Hi I've just discovered that I have a problem in the woods near my house iwth English ivy.
This was planted by our neighbor as a groundcover, but it's extremely invasive (listed on Maryland's invasive plants list) and has now crossed the property line and is well into our section of woods. It's has climbed several of the trees, and these don't seem to be doing that well (fewer leaves, etc.). I seem to remember reading in the past few days that you don't want English ivy climbing your trees as it's harmful to the trees.
I spent several hours yesterday yanking out the vines on the ground and sadly got rid of only about 1/3.
Today, exasperated, I sprayed Roundup on the vines on the ground. I checked to not get any on any of the other existing saplings/trees.
How do I get the ivy vines off the trees? I thought I could just grab and pull hard like I was with the ones on the ground; but the ones on the tree are like they are cemented on. Is there a product I could use to get them off the trees? Naturally I'm hesitant to use Roundup on the trees for fear it will kill the trees? How do I know which trees are alright, and which are dead?
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Garden Spider
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I sympathize with you--Ivy is a real pest here in the NW, too.
What I've heard recommended for removing it from trees is to separate the climber from the root--cut off the climbing stem as high as you can reach on the tree, then hack and pull as much of the parent plant out of the ground. What's left on the tree should die, once it's deprived of food from the roots.
The best way to use Round Up on ivy is to cut the stems--use a weed wacker or hedge trimmer, and then apply the Round Up. Ivy has waxy stems and leaves that make it nigh impervious to weed killers; the fresh cut stems are more susceptible.
It can take a few years for a tree to die. You may not be able to tell right away. Keep getting as much ivy off the trees as you can--some may recover, once they're free of the ivy.
What I've heard recommended for removing it from trees is to separate the climber from the root--cut off the climbing stem as high as you can reach on the tree, then hack and pull as much of the parent plant out of the ground. What's left on the tree should die, once it's deprived of food from the roots.
The best way to use Round Up on ivy is to cut the stems--use a weed wacker or hedge trimmer, and then apply the Round Up. Ivy has waxy stems and leaves that make it nigh impervious to weed killers; the fresh cut stems are more susceptible.
It can take a few years for a tree to die. You may not be able to tell right away. Keep getting as much ivy off the trees as you can--some may recover, once they're free of the ivy.
If the vines can be removed from the tree, that's great. If not, don't sweat it because we routinely leave them be. Sometimes tearing them off the tree can do more damage than leaving them be.
Spraying RoundUp or any other herbicide has little, if any, effect because of the waxy leaves. Those leaves are pretty much impenetrable. Trying to dig it up had little effect for us as try as we might we were missing roots so it began growing back. The problem with this plant is that it reproduces both sexually and asexually. Leave behind any of those adventitious roots and it's going to come back to mock you. We use a modified from of hack and squirt on this plant. I take my hand axe and drag it along the bark stripping and lifting it off the vine in a band of about 6" wide then I paint regular strength RoundUp on the exposed area of the vine about 3' from the base of the plant. I wait about 2 weeks to see if the plant is still merrily growing or not. Usually they are still merrily growing so it's time to strip more bark from the vine about a foot below where I did it the last time. Then I wait another 2 weeks to see if it's showing any signs of going to plant heaven. If it isn't, I go down another foot and repeat the process. The nice thing about this method is it allows the chemical to work its way slowly through all the roots. If it is showing signs of dying, we smile a deep sigh of satisfaction otherwise we cut it down to a few inches above ground and paint the whole stump. Haven't had to go beyond that yet.
There's a really neat site out there somewhere that I once saw called the No Ivy League or something like that. I think it was out west somewhere. Maybe California? You might want to look that up to see if there are any new methods for killing English Ivy to consider.
Spraying RoundUp or any other herbicide has little, if any, effect because of the waxy leaves. Those leaves are pretty much impenetrable. Trying to dig it up had little effect for us as try as we might we were missing roots so it began growing back. The problem with this plant is that it reproduces both sexually and asexually. Leave behind any of those adventitious roots and it's going to come back to mock you. We use a modified from of hack and squirt on this plant. I take my hand axe and drag it along the bark stripping and lifting it off the vine in a band of about 6" wide then I paint regular strength RoundUp on the exposed area of the vine about 3' from the base of the plant. I wait about 2 weeks to see if the plant is still merrily growing or not. Usually they are still merrily growing so it's time to strip more bark from the vine about a foot below where I did it the last time. Then I wait another 2 weeks to see if it's showing any signs of going to plant heaven. If it isn't, I go down another foot and repeat the process. The nice thing about this method is it allows the chemical to work its way slowly through all the roots. If it is showing signs of dying, we smile a deep sigh of satisfaction otherwise we cut it down to a few inches above ground and paint the whole stump. Haven't had to go beyond that yet.
There's a really neat site out there somewhere that I once saw called the No Ivy League or something like that. I think it was out west somewhere. Maybe California? You might want to look that up to see if there are any new methods for killing English Ivy to consider.
