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Is common ivy in my hedge a good thing, or a bad thing?

jamescwatsonjamescwatson Posts: 5
edited May 2020 in The potting shed
Hi

The ivy in my hedge seems to be more active this spring and definitely seems to have increased. My hedge is mixed and approx 8ft high highest and about 5ft high at lowest. I would really appreciate your views as to whether I need to take out some of the ivy, or whether I should leave it alone. I think it looks lovely, but my concern is whether over the next few years it takes over and destabilises the hedge. Many thanks in advance. James

Posts

  • GemmaJFGemmaJF Posts: 2,286
    If you asked the old boy 'hedgers' when I was a child, they would say rip out.

    It can cause dead areas and even kill the individual plants within the hedge. So in terms of hedge 'health' it is bad.

    In a garden though, you will have to decide yourself if you prefer the aesthetic value or a good strong healthy hedge.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    if you remove the ivy , then what? it'll look so bad you might as well rip out the hedge. 
    I'd leave it , looks fine IMHO
    Devon.
  • jamescwatsonjamescwatson Posts: 5
    Hostafan1 said:
    if you remove the ivy , then what? it'll look so bad you might as well rip out the hedge. 
    I'd leave it , looks fine IMHO
    Thanks. I agree that it looks rather nice, but the question is more whether leaving the ivy it will have implications in the longer term. A middle route could be to remove some of the ivy without decimating the overall look of the hedge. 
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I can't see it doing any harm, it'll just slowly take over. I think it's nicer than the privet and it'll need cutting less often
    Devon.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    In the long run, you can have a hedge or you can have ivy, but not both. If you tear some out, you can maintain the present mix. If you pull it all out, you can easily recover the hedge. If you leave it, the ivy that is now quite attractive will become a tangled mass, quite possibly unstable and ugly if you try to clip it into a formal shape.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    There's ivy in my privet hedge. I pull out what I can sometimes (usually at hedge-cutting time) but I'm not too fussy about it.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • NewBoy2NewBoy2 Posts: 1,813
    I was told that bees like it as it is around at the end of the year for them to feed from.


    Everyone is just trying to be Happy.....So lets help Them.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    It's only good for bees if it gets to the mature flowering stage. In a hedge that gets cut regularly, that's not very likely.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited May 2020
    I would agree that it might be good to choose now if you'd like the ivy or the privet hedging. They are quite different undertakings in the long term.
  • jamescwatsonjamescwatson Posts: 5
    Thanks for everyones responses. I have taken a middle route and thinned out the ivy.
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