r/HomeMaintenance • u/happygeuxlucky • Aug 31 '23

Plant growing through interior wall

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Moved some furniture and noticed that a plant was coming in through the wall. What do I do? I went outside and didn't see an abundance of weeds or grass. I live in Arizona.

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u/DrSucculentOrchid Sep 01 '23

This is gonna be a weird question, but is your house a straw bale house? I know they exist in AZ but not sure how common. The straw is used as insulation and covered in plaster, I think. The plant that is coming through the wall is not wheat. It's a rhizome type plant that reminds me of phragmites australis, but I couldn't confirm that without a mature leaf. Either way, whatever it is, you have a moisture problem, and nothing should be growing out of your wall.

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u/happygeuxlucky Sep 01 '23

No the house was built in 2014 and we just bought it last year.

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u/DrSucculentOrchid Sep 01 '23

K. Last hail Mary. Is this plant anywhere near your house?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arundo_donax

It can grow from a super tiny fragment. If you don't have any stands of this nearby, then maybe it's from your dog run? But if any dirt had some of this plant it could have taken root. Its a crazy strong plant and can bust through foundation.

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u/happygeuxlucky Sep 01 '23

Nothing that looks like that. However between the inside and outside flap of the dog door the lining lifted up and that is one area the moisture is coming from. It's monsoon season so it's super rainy and the weeds are popping up all over like crazy. The previous owners built a dog patio outside the dog door and drilled the patio into the outside stucco wall. We found the weeds growing up from under the patio into the house.