Ivy - the spawn of the devil?

[GB]

I've let ivy grow up the back of the house, as it looks quite
picturesque. However, now it's reached first floor level and is growing
over the window panes, I'm beginning to have second thoughts as to the
advisability of letting it rampage.

Any advice?

 

[Davey]

I've let ivy grow up the back of the house, as it looks quite
picturesque. However, now it's reached first floor level and is
growing over the window panes, I'm beginning to have second thoughts
as to the advisability of letting it rampage.

Any advice?

Remove all of it.

 

[The Natural Philosopher]

I've let ivy grow up the back of the house, as it looks quite
picturesque. However, now it's reached first floor level and is growing
over the window panes, I'm beginning to have second thoughts as to the
advisability of letting it rampage.

Any advice?

cut it off oin the maiin stems below the level you want. Above that it
does and then can be pulled away later with minimal damage.

Personaally I think its massively destructive.



--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

 

[fred]

cut it off oin the maiin stems below the level you want. Above that it

does and then can be pulled away later with minimal damage.



Personaally I think its massively destructive.







--

Ineptocracy



(in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to

lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the

members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are

rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a

diminishing number of producers.

...........and it will fill your upstairs rooms with creepie crawlies. If you like the look get a creeper instead

 

[Tim Watts]

I've let ivy grow up the back of the house, as it looks quite
picturesque. However, now it's reached first floor level and is growing
over the window panes, I'm beginning to have second thoughts as to the
advisability of letting it rampage.

Any advice?

It's gotto me "managed", usually once a year, brutually.

Round here, you often see a pro up a ladder for 1-2 days under the pay of
the owner dealing with the "whole wall" ivy.
--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

Reading this on the web? See:
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

 

[harryagain]

I've let ivy grow up the back of the house, as it looks quite picturesque.
However, now it's reached first floor level and is growing over the window
panes, I'm beginning to have second thoughts as to the advisability of
letting it rampage.

Any advice?

It needs to go.
If it gets on the roof it will lift slates/tiles, possibly breaking them.

Cut the main "trunk" and poison the root with Roundup.
You will have to pull the stuff strand by strand off the wall.
Start at the top
There will likely be some damage when you do this.
Depends on howcareful you are and the condition of the wall.

 

[Tim Watts]

Kill it!

Friends of mine bought a property at auction that hadn't been lived-in
for 25+ years, although the grounds had been maintained for all that
time, nobody thought to do anything about the ivy that eventualy reached
the top of the chimneys ... it took a lot of clearing!

http://goo.gl/maps/XtnWT

Don't overlook thta if it is not causing damage to the wall then it is
adding a layer of isulation (stilled air) and is also offering rain
shielding of the wall.

Some wall types can be damaged badly by ivy - but for those that aren't,
there are benefits.

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

Reading this on the web? See:
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

 

[alan]

I've let ivy grow up the back of the house, as it looks quite
picturesque. However, now it's reached first floor level and is growing
over the window panes, I'm beginning to have second thoughts as to the
advisability of letting it rampage.

Any advice?

Cut the stems at ground level and let it die off before removing. The
sooner you do it the less damage to your property.

Plant a Russian Vine instead - pretty white flowers

 

[stuart noble]

Cut the stems at ground level and let it die off before removing. The
sooner you do it the less damage to your property.

Plant a Russian Vine instead - pretty white flowers

I removed an ivy from a Victorian brick wall some years ago. The only
problem was that it had got under the roof slates, but damage to the
yellow bricks was minimal, and the roots were easy to dig out.

 

[Brian Gaff]

Just don't dump it outside the back gate of my house as someone local to me
seems to have done..grin.
What is the outside surface of the wall finished in? Ivy can bore holes in
most things over time and blow render quite successfully.
Brian

 

[Brian Gaff]

Sounds like there might be an opening for artificial plastic Ivy then.
Brian

 

[Ian Jackson]

I've let ivy grow up the back of the house, as it looks quite
picturesque. However, now it's reached first floor level and is growing
over the window panes, I'm beginning to have second thoughts as to the
advisability of letting it rampage.

Any advice?


If it's not destroying any brickwork or undermining the mortar it's
your call, but regular attending to is essential to prevent it going mad

http://www.whatprice.co.uk/gardening/ivy.html

That's a very informative link.

I had a lot of ivy on my house, and although not as spectacular as the
Street View example, had invaded the roof and the loft. I removed most
of it, and now have only a small patch, which I keep strictly under
control.

I've also got some Virginia Creeper, which although equally invasive, is
easily pulled away from the wall.

As http://www.whatprice.co.uk/gardening/ivy.html also says, ivy can
seriously damage trees. There was massive (60'?) ash tree just outside
the end of my back garden, with quite a lot of ivy growing up it. I
suddenly noticed that its leaves were beginning to shrivel, while those
on an adjacent, mainly ivy-free ash were OK. On investigation, I found
that the ivy stems had got under the bark, and lifted it around the
whole of the circumference of the trunk, effectively ring-barking it.
Since then, I have made sure that the same fate does not befall its now
solitary neighbour.

 

[GB]

It needs to be controlled, otherwise it can block gutters and may
provide a path for mice to reach the upper floor.

Thanks all.

It's brickwork, and I don't think there's much damage done yet, but I'll
cut it back really, really drastically.

 

[Chris Hogg]

Cut the stems at ground level and let it die off before removing. The
sooner you do it the less damage to your property.

Plant a Russian Vine instead - pretty white flowers

Whatever else you do, DON'T plant a Russian Vine. It's infinitely
worse than mere ivy! Another name for them is 'mile a minute', which
should tell you something. It's very fast growing and highly invasive.
It's a member of the knotweed family (botanical name Fallopia
baldschuanica), and related to Japanese knotweed (botanical name
Fallopia japonica).

 

[Ian Jackson]

Whatever else you do, DON'T plant a Russian Vine. It's infinitely
worse than mere ivy! Another name for them is 'mile a minute', which
should tell you something. It's very fast growing and highly invasive.
It's a member of the knotweed family (botanical name Fallopia
baldschuanica), and related to Japanese knotweed (botanical name
Fallopia japonica).

+1. My neighbour has it, and doesn't bother much about keeping it in
check (certainly not on my side of the fence).

 

[Phil L]

I've let ivy grow up the back of the house, as it looks quite
picturesque. However, now it's reached first floor level and is
growing over the window panes, I'm beginning to have second thoughts
as to the advisability of letting it rampage.

Any advice?

Nuke it from orbit - it's the only way.

 

[alan]

Whatever else you do, DON'T plant a Russian Vine.

Spoil sport!
http://admac.myzen.co.uk/vine/
The white flowers at the top of the tree are Russian Vine. It's one
year's growth

 

[The Natural Philosopher]

It needs to go.
If it gets on the roof it will lift slates/tiles, possibly breaking them.

Cut the main "trunk" and poison the root with Roundup.
You will have to pull the stuff strand by strand off the wall.
Start at the top
There will likely be some damage when you do this.

if you leave it to die, it does a LOT less damage.

Depends on howcareful you are and the condition of the wall.

--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.