As beautiful as it is, ivy can quickly overgrow the garden. We show how to successfully control and remove unwanted ivy.
Once an ivy, always an ivy? Removing ivy (Hedera helix) is not easy. The vigorous plant has overgrown everything that stands in its way in no time. In many places that may be all well and good, for example in overgrown garden corners, along walls or even on the house facade. Sometimes, however, the ivy overdoes it and literally grows over your head. Then it only helps to put him in his place and at least partially remove it.
Remove Ivy
Removing
ivy without leaving any residue is a bit of a challenge. The planting as facade greening or ground cover should therefore be carefully considered. On the other hand, ivy is far better than its reputation. It not only embellishes otherwise bare areas with its lobed, evergreen leaves, but is also a valuable habitat and source of food. Contrary to popular belief that he would strangle trees and rob them of light, he only uses them for support. At most, it does damage to smaller trees such as fruit trees. Even on the house facade, ivy is actually innocent. The roots that it uses to cling to the wall are merely clinging roots. These do not destroy the facade. It only becomes critical if the facade is not completely undamaged from the outset and the adhesive roots of the ivy find cracks and damage, which they can then sprout further.So maybe you don't have to banish the ivy from your environment completely, just push it back a good bit.
Reduce Ivy
Parts of the plant should be removed, especially when ivy overshoots the target again. Ivy, which grows up the facade and over the roof, can easily become a danger when the exploratory plant spreads under roof tiles and these are lifted in the process. Then nothing helps and the ivy has to be carefully put back in its place. The beauty of ivy is that it is quite easy to reduce. Since he is very against cutbacksis insensitive, you can confidently cut into the old wood to reduce it. Feel free to be radical, because the plant will recover quickly enough. For tips on how to prune your ivy properly, click here.
Fighting ivy: how to get rid of it
If pushing back the ivy alone isn't enough, then you probably have to lend a hand on a larger scale. When removing the ivy, you should pay particular attention to the root, because ivy is a very resilient plant. Even small root residues can quickly develop back into a whole plant. Even if the root is deep, it must be dug up as completely as possible. Herbicides are of little help here, as they do not kill ivy completely. Dig deeper and deeper bit by bit and gradually remove the root. For smaller ivy plants, loosening the soil with a garden fork also helps.
Removing ivy on trees
Even if ivy does not cause any significant damage to trees, it is far from desirable there. The good news is, removing ivy from a tree doesn't take much effort. The bad news: it takes a long time for the remains of the plant to disappear completely. The principle is simple. Since ivy is not a parasite, but only gets water and nutrients from its roots in the soil, you only have to cut the connection to it. So cut the ivy trunks around the tree trunk at a height. The shoots in the tree will gradually die off as they starve and die of thirst. However, leave these shoots in the tree for the time being, as the adhesive roots are firmly attached to the bark of the tree. Tearing down the shoots could severely damage the tree. So let the shoots die off in peace. After a few months to two years, they will first wither and then begin to rot. The adhesive roots are also slowly giving way and you can carefully pull the dead shoots off the tree. Until then, unfortunately, they hang somewhat undecoratively in the treetop and spread their withered leaves everywhere under the tree. But nothing helps.
If you don't just want to remove the tendrils of the ivy, but the whole plant, then of course you have to get to the root.
Remove ivy as ground cover
Even as a ground cover, ivy can sometimes overgrow, especially if it is not cut back regularly. Then it's time to remove a good portion of the ivy. Approach it slowly and carefully.The best thing to do is to take tendril by tendril and pull the roots out of the ground with you when you remove them. Because wherever root residues remain, ivy could sprout again. So better work now than trouble later. For larger roots, it helps to raise the soil with a garden fork beforehand.
Remove ivy on the house facade
Ivy on the house facade has many wonderful advantages: Birds find a productive nesting place, native butterflies and bees enjoy the late flowering and, last but not least, your house is better insulated against heat. However, if you let the pruning drag a bit, the ivy will quickly grow over your head. And sometimes you might just want to change something and therefore remove the ivy. Unfortunately, nothing helps with this work: It is and remains work.
First remove the worst. It helps to wait for a longer rainy season or to soak the facade a little. This makes it easier to detach the ivy from the house wall. Now start from the top and carefully pull the shoots off the facade. Do this slowly and carefully to protect the plaster and paint. Once the ivy has been removed, you can tackle the root. Depending on the type of facade, you have various options for removing the adhesive roots from the house wall.
Instructions to remove ivy on the house facade:
- Smooth surface like concrete or slate: You will get far with a spatula. Scrape the clinging roots clean. You can then brush with a hard brush.
- Rough clinker brick: It's best to use a wire brush and take on the facade brick by brick.
- Wood: The easiest way is probably to sand down the remains of the ivy and then give the wood a fresh treatment.
- Plastered facade: Use a hard brush to gradually remove the stubborn roots from the facade.
You can achieve the final touch by brushing the house wall with washing-up liquid mixed with clean water. How to remove accumulated dirt from the facade.
Do you wantIf you are not plastering or repainting anyway, then we do not recommend using agents such as sandblasting or high-pressure cleaners. This will slightly damage the facade and severely roughen the paint. Burning down is also not entirely without it. Apart from the fact that the facade is then sooty and therefore needs a new coat of paint, this technique is not entirely harmless, depending on the facade and insulation material.
If you have decided not to completely remove the ivy, but only to contain it, you can find out everything about cutting the ivy here.