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Ivy out of control!
DENA DEE
Posts: 2
Hi, I'm new to this forum. I have recently taken up gardening. In time I have realised that the ivy growing on the fence at the front of our property is growing out of control! It looks like the ivy has become very well established and is very rooted in the ground. I was quite shocked how much space it has taken into the garden at the footings of the fence. I have recently purchased some super strength phosphate which I am considering using although I am very concerned that this may destroy everything that is growing nearby. I will be removing the ivy entirely by hand with loppers etc. Does anyone have any advice on how I could kill off the ivy long term?
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Rightly or wrongly, my own experience is that I obtained the best result from literally pulling the ivy up with my hands and keeping on top of it too. The hardest bit was pulling long strands of ivy out from around trees, only to find our kitten on the other end of the ivy
Yes, pull the ivy off the fence, then dig the roots out if you want to get rid of it completely, then you can use the glyphosate to spray any shoots that regrow.
We had a similar problem when we moved here - the ivy had got so bad that 2 weeks after moving in, a heavy rainstorm added to the weight of the ivy and it pulled a fence down! We worked thoroughly pulling the icy off the remaining 40 metres of fence and digging the roots out - now, 2 years later we have no ivy! and the garden seems much bigger!
Good luck
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I've removed it from lots of places in this garden. Still got plenty, useful cover for bird/mammal/insec.t The flowers and berries are good as well.
Be careful pulling it off the fence unless it's good and solid. I haven't found the need to glyphosate later but it may depend on what sort of soil you're pulling it off. If you're got it on any otherwise empty ground a mower is an excellent tool
In the sticks near Peterborough
hello Dena, welcome
I've removed it from lots of places in this garden. Still got plenty, useful cover for bird/mammal/insect The flowers and berries are good as well.
Be careful pulling it off the fence unless it's good and solid. I haven't found the need to glyphosate later but it may depend on what sort of soil you're pulling it off. If you're got it on any otherwise empty ground a mower is an excellent tool
In the sticks near Peterborough
Sorry about the double post
I tried to edit and ended up with 2
In the sticks near Peterborough
I would agree with Nut, in that rather than remove all the ivy, it might be better to treat the ivy-covered fence as a hedge and just clip it very close - if the fence is elderly removing the ivy might ruin it.
Our fences had crumbled under the weight of the ivy and all had to be replaced.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I was about to say the same Dove. If the fence is sound, take a hedgetrimmer over it and take the ivy back. As many have said , it's very useful for cover, small birds might nest in it, and the winter flower/ berry combo is a winner for wildlife too.
I've got the same problem at the foot of a wall which is cracked from top to bottom and I suspect the thick ivy roots may be why. I've pulled it all off the wall and hacked it back to about a foot, but hesitate to use gylphosate as it's also just a foot or away from a climbing rose. Can you spray gylphosate safely near brown woody stems? or could I just carefully pour some over the remains of the ivy?
As long as you keep the glyphosate off the rose it'll be safe. Get some stiff cardboard or something and make a shield for the rose when you spray the ivy.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Ivy only damages walls which are already weak. English Heritage did some research with Oxford University which concluded ivy BENIFITS walls because it stabilises the fluctuations of extreme heat and also sheds rain away from brickwork.