Builder's trashed my climber - help!

[screaminghabdabs]

Hello, not been on the boards for ages but would really appreciate some emergency advice..... :) Apologies for the length of post.

We moved into our new house in September which has a large established climber covering pretty much the whole of the back of the house. No idea what it is as I haven't seen it in flower but I know it isn't ivy and it isn't evergreen. It's very old and established with lower branches about 3cm across and is just starting to bud.

Builders who were doing work 2 days ago decided in their wisdom to snap a whole load of the branches half way up the house to get to some bricks which needed replacing. Most of these branches are about 1-2cm diameter. We're now left with a hole in the middle of the climber and snapped branches above and below the new bricks :( Is there any way they can be spliced back together otherwise the climber above the breaks will die and 2/3 of the house will be bare. So gutted. Any help gratefully received. Thanks.

[QuestionNumber]

Is it a Wisteria, or a Virginia creeper?

No, I don't think you can splice broken branches together I'm afraid. Best to give it a hard prune back and hopefully this will rejuvenate it.

[thisisyesterday]

it'll come back in time i am sure, they tend to.

out of interest... how do you thikn the builders should have replaced the bricks without having to cut away part of the climber?

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

That's a shame but unavoidable if the bricks needed doing. If it were me I would take off the bits above the cut bits as they will die off and start training the rest of it to cover the bare bit in time.

[IngridBergmann]

This is the point at which you realise that it were only the plant what were holding the house up in the first place

I'm so sorry, I know how horrid it is for this to happen.

But if the base and roots are alright, the plant is likely to survive and regrow...I'd advise sorting out anything else that might want doing NOW while you have the space, and then just letting it grow out again like a bad haircut.

It'll take time but hopefully you'll be there long enough to appreciate it x

[screaminghabdabs]

Thanks for all the advice, sorry for the delay- been pruning vigorously!

I've worked out that it's a climbing hydrangea. There were only 2 bricks that needed replacing on top of each other which were broken in half and hanging out already and they had a couple of thin strands growing over them. The branches could have been pulled away from the wall to get at the bricks or minor pruning. The head honcho admitted that he should have supervised the lad...He hacked about 2 metres square off, half way up the back of the house

The poor lad was very apologetic and thought that it would re-grow up from above where he cut it

I'm trying to hack it all back above the gap but it's difficult to see which branches come from where as one of the major growing branches, about 6cm wide, was also cut and everything's entwined as it's so old. Also spotted a couple of bird nests in it :(

Oh well! Praying for lots of spring growth. Thanks again.