How can I get rid of lots of Ivy?
Q Ivy is growing all over the place in my garden and is very hard to get rid of. What’s the best course of action? Patricia Gregory, Cornwall A Ivy can be a challenge to get rid of. However, despite what used to be said it does not damage walls and is an incredibly valuable food supply for birds and insects and a winter shelter too, so don’t be too quick to strip it all out.
Remove as much of the leafy growth as you can, by pulling the stems off the ground or surfaces over which they are growing. Although they will root along where they touch the ground these roots are not generally very deeply secured so you should be able to get quite a lot up.
Start at the outer edge of a patch and gently pull or tease up the stems – ivy does not regenerate from roots left behind, but will come back if portions of stems are left.
Ivy growing up walls may be more difficult as the stems break leaving little bits behind. In this case it might be better to track back to the base of the stem where it emerges from the ground, and to cut it off.
Ideally remove a small section of stem so that there is no chance of the two halves re-bonding.
Herbicide is your best weapon against ivy growing on the ground as well, except that the most suitable ones such as SBK Brushwood Killer will kill all plants they come into contact with.
If you can remove most of the top growth of the ivy and then spot-treat any remaining stems and new growth this might be the most effective method.