Once upon a time we had a pretty little indoor ivy with a dainty variegated
leaf.We would feed and water it and train it up a short cane so that it made
an interesting feature on a sunny window-sill. In the fullness of time our
pretty little ivy became too big for its pot and even too big for the
window, so we transplanted it into an outdoor border against a wire-mesh
fence.Our once pretty little ivy grew stronger and bigger with large
dark-green leathery leaves replacing the dainty variegated leaves.When it
had covered about ten feet of fence we pulled some of the leaves off to
reveal a main trunk about 9 inches in diameter.It took days to saw through
it, ivy being a rather hard wood; but next year,to our horror, manyof the
branches had dipped to the ground and taken root.thus giving a monster of a
shrub not only in our garden, but also our next door neighbour's. In
desperation we painted each leaf with a glyphosate-type gel and waited until
it reached the roots which would then obligingly die leaving a useful
compost. Ah! but the ivy cannot read the instructions on the jar, can it ?
We now frantically tear the leaves off at every opportunity and pull up new
shoots whenever we see them, but I fear this Triffid will get us despite all
the Waters in the Seas.
Ivy grows on derelict buildings and dead trees everywhere - and that's
where it should stay.

In article ,
jim wrote:
Once upon a time we had a pretty little indoor ivy with a dainty variegated
leaf.We would feed and water it and train it up a short cane so that it made
an interesting feature on a sunny window-sill. ... In
desperation we painted each leaf with a glyphosate-type gel and waited until
it reached the roots which would then obligingly die leaving a useful
compost. Ah! but the ivy cannot read the instructions on the jar, can it ?
...
Ivy grows on derelict buildings and dead trees everywhere - and that's
where it should stay.

Ivy doesn't read newsgroups, either :-)

I am a bit surprised by your posting, as ivy normally takes a LONG time
to reach 9" in diameter, and I hadn't heard that the variegated forms
regress to the dark green ones.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
jim wrote:
[...]
Ivy grows on derelict buildings and dead trees everywhere - and
that's where it should stay.

Ivy doesn't read newsgroups, either :-)

I am a bit surprised by your posting, as ivy normally takes a LONG
time to reach 9" in diameter, and I hadn't heard that the
variegated
forms regress to the dark green ones.

I actually adore ivies, and in my last garden had a good collection,
mainly of varieties spotted in the wild (I never got the one from the
railway cutting near Neath, though: that colours beautifully in the
off-season). But they must never be allowed near any structure you
don't want prised apart: this includes fences.

Like Nick, I'm impressed that yours got to 9" at the base in what
seems so short a time. A roughly six-inch one I had to take out must
have been in place for fifty years or more. Are you perhaps counting
the side-shoots which mass up against the main stem?

Unlike Nick, I'm not surprised by reversion to self-colour. In time,
several of the variegated forms send out plain shoots; because these
are more efficient at the chlorophyll game, they will eventually
overpower the rest if you leave them to it. You have to watch for
these green shoots, and if your variety sends them out you should
tear them (not cut them) off as soon as you can see what they are.
The worst offender for me was a clone of Goldheart taken as a cutting
from a friend's garden: all three plants I raised were guilty. Aspect
is important, too: too much light and the variegation diminishes.

If you want autumn and winter colour from ivies, you need to starve
them brutally, and to be patient till they're old enough -- for some,
this can be ten years (or mo a lovely dusky pink from the roadside
near Pembroke never coloured up for me at home). I think soil acidity
helps.

Back to surprises, though. I find they're usually easy enough to kill
off if you have to: try SBK on the freshly-cut surface of the stump,
and the spots where you've ripped out any shoots along the ground.
Even just tearing off -- again, tear, don't cut -- any shoots you see
will knock it out soon enough.

Mike.

