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Ivy removal - tap roots

BenDoverBenDover Posts: 488
in Problem solving
Just removed ton of ivy from fence and managed to get the stump out of the ground and a fair few tap roots, but some go deep, and under the garden fence to the neighbours garden (snipped off below ground where it's disappeared under fence) and others have simply snapped as they've got thinner from stretching out into the border. Digging up the border is not really an option to get to these as I'd end up digging half the border plants.  Will the ivy regrow from these tap root (no current growth) or will they just die and rot away.  Am I going to be digging up ivy forever?

Posts

  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    Afraid so!
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    Ivy doesn't have tap roots; a tap root is a (usually single) thick root that goes straight down, like a carrot.  Dandelions and docks have tap roots, sometimes divided but not spreading sideways.

    I have ivy in my garden, by invitation, and I confine it by cutting any stems that stray too far.  Whenever ivy appears at a distance, I pull it carefully, with a trowel in the other hand, and uncover it until I reach the point where it branches off from the central plant, then cut. 

    If it is growing in your neighbour's garden, it will keep finding its way into yours, but now you've removed the bulk of it, you should be able to keep it at bay by simply cutting or pulling it whenever it appears.  Do  you know your neighbours' view about it?  If they are not bothered about keeping it, you could use glyphosate.  For such a well-established plant, you'd probably need repeated applications.


  • BenDoverBenDover Posts: 488
    edited May 2019
    Thanks josusa47.  What I probably meant when I mentioned those 'tap' roots were the big thick roots that spread out from the main stem or stump, which are different to the other more fibrous looking roots.  I've spent an hour pulling out the fibrous roots from the ground this morning, but I think the thicker roots that have spread out and down will be more difficult to get hold of without digging up the whole border, which really isn't an option.  I did read elsewhere that ivy won't regrow from just the roots in the ground but I then read across other websites that every last bit of root needs to be removed to avoid it regrowing.  Don't know what to believe.  I think if I spot any shoots re-appearing I'll put Roundup gel on the leaves.
  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    Difficult really, we have the same problem except that since our borders are totally empty we can did deeply. However, over the years of living in ivy infested gardens, I have found that the ivy does not re-grow from the fibrous roots left behind. It also does not always grow from the thick roots as long as you have removed the top growing point.
  • BenDoverBenDover Posts: 488
    Thanks Palustris. Helpful.  Now I'm just trying to evade the queen wasp from the nest I found laying on the ground after I removed the ivy. I thought it was a dead nest until I put it in a bucket and then had the angry queen flying around me.  She's now frantically trying to find the nest.  I assume she'll fly away in a couple of hours.
  • Dave HumbyDave Humby Posts: 1,145
    If the roots are thick enough you could drill a hole and pour / inject SBK 
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