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KILLING IVY

Would mulch or some kind of covering eradicate ivy? We have a well established section that covers the whole bed & the roots are impossible to remove!

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  • sotongeoffsotongeoff Posts: 9,802

    Use a glyphosate spray or gel-like Roundup-but you might have to repeat the treatment a couple of times-don't expect an instant result-it takes 2/3 weeks to work

    Mulch or covering will just make the matter worse

  • The DoctorThe Doctor Posts: 177

    I know how you feel, i'm digging mine up buy hand. It's a bit tedious but it's a good for anger management. 

  • FloBearFloBear Posts: 2,281

    Dahlia, covering definitely won't work, mine just creeps under and pops out the other side - even under paths! As you've no doubt discovered, it also charges along the ground and roots itself. Pull up what you can so you don't waste your glyphosate on sections that can be easily removed.

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,138

    When we moved here all the fences and a lot of the garden surface was covered with over 20 years' growth of ivy.  We've dug out all the large and small roots along the boundaries and replaced the fences.  Any little bits that continue to appear are either dug out or bruised and sprayed with glyphosate, depending on where they are.  As for the 2m x 12m area of garden  where there are roots under the ground, interwoven with tree stumps, we are digging out what we can and spraying the rest - I think it will probably take us 2 or 3 years before we dare plant this area up with shrubs.  As for the area along the rear boundary, as there is ivy on the neighbours' side of the fencing, and they do not appear to be gardeners, we will continue to defend our boundary with a combination of iron wills and glyphosate.  When we are too old and infirm to continue it will seize it's chance and take over the garden again, which is what happened 20 years ago!

    Good luck image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Drill a small (1/4 or 3/8) downward-pointing hole in the stem and fill with a few drops of neat roundup. Works a treat.

  • I have not had occasion to have to tackle ivy (yet), but have successfully managed to kill off established trees in the past willow, leilandii, and, ash, all close to foundations and drains,

    1 cut off and remove top growth leaving a stump.

    2 drill a 1/2"-12mm hole vertically into the stump.

    3 fill the hole with neat SBK and cover the stump with kitchen foil lid tied on, to keep out the rain.

    4 check periodically as the stump absorbes the SBK, top up and replace the lid.

    As I see the bark on the stump start to break away I stop topping up, and have not seen any regrowth at all. Plants growing close by don't seem to get affected.

    Affect on adjacent tree roots etc, maybe advise from the manufacture of SBK on using this method would be wise, as it is pretty strong stuff.

  • Our son is moving into a house with a garden that has trees that are too large for it. A couple we will keep but the rest will have to go as they haven't been tended to properly over the years. We have cut them back and are going to lop them as far to the ground as possible. That is problem one!!. Problem two is the ivy - groan!!! We have pulled it off the fence and out of the ground. What is left is mostly under the ground and adjacent to the fence. I read some of the comments about SBK and Superstrength Glyphosate, and assume that we can use these for both problems, but which is the best and how long is it before you can begin to plant small shrubs etc. Our son wants to plant vegetables in a certain patch of the garden, which has had the ivy near to the fence, that is why I am asking how soon it will be after using these products that he will be able to plant stuff.

  • Glyphosate is inactivated on contact with the soil, so there is no need to delay planting.  It needs to be applied while the ivy or other weeds are in active growth, so spring/early summer - with shiny leaved plants like ivy it's best to bruise the leaves first before applying then apply thoroughly and then leave until the ivy is brown all over then you can dig out the roots.

    image

     The ivy-covered fence above was removed, in the spring of 2012 roots dug out thoroughly (we didn't even need to use weedkiller) and the boundary refenced.  We now have a very productive veg patch in front of the replacement fence.  No ivy has reappeared. 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Matty2Matty2 Posts: 4,817

    Hi

    I moved to a garden overgrown with trees and ivy - 3 years on I have a garden.

    We chopped down 6 trees, endlessly sprayed ivy/brambles with extra strength roundup, dug roots up as fast as they appeared. It was very hard work. but we are relatively ivy free now, What we do have are big tree roots, and in many places the soil could not be dug. I solved his by building myself 3 and this year the 4th raised bed - 30cm high. I can successfully grow veg and not break myback trying to dig solid ground.

    A note did have to use Roundup more than once

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