On Tue, 07 May 2013 09:10:33 +0100, Jeff Layman
wrote:

On 07/05/2013 08:48, Bob Hobden wrote:
"TimLondon" wrote ..


Hi, should I encourage ivy to grow or does it become unmanageable? I've
just bought a house that already has some but it wants to spread across
the side of the house. While I think it's attractive I don't want to
create a beast that'll be a headache in the future! Any thoughts
welcome.

Depends on the variety. If it's normal Ivy it will be difficult to control
and certainly make a mess of any paintwork it gets hold of. If you pull it
off it leaves it's roots attached to whatever it's clinging to. My mother
had some up a wall of her house and that was one of the miniature varieties
usually seen in baskets etc, which is where it came from originally, but
still it was difficult to control and got onto window frames etc leaving a
mess.
We had the large leaved type along a very old fence for years but it was a
constant headache keeping it tidyish.
Ivy is easily killed by cutting it off from it's roots below ground level.

Not so easy if its along 30 metres of fencing, umpteen years old, and
many stems exceed 3cm in diameter. :-(

Anyone tried strimming and damaging the leaves before spraying with
nuclear-strength glyphosate?

I had a large-leaved ivy on a fence which got too vigorous. Last
Spring I cut all the stems, thick ones, off at ground level, with a
saw in some cases. Now I have the job of getting the stems off the
trellis it had wound round! No sign of new growth from the base so
far.

Pam in Bristol