Best Way to Kill English Ivy?
17 years ago
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- 17 years ago
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controlling (or killing!) english ivy
Comments (3)The only good news about an English Ivy infestation is that it isn't particularly good at regrowing from root fragments. It can do so under ideal conditions, but generally if you take care to remove it via digging as much of the root as you can it will be brought under control with time. Most important is to remove any portion that is climbing as this is the part most likely to fruit and result in more plants (as well as kill off other desired vegetation). In other words you can use manual labor to get rid of it over time. If you are OK with it in some areas you may be condemning yourself to repeated removal in areas you do not want it as the fruits can be and often are spread by critters and birds. If you want it gone I recomend you get rid of all of it on your property....See MoreWhat's the best way to kill off Blue Star Creeper?
Comments (20)blumz: Thanks for commiserating! Get it now; don't wait 12 years. I have a hard time imagining how to attack those roots mechanically and still get them all so they don't lie dormant for a while and pop up later. That's what led me to posting this in the first place. So far, I've put down THREE applications of RoundUp, each one week apart, and the little boogers,as you politely name them, still show signs of some life. Comatose maybe, but I cannot yet pronounce them dead. Everything else was totally dead after the second application. I've found a product called Ortho Poison Ivy and Tough Brush Killer that contains 8% Triclopyr. Haven't tried it yet, but I understand that it would be comparable to killing a gnat with a sledge hammer. Also I would need to wait a month or two before planting the grass, as opposed to several days for RoundUp, but I'd be willing to wait. As for what has already encroached into your "good plants", I don't have much to offer. One approach, however, might be to zap them all in order to get the BSC, then start anew. I think the military calls it "collateral damage". Hopefully, someone else can offer some useful suggestions....See MoreKilling root system of english ivy
Comments (49)I started trying to remove a 12x4foot patch of ivy about 10 months ago in the fall. I did not want to use chemicals, so I died digging it up. This spring, bed was full of tender ivy shoots. I took a week off of work and spent every day working section by section turning the soil with a shovel, then sitting in the dirt painstakingly sifting through the dirt pulling out all of the roots that I could find. The bed is currently has an ample supply of weeds, and minimal regrowth of ivy. In the fall I will probably repeat my grid eradication method. I should be able to complete it in a long weekend this time around. I agree with other posters that say this stuff should be illegal to plant/sell. It would not surprise me if I found the hand of Satan grasping a root as I try to pull it out. I have a negative physical reaction when I see this stuff for sale at the garden center. There should be a waiting period and required counselling before anyone can buy this stuff. Oh, P.S. I tried 30% vinegar /dish soap/table salt on a second, smaller patch. This killed the above ground plant in a day, but the ivy appears to have been emboldened by my effort, and returned with a vengeance. No substitute for elbow grease if you want to eradicate this stuff without using damaging chemicals....See MoreBest Spray for English Ivy?
Comments (1)There is no plant poison that will effectively kill of English Ivy. The only effective method of control is to dig up all of the roots and be sure to pick up any, and all, bits and pieces of the plants which can root if in contact with soil....See More- 17 years ago
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