After researching this further and finding somewhat limited options (the National Parks Service had a very good article on this and I read another from a garden site like this that had very similar information to the National Parks Sevice article) we initially went with the commercial grade Roundup (regular doesn't work because the ivy's waxy surface is too thick) then decided against this for 1) environmental reasons (the stuff is a little scary) and 2) cost (it's $200! and we were able to return it). The only other option I found in my research was covering the ivy with mulch which was recommended for a limited area. As this is a large open area (all the woods in the back of my lot), I did not view this as a practical suggestion.
So for what it's worth, here's what I did, which appears to have been effective:
1) Tried removing the ivy from the trees first by hand.
2) When this didn't work, I manually pulled the ivy on the ground around the ivy on the trees. Yes, you need some strength to do this: you will have to pull very very hard initially. (Avoid cutting them; my research indicated that cutting the vines would make them grow back in even faster than before.) When the ivy on the ground around the trees was pulled, the ivy climbing the trees apparently loses nutrients and dies, because then (though it still looked alive) it pulled right off the bark of the tree, no cutting or pesticide application required.
3) I pulled all ivy on the ground on my property. (Unfortunately as I said before the neighbor still wants this on his so I had to leave what's clearly on his property, so it will come crawling back soon.
4) Once that was done, I did some plant research on ground cover for that area and checked invasives lists. I chose pachysandra (think mine is the local kind and not Japanese) and bought a flat of it (100 plants). My theory is that the more existing plants in the woods the fewer places the ivy will have to go. I think this is valid based on the environment now: it does seem to allow other plants to grow on the ground with it though it's highly invasive and will climb trees (and buildings if allowed). I've had other invasive plants (morning glory comes to mind) that strangled other adjacent plants.
Hope that helps others with this unfortunate problem.
So for what it's worth, here's what I did, which appears to have been effective:
1) Tried removing the ivy from the trees first by hand.
2) When this didn't work, I manually pulled the ivy on the ground around the ivy on the trees. Yes, you need some strength to do this: you will have to pull very very hard initially. (Avoid cutting them; my research indicated that cutting the vines would make them grow back in even faster than before.) When the ivy on the ground around the trees was pulled, the ivy climbing the trees apparently loses nutrients and dies, because then (though it still looked alive) it pulled right off the bark of the tree, no cutting or pesticide application required.
3) I pulled all ivy on the ground on my property. (Unfortunately as I said before the neighbor still wants this on his so I had to leave what's clearly on his property, so it will come crawling back soon.
4) Once that was done, I did some plant research on ground cover for that area and checked invasives lists. I chose pachysandra (think mine is the local kind and not Japanese) and bought a flat of it (100 plants). My theory is that the more existing plants in the woods the fewer places the ivy will have to go. I think this is valid based on the environment now: it does seem to allow other plants to grow on the ground with it though it's highly invasive and will climb trees (and buildings if allowed). I've had other invasive plants (morning glory comes to mind) that strangled other adjacent plants.
Hope that helps others with this unfortunate problem.
Pachysandra procumbens is the wildlife friendly native and it is an excellent choice! Pachysandra terminalis is the Japanese cousin that I don't think you'd want. It can be more than just a little weedy.
I have some Pachysandra procumbens here. I can take a photo of it and e-mail it to you or if you'd be interested, you could post a photo of what they sold you and I could probably tell you which one you bought.
I have some Pachysandra procumbens here. I can take a photo of it and e-mail it to you or if you'd be interested, you could post a photo of what they sold you and I could probably tell you which one you bought.
Lorax, you and I think alike. That is why I mentioned hoping it was the local kind. I'd read about it being nicer than Japanese spurge. I will post a picture.TheLorax wrote:Pachysandra procumbens is the wildlife friendly native and it is an excellent choice! Pachysandra terminalis is the Japanese cousin that I don't think you'd want. It can be more than just a little weedy.
I have some Pachysandra procumbens here. I can take a photo of it and e-mail it to you or if you'd be interested, you could post a photo of what they sold you and I could probably tell you which one you bought.
Hi Lorax, I've been busy here with other projects and haven't had time to post pictures. I looked at some pics. on the Internet and think I probably have pachysandra terminalis. While I agree with you and would have purchased the Appalachian kind 1) the other kind wasn't available at the two local nurseries I checked and it also dominates online as well and 2) considering the invasive, destructive quality of the English ivy I think I am OK with something a little invasive that will do battle with the English ivy. However I haven't found this any of Maryland's invasive plants list, so I'm choosing to label it as a "good" invasive.TheLorax wrote:Pachysandra procumbens is the wildlife friendly native and it is an excellent choice! Pachysandra terminalis is the Japanese cousin that I don't think you'd want. It can be more than just a little weedy.
I have some Pachysandra procumbens here. I can take a photo of it and e-mail it to you or if you'd be interested, you could post a photo of what they sold you and I could probably tell you which one you bought.
Hi brubel, Personally, I'd take them all back if it's a local nursery but that's just me and I'm admittedly a lazy gardener who doesn't want to deal with plants that don't play "nice" with other plants. I'm growing real tired of nurseries duping me and adding more work to my plate by not sharing the scientific names of plants. Aside from the above, the P. procumbens is classified as a highly desirable species for wildlife value. The P. terminalis is not. You are a classic example of somebody who wanted a mild mannered plant who ended up spending hard earned money on the look-alike. Let me guess, they advertised it as Pachysandra or Spurge?
