Cutting back ivy

[Patrick Bateman]

Looking for advice on cutting this back...the previous owner of our house was kind enough to let the ivy get totally out of hand and take over half the garage. A honeysuckle is also in amongst this but definitely only a small part-





I don't necessarily want to get rid of it as the birds clearly use this for nesting and shelter but wonder is the easiest way to cut this right back to its base and start again? Would assume it'll be much easier to remove the existing growth from the roof after it's died back.

[sherman]

Find the main stem.
Cut through it with a saw.
Leave until spring.
The thatch should peel off the garage nice and easily then.

[Simpo Two]

If you want to leave some for nesting birds etc I'd just remove the parts you find untidy. In other words, give it a haircut. It won't mind, ivy is tough.

[megaphone]

sherman said:

Find the main stem.
Cut through it with a saw.
Leave until spring.
The thatch should peel off the garage nice and easily then.

This cut the stem and wait for it to die off, much easier to remove once it's dead

[Cow Corner]

As others have said, cut main stem and let it due - much better to remove entirely to avoid any more damage to the garage. You can look to provide some alternative wildlife habitat, perhaps by putting in shrubs/hedging alongside the garage or against the oil tank enclosure.

[Matt_N]

We live near woodlands and the Ivy seems to encroach on all aspects of your garden from neighbours who don’t tame it, all I can say is wear a mask when cutting it back, the dust / particles it gives off when cutting is horrible!

[Danm1les]

We live next door to an SSE substation, which had ivy growing up and over it from our side and was out of control. I cut off the main stems back before summer, and SSE's team are there today peeling it off the roof etc.

Comes off much easier when its dead, the leaves falling off non stop have been a pain though!

[Patrick Bateman]

Cheers, think I'll go that route as suspect it'll be a bd to pull off in its current state then.

Also don't have the means to get onto the roof currently...

[Composer62]

I had a similar problem to the OP and (as far as I know) cut through several main stems quite a few months ago. The bloody stuff has just kept on growing though. Have I missed something ?

[Danm1les]

They have finished for the moment in taking off the ivy this morning, roof is quite the state. Ivy really is the worst.

[dhutch]

Hedge trimmer, loppers, folding pruning saw.

Shear all the leaves off, then cut away at it.

[hengti]

Is that pebbledash? It's easy to remove from brick with a paint scraper, not so sure about other surfaces.

[Patrick Bateman]

Not sure what to do here, this is a brute. Many months after taking a saw and double cutting all the stems I could find and this is how it still looks-



With it being quite a damp year, I don t know if it s somehow been surviving from the moisture the leaves are getting or whether there are roots in the gutter it s utilising. There is no other soil/bed it can be using.

There are birds nesting in it so can t do much at the minute anyway.

Edited by Patrick Bateman on Sunday 5th July 10:33

[Metric Max]

Surely the PH answer is to use FIRE

[Patrick Bateman]

Well glyphosate is the plant equivalent and always an option but with our windy location and the height it needs sprayed I’d be very worried about drift.

[JoshSm]

Metric Max said:

Surely the PH answer is to use FIRE

I'd favour high strength herbicides, keep the fire for later.

Hack it back first to reduce it then nuke anything that survives.

[JoshSm]

Patrick Bateman said:

Well glyphosate is the plant equivalent and always an option but with our windy location and the height it needs sprayed I d be very worried about drift.

Don't set the sprayer to mist and spray it at close range. You don't need coverage, just absorption.

Or just put it straight into cut stems as a neat mix which is the better option for larger plants (and trees), probably can't inject on that stuff but you can notch the bark and get it in that way.

[swanny71]

megaphone said:

sherman said:

Find the main stem.
Cut through it with a saw.
Leave until spring.
The thatch should peel off the garage nice and easily then.

This cut the stem and wait for it to die off, much easier to remove once it's dead

Cut through the main stem twice and remove an inch or two section of it.

[JoshSm]

swanny71 said:

Cut through the main stem twice and remove an inch or two section of it.

I did that with something and it survived, because it had managed to plant itself further up. Was a bit weird coming back to it to check it had died and was ready to pull, and finding it happy and the airgapped upper part busy healing over.

[Landlubber]

Cut it down to a stump, drill holes in the stump and fill holes with SBK or similar, it will suck it up so three or four fills will be needed. Nothing survives that.