Getting Rid of Ivy

We bought a house that had English Ivy. I swear, I will never understand the drive people have to plant invasive groundcovers. As if there aren't enough NICE plants to choose from. I have to admit, if I didn't know how nasty it was I would agree it looked kind of cool snaking up the trees and hanging off in leafy arches even in mid-winter, lining the brick walkway, surrounding an ugly plastic pond, sneaking up the bricks...

But I DO know better and I want it GONE. Now. The first nice day we had this spring I lit into it with a sharp new pruner, but I only managed a small section. I did remove it from the bottom part of the tree - the top part is sheltering a dove family so it'll have to wait. I have a feeling though that all I'm doing is cutting it back and encouraging it to come back even more thickly! What's the best way to get rid of the stuff? Poison it and leave that area bare for a few months to a year, or get out and dig, dig dig? If I keep pulling sprouts will it eventually go away? I'd really like to start landscaping with something nice. Thanks!

You will probably get a lot of different opinions here - but here is mine. And I am a world class expert at getting rid of ivy!

I have a friend who has a magnificent woodland garden. I was bitterly complaining that all I had in my backyard was ivy - knee deep ivy and all over the trees. She told me that was what her garden looked like when she started. She used the pull and cut and pull method. Groan!!

If you use round-up you will still have to deal with the dead mess to clean up and it takes a lot of repeat spraying. Plus it is expensive and the spray can drift to valuable plants.

So I got my weedeater and cut it all down to the dirt level where you could see the bare vines. Then I raked up all the loose bits and pulled and cut and pulled. It is easier in the early spring when the ground is softer and the weather cooler. Also if you mound up all the cut up bits, you'll have a very nice compost in a couple of weeks that you can spread around on your forest floor.

I have cleared a huge amount and am planting trillums and blue cohosh and beautiful lace cap hydrangeas. Bleeding hearts and edgeworthia. I even discovered some lovely small dogwoods already there, that had been covered in ivy. Now I patrol the area looking for any bright green nubs of ivy and I pull and cut. Eventualy, my friend says, it won't come back at all.

I do have beds of ivy - kept trimmed with the weedeater - that make a nice contrast but I watch it carefully.

It works - it is hard work so buy an ipod to keep you boogying as you go. My jungle of ivy had been growing there for over 30 years so take heart. It can be done.

I want to put warning stickers on every pot of ivy I see for sale.

This is what we have started doing and this is our next project...we cut at the bottom and pull off as much as we can, but you have the left over stems sticking out for a long time..I guess it's the only way, but it probably looks as bad as the ivy for a long time. ~~~~ and btw what is edgeworthia?

Hi levilyla - the ivy is quite a project but it can be done. When you are pulling off, it does come off a bit easier when the weather has been damp a while but I have trees with the dead brown vines still clinging...

Edgeworthia - Oriental Paper Bush has the most wonderful perfume! I wish I could bottle it. It is a lovely shade shrub. Here is the Dave's page http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/117533/index.html

Thanks..I now know why I haven't heard of it in Baltimore...not hardy here.