P. terminalis is no where up there in the league of English Ivy because it is somewhat easier to eradicate and not nearly as popular but it will probably create issues for you down the road as it's in the class of resource hog.
Here's the map of all the eastern states in which P. terminalis is already documented as having naturalized-
https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PATE11
The plant simply hasn't enjoyed the popularity of English Ivy or it probably would be documented as having naturalized in considerably more areas. If it's now readily available at local nurseries as well as on line, it will probably catch up with English Ivy sooner or later as its popularity increases while English Ivy's popularity dwindles.
For possible future reference- you might find this site capable of saving you lots of money at only .60¢ per plug for the plant you wanted to buy. The natives will take off quite nicely from a plug, in fact I bought mine as plugs and now have the equivalent of $15 plants in just two years-
https://www.violavalleywildflowers.com/az.html
Barring the above which is simply a difference in gardening styles, you deserve an A+ in my book for your efforts getting rid of the English Ivy.
P. terminalis is no where up there in the league of English Ivy because it is somewhat easier to eradicate and not nearly as popular but it will probably create issues for you down the road as it's in the class of resource hog.
Here's the map of all the eastern states in which P. terminalis is already documented as having naturalized-
https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PATE11
The plant simply hasn't enjoyed the popularity of English Ivy or it probably would be documented as having naturalized in considerably more areas. If it's now readily available at local nurseries as well as on line, it will probably catch up with English Ivy sooner or later as its popularity increases while English Ivy's popularity dwindles.
For possible future reference- you might find this site capable of saving you lots of money at only .60¢ per plug for the plant you wanted to buy. The natives will take off quite nicely from a plug, in fact I bought mine as plugs and now have the equivalent of $15 plants in just two years-
https://www.violavalleywildflowers.com/az.html
Barring the above which is simply a difference in gardening styles, you deserve an A+ in my book for your efforts getting rid of the English Ivy.
I dug a hole about 3ft deep to get rid of an ivy root as thick as my forearm today. Nearly killed me but it was me or the ivy...I won. 
brubel I really think you will need to get rid of the ivy first. Pachysandra cannot compete, nothing can....well, maybe kudzu, but I have no experience with that
...ivy will smother the ground and grasp anything nearby with its aerial, hairy roots. It can kill a tree so I really do not think Pachysandra (of any variety) will be much competition for it.
brubel I really think you will need to get rid of the ivy first. Pachysandra cannot compete, nothing can....well, maybe kudzu, but I have no experience with that
...ivy will smother the ground and grasp anything nearby with its aerial, hairy roots. It can kill a tree so I really do not think Pachysandra (of any variety) will be much competition for it.It's a year later. Still have English ivy problem. Lorax, I really, really do want to get rid of all the English ivy, but it is on the property line and our lovely neighbors plant more each year so if I eradicate everything I'm also killing what are actually their plants.
I've just planted six hostas. Hostas are not invasive, but they get big; just looking to take up space under my trees so the ivy has to compete for space. I got some for free locally that get big. So far the pachysandra isn't doing great anyway. It wasn't labelled pachysandra terminalis for what it's worth.
I've just planted six hostas. Hostas are not invasive, but they get big; just looking to take up space under my trees so the ivy has to compete for space. I got some for free locally that get big. So far the pachysandra isn't doing great anyway. It wasn't labelled pachysandra terminalis for what it's worth.
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applestar
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Oh dear. Sorry to hear, brubel.
Stay strong! I've a similar problem but on a smaller scale -- FYI here's my thread about keeping back the "green horde": www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8139 They are starting to creep back over the fence again, so I'll be out there yanking away. It's raining today, so that will help loosen the ground.
I'm slowly transplanting Ostrich fern into the area. I've also planted some native Pachysandra I got at a native plant sale -- though they do seem to be rather slow growers -- as well as "Green and Gold" Chrysogonum virginianum. I highly recommend Green and Gold -- the yellow flowers just highlight the dark shady area under the Willow oak tree and it's drought tolerant in the drier areas where the trees suck up most of the water.
Another plant fighting the good fight is Virginia creeper. I'm selectively yanking English ivy and letting the Virginia creeper grow in its place. (Here's a thread where we discussed Virginia creeper at length: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14780 )
Stay strong! I've a similar problem but on a smaller scale -- FYI here's my thread about keeping back the "green horde": www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8139 They are starting to creep back over the fence again, so I'll be out there yanking away. It's raining today, so that will help loosen the ground.
I'm slowly transplanting Ostrich fern into the area. I've also planted some native Pachysandra I got at a native plant sale -- though they do seem to be rather slow growers -- as well as "Green and Gold" Chrysogonum virginianum. I highly recommend Green and Gold -- the yellow flowers just highlight the dark shady area under the Willow oak tree and it's drought tolerant in the drier areas where the trees suck up most of the water.
Another plant fighting the good fight is Virginia creeper. I'm selectively yanking English ivy and letting the Virginia creeper grow in its place. (Here's a thread where we discussed Virginia creeper at length: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14780 )