Hi just bought a new house and love the garden however we are looking to trim out some of this monstrous thing and I’m wondering what precautions to take if any as I’ve read many things but am no expert so not sure what type/types of Ivy I have growing all over here! Thanks
Some people are allergic to an oil (falcarinol) secreted by English ivy, and will experience contact dermatitis similar to poison ivy (urushiol oil).
It is common for people to grow English ivy on structures, but it does have a propensity for damaging brickwork from the way it clings, will hide structural issues, and holds moisture and pests close to the structure.
Sometimes an English ivy growth is so huge, old, and encompassing that it is holding up the wall that once supported it and removing it will cause damage. In these cases, the wall will have crumbled eventually from the weight and invasiveness of the ivy.
It is probably best for you to remove this, but also be prepared for larger projects behind it when you do.
I'd start by finding where the trunks come out of the ground and cutting out at least a 1' section close to the ground to kill off everything on the wall. While that dies, I'd pull as much of the roots as I can find.
Then you get to start pulling it off of the bricks. Some of it will just pull down easily. Some of the suckers will require the use of scrapers to remove them completely. There is a lot of info online about this.
The root systems are pervasive and tenacious, so have a plan to continue to battle the vine as it pops up around your yard: pulling any shoots you see and/or painting them with herbicide.
My boss is very allergic to it. She tried tackling it at her home last year and came away with a serious rash that had to be treated by a dr.
Yas! Bring on the ivy HATE! I have been battling this for years on 3 different properties. It is definitely not a 1 time kill. Get the big stuff killed. Fix the damage under it. Then spend the next 3 years ripping the remnants - minimum.
Some people are allergic to an oil (falcarinol) secreted by English ivy, and will experience contact dermatitis similar to poison ivy (urushiol oil).
I found out recently that I’m one of those people. I got a rash just like poison ivy, and it sucked.
I have removed ivy using my own method, which I believe is a way of doing it, so I'm not claiming being an inventor of this, just noticed others suggest similar and it worked for me.
Find the main stems, and cut them.
Some of the plant will die (maybe all of it), repeat, eventually the upper sections will sinnecse (die) and it will pull off the substrate it is attached to quite easily (not pulling off the hardened weather surface of the brick) - this works for tree substrates as well.
And clear the ground it is rooted in.
Could OP drill into the stump and pour in some roundup? That's how I tackled some massive poison oak vines on our property.
Yeah, glyphosate would work, and stump applications can be pretty effective. Triclopyr might be better because it is more targeted to broadleaf plants.
I'd still expect to see new sprouts for a few years just because the plant is so well established and its root system so extensive.
This was exactly what I did. Had a HUGE exterior wall covered in it 2 feet deep. Roundup wouldn't even slightly kill it more than superficially. The roots will be too deep and hidden and a couple of months of rain will mean it's back in full force.
Triclophyr absolutely annihilated mine. 20 meter wall - 5 meters high, 400ml killed it dead. Not one sprout in 8 years.
It's terrifying to work with and you need to wear every protective covering recommended and remove all animals + humans from the area for a while but it will never come back .
I find that I am definitely allergic to the dust that shakes off of English ivy, and I've been doing battle with it for fifteen months.
The north face of my house was entirely covered by it. They removed the ivy forward of the fencing towards the road, but the back half of the house still had it growing up the side when I moved in. I spent the first few months digging down about a foot along the foundation and extracting as much root as I could (it's up into the soffit and roof). Came up pretty easily with a flat head screw driver that I had found in the dirt from the previous owner and my archaeology trowel.
It's totally taken over the fence line, so I've been meticulously cutting it back and digging it up where I can, sometimes even removing the fence slats (it's a very old fence and needs to be replaced but I don't have that kind of money right now) and digging between the two fences along my neighbor's side in order to uproot it. It's not perfect and it comes back, but its' a far cry better.
Christ sounds like kudzu in the American south
Noo it looks so pretty. Usually ivy is fine for brickwork as well unless it’s already damaged. If OP is in somewhere like the US though then yeah it should probably be removed.
Why specific to the US?
invasive plant
Maybe something to do with invasiveness
Careful with herbicide as it is indiscriminate in what it kills.
Looks like English ivy. Based on the home construction I’m assuming you live in the British isles on somewhere in Europe where English ivy is native to. If I’m wrong correct me. Meaning it won’t be as aggressive as it is everywhere else where it’s highly invasive. That being said it is aggressive so if you want to keep it! Great! Sheer it with power/manual shears like you would any other hedge and it will come back with vigor. Once English ivy is established you literally have to go to war with it to actually kill it so sheering the vines to your standards is no worries at all. They’re native to your area so you don’t even have to worry about watering fertilizing, etc. it wants to be there lmfao
Based on the home construction how? Because you see Bricks? Alot of Brick homes in the US for example
Between the bricks, windows, roofing, and how the garden/yard was constructed, I’d be very surprised if this was a house in the US. Maybe not the UK but almost definitely somewhere in Europe
Definitely European ceramic roof on the second picture
Weird i grew up in a house just like that in Indiana.
