Plastic sheeting suffocates plants in direct sunlight within an hour. This is not a hypothetical risk. The temperature inside a plastic tent over a shrub on a sunny painting day rises rapidly to levels that cook the foliage. The standard instruction to throw a tarp over plants near the house gets translated into plastic sheeting, and the result is a dead or severely stressed plant that spent two or three seasons growing into its spot near the foundation.

Protecting landscaping during exterior painting requires thinking about what plants actually need during the hours they are covered, not just about keeping paint off them. The same logic applies to driveways, pavers, and walkways. A fresh concrete or asphalt surface stained with paint drips requires substantially more effort to restore than a properly protected surface requires to protect in the first place.

Covering Plants, Shrubs, and Flower Beds Near the House

The breathability of the cover material is the critical variable. Canvas drop cloths or breathable landscape fabric allow air circulation and prevent the heat accumulation that damages plants under plastic. When the only available material is plastic sheeting, limit coverage to short intervals: no more than 30 to 45 minutes per covering period when the shrub is in direct sunlight.

The best approach for plants that cannot be moved is to water them thoroughly before covering. Moist soil moderates temperature swings and improves plant resilience during the covered period. Spray the foliage with water as well. After uncovering, rinse the foliage again to remove any mist of paint or cleaning solution that may have landed on leaf surfaces.

Potted plants near the house foundation should be relocated entirely. Move them at least 10 to 15 feet from the work area for the duration of the painting and any power washing that involves detergent solutions. Detergent and bleach solutions used for mildew treatment, including Jomax-based mixes, cause leaf burn and root damage when they reach plants.

When using bleach-based cleaning solutions such as Jomax on exterior surfaces near plant beds, spray the plants with water immediately before applying the solution to the house, and spray them again immediately after finishing the cleaning step. The water dilutes any solution that reaches the foliage or soil. Rinse with a garden hose after the cleaning solution is washed off the siding and before it has had time to migrate through the soil to plant root zones.

For low-growing ground cover directly against the foundation, use canvas drop cloths weighted at the edges to prevent wind from lifting them. Push the canvas as close to the foundation as possible so that paint drips running down the siding land on the canvas rather than on the ground cover plants below.

Tall shrubs that contact the house siding present a different challenge. The painter must either cut them back significantly before painting or paint around them carefully with a brush while holding branches out of the way with a free hand or a helper. Spray painting near tall shrubs is impractical without removing them or building a temporary barrier of cardboard or heavy plastic behind the shrubs to block overspray.

Protecting Concrete, Pavers, and Asphalt From Paint Drips

The physics of exterior painting produce drips and overspray at the base of every wall. Roller splatter during siding painting falls in a zone extending two to four feet from the wall base. Airless sprayer overspray in any wind condition carries considerably farther. A concrete or asphalt driveway directly adjacent to a house being painted will be spattered unless it is covered.

Canvas drop cloths laid at the base of each wall during painting provide the primary drip and splatter protection for concrete and asphalt. Position the canvas so its inner edge butts against the foundation and its outer edge extends at least three to four feet from the wall. Overlap multiple canvas sections where they meet and tape or weight the seams to prevent paint from finding a path through the gap to the surface below.

On asphalt driveways, plastic sheeting can be used as an alternative to canvas since slip hazard is not a concern when it is lying flat and paint spills will not damage it. Heavy-gauge plastic, 6 mil or thicker, holds up to foot traffic and roller frames moving across it without tearing.

For painted paver surfaces, painted concrete, or stained concrete that would be damaged by any paint overspray, take additional measures. Tape plastic sheeting to the paver or concrete surface with masking tape around the perimeter, ensuring no edges lift in the wind and allow overspray to reach the surface beneath. Secure the plastic with heavy weights at intervals along the outer edges.

Drop Cloth Placement and Anchoring in Outdoor Conditions

Outdoor work introduces wind as a factor that never applies to interior drop cloth placement. A canvas drop cloth laid flat at the base of a wall will lift at its edges in any wind, exposing the surface it was placed to protect. An unanchored drop cloth in a 10-mile-per-hour breeze moves constantly and can flip entirely away from the work zone.

Anchor every drop cloth before work begins. The simplest anchoring approach uses scrap lumber, bricks, or concrete blocks laid along the outer edges of the canvas. This keeps the canvas flat and prevents wind from getting underneath the edges. On sloped driveways or walkways, use more weights along the lower edge where gravity and wind work together to peel the canvas away.

Tape the inner edge of the canvas to the foundation wall or siding with painter’s tape where possible. This seals the edge closest to the wall, where paint drips are most concentrated, and prevents paint from running under the canvas along the foundation line.

On days with sustained wind above 15 miles per hour, spraying operations should stop. Overspray at this wind speed carries far beyond any reasonable drop cloth coverage area and lands on vehicles, neighboring plants, and surfaces well outside the protected zone. Brush and roller work can continue on sheltered wall faces, but comprehensive drop cloth protection becomes more critical because wind carries overspray farther before it settles.

After each work session, fold canvas drop cloths paint-side-in to contain any drips and prevent them from transferring to clean surfaces. Store folded canvas away from plant and hardscape areas until the next session.

Cleaning Up Exterior Paint Spills on Landscaping and Hardscape

Response time is the decisive factor in how difficult a paint spill is to clean. Fresh latex paint cleans up with water and a rag or brush. Latex paint dried for more than 20 minutes on a porous surface requires significantly more effort.

Fresh paint on concrete or pavers: Blot and absorb as much paint as possible with a dry rag before adding water. Water dilutes fresh latex and spreads the stain. After blotting, scrub the remaining paint with detergent and a stiff brush. Rinse thoroughly with a garden hose.

Dried latex on concrete: A chemical concrete paint stripper, applied according to label instructions, softens the dried paint film for mechanical removal with a stiff brush. After the stripper has had time to work, scrub with a wire brush and rinse with a pressure washer using the 15-degree yellow nozzle tip at 2,000 to 4,000 PSI. The pressure washer removes the softened paint and the stripper residue simultaneously. Hold the wand 12 to 18 inches from the concrete surface at an angle to avoid surface etching.

Dried latex on pavers: Paver surfaces with open joints present the additional challenge of paint that has run into the joints. Chemical strippers work on paint in joints, but the joint material may be affected by some stripper formulations. Test the stripper in an inconspicuous area before applying to visible joint areas.

Stubborn stains on concrete: Soda blasting is an effective and environmentally low-impact method for removing paint from concrete without the chemical residue concerns of solvent-based strippers. Soda blasting media are water-soluble and safe for nearby plants after neutralization.

Paint on soil or plant beds: Latex paint in small amounts diluted into soil is generally not toxic to plants. Large spills of undiluted paint in plant bed soil should be excavated and replaced with fresh soil. Do not allow the excavated paint-contaminated soil to drain into storm drains or waterways. Paint-laden wash water and cleanup water should be directed into landscaped areas for filtration rather than into storm drains, as many jurisdictions prohibit paint-contaminated water from entering storm water systems.

TSP (trisodium phosphate) is an effective cleaner for concrete and hardscape paint stains where available. Mix per label instructions and scrub with a stiff brush. TSP is restricted or banned in some states due to phosphate content; in those areas, TSP substitute formulations provide similar cleaning performance.