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English Ivy Everywhere
Mark56
Posts: 1,653
Any ideas on how to get rid of English Ivy? It's literally growing everywhere, strangling trees and hedges, I've cut it back and pulled as much back as possible but the roots are everywhere.
Cheers!
0
Posts
are we talking about in a garden, or in a wild hedgerow setting?
Ivy is hugely beneficial to wildlife and rarely " strangles" trees.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=192
Useful info. Hope it's helpful.
I don't think it's growing in a pot....
It can be invasive, but if you've cut it back you should now be able to keep it under control. If you really want to remove it completely, digging it out is the best way - good exercise!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Garden setting but behind the trees and bushes, gradually making its way upwards. It's already had an affect on a few weaker trees. Thanks for the advice guys.
- Mark
It takes a bit of removing if it's up the trees. You can cut it off at the bottom but then you've got dead bits up the tree.
It doesn't kill trees but it spoils the shape of them and makes a deciduous tree but more of a wind stopper in winter and sometimes they get blown over. There's no quick and easy answer. Cut, dig and pull.
I like it in a hedge and so do the birds but if you have a formal garden and hedge maybe not so good
In the sticks near Peterborough
I hate it, our garden was covered in it. We just dug it all up, the roots are not that bad or deep and were quite easy to dig up it was just the time it took.
None of it has grown back. Ivy in pots is great but in the ground.....no.
The ivy had pulled all our fencing down, it was just ivy in the shape of a fence :-/
I hate it too. I have old stone walls and it gets right into them. I kept a bit to let it mature for the birds but now it's big and seeds itself all over the place. It's a nightmare when it gets into the borders. Some of it is behind climbing and rambling roses so I can't get at it.
aym - Pat lives in New South Wales, Australia. If you click on a person's name and they have written something about themselves you can read it.
It's definitely horrible stuff and we're having trouble with it in our stone walls as well. It seems to be branching out from next door under the hedge in addition to other places. However, it explains why we have a flock of coal tits, woodland pigeons, blackbirds, robins and other birds residing in our garden.
Ivy is an excellent plant for birds, as has been said. The berries ripen in January and February when often there is little else for some birds to eat. Try to allow some to grow. I can understand that you don't want to be overrun with ivy but in hard winters it is very important for the various thrushes in particular.