Edit: How tf you gonna downvote me for speaking the truth, reddit people are weird
Buddy did you look at the house?
Don’t mess up your secret garden
❤️❤️❤️
"Choose your battles wisely, not every battle is worth winning". Said a man who learned to love his English Ivy.
I know it's invasive but it sure is pretty 😍
Invasive depends on your location
Invasive ≠ destructive in this context
Secret garden vibes for sure!
I'm going to agree with others it looks good. Maybe just cut it back a bit
If in the UK, then honestly unless you really want it gone just leave it as its a native and highly beneficial to wildlife, especially as it’s mature and therefore an important Autumn nectar source for pollinators and berry source for birds! Bees, butterflies, wasps, blackbirds, thrushes and robins will love you.
If in the US, definitely get rid.
Everything is poisonous, it all depends on dosage.
Paracelsus has entered the chat.
I think you found the doorway to the secret garden
A wooden door can bite pretty hard, just make sure you feed it first
Treats!
my advice for you before you prune anything…sit in the yard at different times of the day. look around and consider the shade provided at different hours. how about privacy? most quick cleanups of old yards by new owners end with a large % of..”why did we cut/remove that”? maintenance of ivy & other climbers like your hydrangea is many times just a once or twice a summer job. take the time this year to learn what plants you have and make a plan over the winter to make changes starting next spring. However, if you want to remove everything & install a lawn for the dog to poo on, knock yourself out! ✌🏻
A lot of times if you can grab the top real good with a stick you can pull the whole thing off in one big mat.
If it ain’t broken don’t fix it.
Ivy is an incidentally important plant for insects - it provides food from very inconspicuous flowers in the autumn.
Yeah but it also is a thriving home to rats...lots of rats..
Wow. That is just glorious and the garden will be so ordinary if you remove it like so many posters here are suggesting. English ivy is an invasive pest in North America because it gets away from gardeners, goes mature, flowers and seeds then birds plant it in the forest where it can cover trees. All this is on a long time line since it takes about 10 years for it to flower but it happens. In a small urban/suburban garden this shouldn't be an issue. It clings with rootlets and if pulled off you can remove paint with it. Keep your eye on it in a small garden and its no problem. I'm allergic to everything and ivy isn't a problem for me. I always wear gloves and shower after gardening anyway.
Looks like English ivy that's just been clipped back to sell the house as the leaves are shiny and fresh. Bet the sprigs are short and behind all that is a tracery of stems clinging to the fence with very few spider webs and dead leaves. If I'm wrong then skip to the next paragraph and get to work.
I love this so much and would leave it til next year when stems are overlapping one another and a couple feet long. Grab a sprig and snip where each joins the tracery of stems clinging to the fence. Once finished step back and snip any clinging stems going the wrong way. I'd want some clinging to the 'gate' but not covering it completely for instance as that's creating a wonderful secret garden look. I wouldn't want it growing over the roof or headed towards windows. You may want to take a saw or loppers to any mature ivy that's too tall, flowering or growing into neighbor's air space but talk to them, they may want it left as is as it is extending the height of the fence. Then take a hose to it to wash away the spider webs and dead leaves and enjoy watching the new shiny leaves fill back in.
It's much easier to maintain than a sheared hedge. It is a terrific backdrop to the rest of the garden. It takes up next to no horizontal space in this not very big garden. Keep it.
Don't cut it. It looks beautiful. It adds to the curb appeal. Your property would look terrible if you took it out.
That looks like The Secret Garden! My all time favorite book! I love it!
I love English ivy, I know that’s not a popular opinion, but I think it’s so pretty.
Looks dope I think
I would love to have an entrance and area completely covered in plants. I love vining plants!
English Ivy is a nightmare. It chokes everything out. I send my condolences
I used to have English ivy along my side fence. Here’s what I did if you want to get rid of it or reduce it’s mass:
Follow along the bottom and cut any main shoots coming out of the ground. I used a hatchet to chop through them.
Start pulling. Cutting them off will work, but I’ve had better results with just grabbing and pulling. Pull until it rips right off.
Repeat step 2 every 6 months.
Once most of it is off the fence, you need to pull any roots along the bottom you see. You can wait until some new shoots start to pop out of the ground and pull them + any roots they are connected to. Again, brute force pulling seems to get me the best results.
If there’s anything too big or too imbedded in the fence, cut the main shoot and let it die back. Once it’s dead and dried out, chip away at it until it’s gone.
