ivy. The stuff just keeps growing, and growing, and growing........:(

The ivy would be beautiful on the trellises but you would have to prune it regularly to contain it.

As stated above it does take years to get to the invasive/damaging stage ... so start early with your pruning program and keep at it.

Good Luck