How do I kill ivy - Hedera helix

Killing Ivy in the garden is a tough job and I get a lot of queries about it. I have received this email from a gardener in Portugal.

"I have searched but haven't yet found a way to kill some branches of a Hedera Helix that continues to invade my property from under the ground. When the leaves come to the top of the soil I apply Roundup, but although the leaves die the branch continues to grow.

What can I do? Is there another way, a stronger product?

Rodrigo Coutinho Lisbon Portugal

Hello Rodrigo"

Thank you for your email.

Search engines are sending a huge amount of traffic to us at the moment with the similar questions about how to deal with Ivy (Hedera helix).

I am afraid that Roundup (active ingredient Glyphosate) can be a problem on leaves such as Hedera that have a thick cuticle (a cuticle is the thick waxy layer that protects the leaf surface).

Glyphosate is one of the safest chemicals around and does not even carry a hazardous classification.

Glyphosate is great on grasses but mediocre on stubborn pernicious weeds unless you give it a helping hand. Try adding some washing up liquid or vegetable oil to the Glyphosate to enable it to adhere to the leaf so that you can benefit properly from the chemical. Make sure that you coat the underside of the leaf blade as well. Using a fine haired paint brush is a good way to achieve this.

You might want to consider a brush wood killer like SBK which when mixed with a thin oil will be very effective although its residual effect makes it prudent to wait a while before replanting.

Hedera became a real problem for us from a maintenance point of view. Planted extensively by commercial landscapers because it filled a hole but can become the maintenance gardeners pain.

Ground cover plant serves a purpose to an extend but once established or left to run riot it binds roots of other plants and shrubs and is hard to eradicate.

Best grown where maintenance is really not a huge issue

Comments

[Andrew]

I disagree with the last respondant. I attempt to be organic in my gardening and the method I use to kill ivy is without chemicals. I cleared a mature oak of ivy last summer; following the lunar planting philosophy I attacked the ivy when it was fullmoon and the plant's sap was high. I carefully cut around its base using an axe and a crowbar (being careful not to ringbark the tree) and a week later the ground was carpeted with the ivy's green leaves. This was such a shock to the plant that it died right down to the root and hasnt recovered, unlike the oak which seems much happier. This method isn't 100% successful and a more certain job would involve digging up the plant's roots. I live in North London and if anyone needs help in this regard please email [email protected]

[Chris]

The problem, Andrew, is removing ground-covering ivy, not when it grows up a wall or tree.

[Geof Searle]

Cut main root then cut 6 inching above leaving a gap