This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Ivy pruning
Have a go Nick
Posts: 352
in Plants
hi folks
i no ivy is a bit of a sore subject but when is the best time to prune ivy, or is it safe to do at anytime
0
Posts
I'd say anytime is OK. We're always cutting bits off ours. Just be careful in case there are birds nesting. A robin has been building a nest in ours today.
Do you mean tree ivy or other varieties? I have quite a lot of ivy - on two pillars which support part of a large open rear porch, and more on a house wall where it was planted to hide some mis-matching brickwork when the level of a windowsill was raised. Both of these areas are an absolute haven for nesting wrens, so I only hard-prune the ivy in autumn and winter - though even then the small birds use it as a roost.
During the warmer months - when the ivy is growing - I regularly remove all the small shoots to restrict the area it covers. I can usually just break it off without needing to use a blade of any kind but it you do have to be consistent and relentless as it will soon take over if you turn your back for a couple of weeks!
As far as tree ivy is concerned, the berries are a good food source for some birds right now - today several pigeons flew away from a ivy-covered tree trunk as I walked past. Two large trees in the nearby woodland were blown over in that gale a week or to ago - they were really top-heavy with tree ivy so I suppose that's why they fell.
Thank you its just really to thin out abit and get rid of some straggly bits
I'd do it right now nick. The birds are pairing and will soon be looking for nest sights. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and doing it now will give it a few weeks to get going again. Just in time for nest building.
I have to do the ivy on my garage wall at least 3 times a year or it would completely cover everything.
Rule of thumb for me is if it is looking to big cut it hard back!