A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum Shrubs and Trees Killer English Ivy

Hello!
I need advice on getting rid of english ivy. We have 2 very old & tall poplar trees on our property and they are both full of english ivy. Yesterday I went out & stated cutting it off the tree but I can only reach about 5 ft up. I used big prunning loppers to cut it away and pulled as much as I could at the time from the ground. There are still some ropes ivy stalks imbedded in the tree and I'm going to go out with a hand saw and cut sections out. What I'd like to know is can I put some vine killer like crossbow on the leaves without hurting the tree? We've only lived here 2 years but the trees must be 20-30 years old. I would hate to lose them.

Thanks for your advice!
Here is a link to view the tree & ivy...



http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/582299505sMutPk

It won't hurt the trees if they're that old but my experience has been it doesn't kill the ivy. I just keep having to pull the ivy off the tree and cut it as short as I can.

I have not found anything that will really kill ivy very well. But it can kill your trees. So cutting it off as much as possible will aid them. Don't worry about the vines imbedded in the tree unless they are also attached to the ground.
The only way I have found to get rid of English ivy is diligence. I cut it back and the then spray with something every time a part tries to grow back. It is easier to stay on top of little bits than big patches. So I go out and spray the newest growth or paint the leaves with a roundup type product as they begin to green up. Give them a few days for to absorb that to the roots and then pull the those pieces out. It may take over a year to completely get rid of the ivy.

Thank you bestofour and californiaqueen! That's about all I've been able to do. I would like to see it die off high up. I'll try painting some brush killer...roundup or crossbow on the new young leaves. I thought I might try to edit my post & add a link to some photos I've posted on webshots of the tree.
Thanks again for your help!

If you can sever the ivy from its roots, the stuff high up will die off on its own. You will have dead leaves hanging around for awhile but no new growth up there.

Hi, well the ivy continues to grow as it's attached itself to the tree. I'm afraid to us too much killer & harm the tree. I keep cutting it back from the ground up so maybe eventually it will die off.
Do you think the roundup will harm the tree if I use it on the ivy leaves?

Well the round up will get washed off the leaves and into the ground around the tree. Killing the leaves won't kill the plant either..that is one nasty vine to get rid of.

Round up only needs a couple hours on the leaves and a few hours of sunshine for it to absorb. It will then go to the roots and begin the killing process. If roundup ends up only on the trunk of the tree, it should not harm the tree. It is only absorbed through leaves. Once Roundup reaches the ground it changes and breaks down into neutral stuff found naturally in the earth.
Ivy is tough and may take more applications than other things. But it can be done. Keep on doing as you are doing though, in order to no let your tree become smothered.

Hi and thank you for the reply. Yo're right it is a nasty one to get rid of but now that our weather has dried out...(went from a cool 65 yesterday to a hot still 90 today) I plan on trying the roundup again.

Hi Tina! Thanks for your reply. I'm going to do the round up again and keep it up for a few weeks. Our weather has finally warmed up & dried out. We were a cool 65 Thursday & today (Friday) a hot 90!)
I hope to get ahead of the ivy before winter sets in.

Looks like a job for the pros,IMO.

[img]http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2968674110038404339jSMcJA[/img]

A tree guy will also haul the stuff away.

Take it down as much as possible, then concrete the roots in at ground level,

A council worker told me that.