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Ivy trained on house wall too thick?
paulwrangle99991GyhIGEt
Posts: 20
in Plants
Hi
I have this ivy trained up a wall.
its now too thick from constant trimming with hedge cutters..
I want it about half as thick as it’s not 2 foot from the bricks thick and too dense.
can I cut it back hard by about half its thickness into old wood? If so when should I do this? Also, will it recover and how long will it take as it will mean leaving literally no leaves just the old wood…
I would also like to do it so it stays tidy, doesn’t harm the nesting season and leaves it with berries and flowers later in the year but tidy and tighter to the wall.
its now too thick from constant trimming with hedge cutters..
I want it about half as thick as it’s not 2 foot from the bricks thick and too dense.
can I cut it back hard by about half its thickness into old wood? If so when should I do this? Also, will it recover and how long will it take as it will mean leaving literally no leaves just the old wood…
I would also like to do it so it stays tidy, doesn’t harm the nesting season and leaves it with berries and flowers later in the year but tidy and tighter to the wall.
Can anyone advise?
Any help would be appreciated
Regards.
Any help would be appreciated
Regards.
0
Posts
However, Ivy will get very thick/deep, regardless of the care, which is why it can be so useful to birds etc. If you want it to stay 'thinner' you would just have to keep it hard pruned. That will inevitably alter it's growing habit, and any benefit to wildlife. If you don't want to do that, you'd have to remove it and use something else on the wall.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Ivy can be pruned at any time but the best time is very early spring, before the birds nest. You can cut through the thick stems low down and it will die. Looks ugly for a bit but will be easier to pull off. Ivy is tough, new ivy will grow back.
I like the ivy on the house… but it’s just too thick and dense now.
i had read I could cut in back hard in February… don’t want to cut low down… just face it back by half so it’s not so thick and dense.
is that the right thing to do and the right time?
thank you about the house.. amazing isn’t it