If you just want to manage it a bit, a machete can be great for clearing overgrown areas and walkways. Just hack away at any pieces that need to get out of the way.
My father inlaw gives the dirt a healthly dose of salt & full strength vinegar to kill the roots.
Literally do nothing other than prune around the gate. You’ll ruin the aesthetic, harm biodiversity and regret it. There is zero evidence for all the ivy wives tales that people throw around
My app is saying English ivy, English ivy is invasive i think, my neighbors have different ivy’s growing on the exterior, this is a case where a herbicide might be needed since even pulling it it will grow right back at least my neighbors did, eventually my neighbor used a herbicide not sure what type but so far it hasn’t grown back.
Whether it’s invasive probably depends on where OP is, yes?
That’s true also i think it’s home is Europe and Asia anywhere else is considered invasive, i don’t know if that was the one my neighbor had growing on the exterior of their home it would cover the windows eventually the woman rented out the place and got rid of it for good it was constantly growing back.
Thankfully, when I had enough of our trash collecting ivy bed in the front yard (it collected trash that blew around the neighborhood at insane rates), I just clipped it down to the ground, then mowed it several times. Then put a thick layer of newspaper and mulch over it. I mean like... 6 inches of mulch. Haven't seen any come back in years.
Most of the time it will be round-up or similar one from other brand.
Don’t kill the Ivy it is great for all the bees that use the flowers when hardly anything is flowering. It provides safe nesting space for the birds. The flowers and seeds look great in bouquets. It gives a nice green backdrop for the garden. It will keep your fence from falling down. And last but not least it will make your garden resemble the secret garden.
So if you live where it is native not invasive please please please consider keeping it.
All the best in your new home. Find a quality pair of pruners and a good audiobook. Looks like English Ivy on one side and climbing hydrangea on the other. A little pruning will make a nice difference! The challenge may be figuring out how to dispose of the ivy clippings if you live where English Ivy is invasive.
English Ivy is poisonous, but it’s fine to handle, just wear gloves and wash your hands afterwards.
OP, check ToxiPets from app stores. We are a pet toxicity app that can identify things and point you to our doctor research.
I am actually worried about the ivy that destroys everything and it’s extremely invasive. It can choke and kill trees and it is impossible you kill. I hired a guy with an escavador to remove it once.
It’s just English ivy, not poisonous. It’s not clear from the photos if it is climbing any buildings but I would advise you remove it from house walls.
It leaves behind a heck of a mess when you pull it from brick, I just freed some brick walls of my own house from it and I’m paying for it with hours of brushwork to get the little tendrils off.
If you are going to remove it I suggest you not sever those vines until you’re ready, and pull them slowly and together so you’re not snapping the vine.
You really want it all to come off in one piece so work them free slowly and methodically until you have several handfuls of vines, they’ll pull themselves off together. Quite satisfying and saves you tons of work with a flathead screwdriver or spatula lol
That depends on what result you want. Do you want the ivy off the structure? If so, find low stems and cut those. Foliage will die and be easier to remove. If you want to cut it back, then trim accordingly. I don’t think that ivy is poisonous but I’d wear gloves because things live in ivy.
If you get rid of the ivy you’ll need to replace the fence. It will look terrible. Best bet is get a gardener to trim it three or four times a year.
I removed some overgrown ivy which was growing from my neighbour’s garden and all over my fence and wall. It’s a bitch to remove all the clingy bits, but the worst thing for me was an incredible allergic reaction I got - terrible itching like I’ve never had before for maybe 2-3 weeks. Didn’t put 2+2 together at the time, but in retrospect it was definitely the ivy brushing up against my legs and arms that irritated me so I’d advise exercising caution if you attack yours.
I didn't think this is English ivy, looks like climbing hydrangea based on the flowers.
Not poisonous, but I bet there’s plenty of spiders in there
We have so much ivy all around our property (NE US) and at this point without some serious chemicals which I’m not into we just cut as it gets too far out from where it’s already established. Like around my foundation, and all my fence lines.
I grow this on purpose in a grow bag on an ugly brick wall and trim it by sliding a longer metal shish ka bob skewer along grout horizontally and pull ivy off forward then prune it to height I want. I have to do this about 4 times a Summer. It comes right off brick pretty easy. IF you want to keep it that is.
I’m with you. Get rid of that English Ivy. You have an example of how invasive that crappy vine can be. Good luck to you!
Find and cut the roots. Long sleeves and gloves, then pull, preferably after it dries a bit.
I'd wear safety goggles and a face mask for that much. Not necessarily toxic, but it can be irritating.
If you just want to keep the top, give it a "bowl cut" and pull the bottom off.
Call a landscaper.