Jim and Nick wrote,

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
In article ,
jim wrote:
Once upon a time we had a pretty little indoor ivy with a dainty
variegated
leaf.We would feed and water it and train it up a short cane so that it
made
an interesting feature on a sunny window-sill. ... In
desperation we painted each leaf with a glyphosate-type gel and waited
until
it reached the roots which would then obligingly die leaving a useful
compost. Ah! but the ivy cannot read the instructions on the jar, can it
?
...
Ivy grows on derelict buildings and dead trees everywhere - and
that's
where it should stay.

Ivy doesn't read newsgroups, either :-)

I am a bit surprised by your posting, as ivy normally takes a LONG time
to reach 9" in diameter, and I hadn't heard that the variegated forms
regress to the dark green ones.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I'm surprised too, I to had a potted ivy that was replanted in the garden.
After around 10 years it covered the back fence completely, and splendid it
looked to. My only problem was that I chose to grow it up a rather
dilapidated fence, which eventually had to be replaced and as the ivy had
well entangled itself I was left with little choice but to cut down the ivy
altogether. Although well rooted, the main trunk was no more than about 4"
at its thickest part.

In the main the ivy remained variegated except where it had "tapped" into
the trees at either end of the fence and the leaves here were indeed giant
sized dark and leathery, the loss of variegation I thought was due to the
lack of sunlight in the shade of the trees themselves, as many variegated
plants revert to green in shady areas.

I still rather miss the ivy now and may consider re-planting new ones,
except that I don't miss the masses of snails that hid in there!

Jeff.

--
(remove the troll to reply)

Always look on the bright side of life (De do, de do, de doody doody do)

Mike Lyle wrote:
Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
jim wrote:
[...]
Ivy grows on derelict buildings and dead trees everywhere -
and
that's where it should stay.

Ivy doesn't read newsgroups, either :-)

[...]
Back to surprises, though. I find they're usually easy enough to
kill
off if you have to: try SBK on the freshly-cut surface of the
stump,
and the spots where you've ripped out any shoots along the ground.
Even just tearing off -- again, tear, don't cut -- any shoots you
see
will knock it out soon enough.

Sorry: in my intoxication with my own verbosity (or, indeed,
intoxication with this rather disappointing Sainsbury's vino), I
forgot to mention that if you need to take out an old ivy, some of
the stems, whether up the wall or along the ground, may not be
connected to the parent. They may be rooted branchlets which have
declared independence, or just seedlings: these will need to be
treated separately. A few seedlings will come up in subsequent years,
too, of course; but it's no big deal.

Mike.

In article ,
Mike Lyle wrote:

Unlike Nick, I'm not surprised by reversion to self-colour. In time,
several of the variegated forms send out plain shoots; because these
are more efficient at the chlorophyll game, they will eventually
overpower the rest if you leave them to it. You have to watch for
these green shoots, and if your variety sends them out you should
tear them (not cut them) off as soon as you can see what they are.
The worst offender for me was a clone of Goldheart taken as a cutting
from a friend's garden: all three plants I raised were guilty. Aspect
is important, too: too much light and the variegation diminishes.

Well, I said that I hadn't heard, but evidently I hadn't been paying
attention :-)

I am no ivy lover, but I find them the sort of wild plant that isn't
much hassle and attractive in context, though I agree that they are
a real problem if there is anything that they can get between and
lever apart. As weeds, I remove them when they get in the way, and
otherwise let them do their thing - unlike nettles etc., ignoring
them isn't inviting an invasion in future years.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"jim" wrote in message
...

[snip]

In
desperation we painted each leaf with a glyphosate-type gel and
waited until
it reached the roots which would then obligingly die leaving a
useful
compost.

What a waste of glyphosate and time. During the past summer I killed
an ivy 8 ft high by 20 ft wide stone dead with two sessions of
spraying it with glyphosate. After the leaves had dropped off, it was
moderately easy to dismantle the stem structures.

[snip]

Franz

Could we be confusing diameter for circumference?

--
..

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...

