Poison Ivy

Hi all yesterday I spent about 2 hrs taking poision Ivy off the back of the garrage wall.Were its seems to have well istablished itself to the wall and next doors fence.I ripped dug a lot out found two main roots they are coming out today as got to late last night to do it then.Got 95 % off this wall and most of it out the be its made itself comfortable in. Its seem to have come from next door so there is only so much I can do about that. This is the bedding I eventually want to put herbs in. We plan to clean it out and then cultivate it.Were do I go from there as worried about the soil that this horrid thing has made a home in for a while. I also have a bush in the front that it started killing off. Ive cut that in half and got rid of the ivy. Beside getting rid of what I can what else can I do..

 

Just one little point, Poison ivy is an American problem. the ivy found in Britain is just ivy. Its name is Hedera helix whereas Poison ivy is Toxicodendron radicans, and related to Rhus.
All you can do it to enrich the soil with compost if the ivy has been there a while as it will have used up a lot of the goodness.

 

Ivy can adapt its upper leaves into new roots if it gets the main stem cut, it then becomes aggressive, destroying masonry in the search for new nutrients and water.

If the top doesn't die back then you'll need a proprietry brushwood killer.

 

Here is a picture of the garrage wall were I spent 2 hrs taking all this blooming Ivy off and some mission that was. Still not all off will poss take of the wall cover.The bedding needs to come out and what is in it needs to be removed.Also the Ivy roots are still in and need to come out..pulled a lot out but the main one is to big and needs a lot of digging to get it out.Plus you may see its in the garrage guttering..

 

Palustris is absolutely right, there is no poison ivy in UK. I've seen it in USA and it's nothing like our ivy, it's a soft leaved ground plant, not usually a climbing one.
Our ivy is fascinating, we have one which has grown like a tree, it's covered in berries - or rather was, the birds, especially blackbirds and wood pigeons, are visiting every day to eat them.
I once wanted to get rid of that ivy so cut back every bit of green, right back to the trunk - which was like a decorative sculpture and admired by onlookers. To make sure that it wouldn't re-grow I cut a 3" section out of its trunk.
It greened again and is now thriving, despite having no roots into the soil.
We had one growing up the side of the house, it made its way into the loft under the roof and husband insisted on its going, so go it did. It was younger than the persistent one described above and easier to deal with.
I wouldn't worry about one growing on a garage, it would help shed rain from the wall.

 

Hi Oldhenwife... Its not a good idea growing on the roof.Its breaking the guttering in one piece which has to be replaced.. its also ruining the fence next to it.That might have to be replaced as well. We ended not only digging out the main roots in the bed ..were I intend to put herbs.We ended taking up 6 slabs were it had grown underneath towards the green house. We have also got rid of a large tree in the front garden as it was dead due to the Ivy. Its get a hold and it wont let go..Its a nightmare we have got rid of most of it..but not all..Still a working project as its coming from both gardens left & right.

 

From the Royal Horticultural website:

"Ivy growing on trees is often thought to be a serious problem, endangering the health of even very large trees. However, its presence on the trunk is not damaging and where it grows into the crowns this is usually only because the trees are already in decline or are diseased and slowly d​

Ivy is not a parasite; the short, root-like growths which form along climbing stems are for support only. Its own root system below ground supplies it with water and nutrients and is unlikely to be strongly competitive with the trees on which it is growing​

"Ivy has much​

​

wildlife value​

. As ground cover in woodland, ivy greatly lessens the effect of frost, enabling​

​

birds​

​

and woodland creatures to forage in leaf litter during bitter spells. Growing on trees, it provides hiding, roosting, hibernating and nesting places for various animals, birds and insects (including​

​

butterflies​

), particularly during the winter months and in areas where there are few other evergreens"​

I've found that blackbirds nest in our ivy 'tree', it's worth keeping just for that reason.​

But I do pull it from the border because it can swamp the other plants there, especially low growing ones.​

 

RHS or not, WILD IVY IMHO is a no no on a house, Virginia creeper looks nice but still needs controlled

Looking at the garage roof, check it has not got under the roofing felt and about to break out

MILs old coaching inn had it and it was in the roof tiles, broke them open and continued its way to the ridge
£35k and a new tiled roof later, it was creeping back again from adjacent garage, heavy snips and IVY KILLER was used, but new creepers appear each year

I say new tiled roof, It had to be salvaged tiles and reclamation for it had to be restored as a listed building

Jack McH

 

Hi all thank you kindly forn your replies.. Had a couple of people come out and look at the tree with Ivy at the front and they agree the Ivy has killed it off. The neighbour next doorsaid the tree was beautiful untill the Ivy got a hold of it and it was almost like it was strangling/smothering it.. Garden has not been looked after properly in 7 yrs a long time for Ivy to do its thing. We've also had someone look at the garage roof.At the back of the guttering its cracked in several places so will need replacing. This blooming stuff is everywere. Is Ivy killer the only thing to use..or are their other products available ...in the Uk