[snip]

Sorry: in my intoxication with my own verbosity (or, indeed,
intoxication with this rather disappointing Sainsbury's vino)

Try Danie de Wet's chardonnay, unoaked, available at Sainsbury's, it
is an excellent South African white.

Franz

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...

"jim" wrote in message
...

[snip]

In
desperation we painted each leaf with a glyphosate-type gel and
waited until
it reached the roots which would then obligingly die leaving a
useful
compost.

What a waste of glyphosate and time. During the past summer I
killed
an ivy 8 ft high by 20 ft wide stone dead with two sessions of
spraying it with glyphosate. After the leaves had dropped off, it
was
moderately easy to dismantle the stem structures.

[snip]

Oh, I forgot to say that the stem was only about 2 inches in diameter.
The ivy was approximately 10 years old.

Franz

Franz Heymann wrote:
"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...

[snip]

Sorry: in my intoxication with my own verbosity (or, indeed,
intoxication with this rather disappointing Sainsbury's vino)

Try Danie de Wet's chardonnay, unoaked, available at Sainsbury's,
it
is an excellent South African white.

Shanksh for ecshellent advishe, Frantsh. Hic!

Mike.

"jim" wrote in message
...
Once upon a time we had a pretty little indoor ivy with a dainty
variegated
leaf.We would feed and water it and train it up a short cane so that it
made
an interesting feature on a sunny window-sill. In the fullness of time our
pretty little ivy became too big for its pot and even too big for the
window, so we transplanted it into an outdoor border against a wire-mesh
fence.Our once pretty little ivy grew stronger and bigger with large
dark-green leathery leaves replacing the dainty variegated leaves.When it
had covered about ten feet of fence we pulled some of the leaves off to
reveal a main trunk about 9 inches in diameter.It took days to saw through
it, ivy being a rather hard wood; but next year,to our horror, manyof the
branches had dipped to the ground and taken root.thus giving a monster of
a
shrub not only in our garden, but also our next door neighbour's. In
desperation we painted each leaf with a glyphosate-type gel and waited
until
it reached the roots which would then obligingly die leaving a useful
compost. Ah! but the ivy cannot read the instructions on the jar, can it
?
We now frantically tear the leaves off at every opportunity and pull up
new
shoots whenever we see them, but I fear this Triffid will get us despite
all
the Waters in the Seas.
Ivy grows on derelict buildings and dead trees everywhere - and that's
where it should stay.




The wild one seeds all around my garden from the adjoining Churchyard.

After sawing through the trunk I managed to slip a piece of vinyl
floor covering in the gap to stop it from knitting together.After reading
your reply I removed this vinyl and was able to prise the gap open enough to
get a tape measure inside.The cross-section is eleptical, 6 1/4 inches by 9
inches (just).I had sawn as near to the soil as I could,but I little further
down it was bigger.The diabolical thing about ivy is that it does not
entwine itself around the wire but wraps over it and joins up on the other
side. Even the angle-iron post of the fence was ensnared.Now, over a year
after, I am still waiting for the larger bits to weather away so I can pull
them off without damaging the fence. Whenever I read the word 'hedera' my
brain says 'Hydra-head.
"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
In article ,
jim wrote:
Once upon a time we had a pretty little indoor ivy with a dainty
variegated
leaf.We would feed and water it and train it up a short cane so that it
made
an interesting feature on a sunny window-sill. ... In
desperation we painted each leaf with a glyphosate-type gel and waited
until
it reached the roots which would then obligingly die leaving a useful
compost. Ah! but the ivy cannot read the instructions on the jar, can it
?
...
Ivy grows on derelict buildings and dead trees everywhere - and
that's
where it should stay.

Ivy doesn't read newsgroups, either :-)

I am a bit surprised by your posting, as ivy normally takes a LONG time
to reach 9" in diameter, and I hadn't heard that the variegated forms
regress to the dark green ones.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.