English ivy, a plant widely seen across the UK, is usually valued for its beauty. It grows well in cool, shady areas with damp and fertile soil. Many gardeners use it to decorate their gardens, thanks to its lovely climbing nature and bright green leaves.
However, this plant can quickly turn into a big problem. It spreads very fast and can take over a whole garden, possibly harming other plants. One unhappy gardener asked for help on the Gardening UK Facebook group, wanting to know how to get rid of the ivy that was covering their fence and boundary walls.
David Vallance posted: “What’s the best way to kill ivy? I need to remove it from my fences and boundary walls.” When ivy starts climbing a fence, it’s important to control it by regularly cutting off any parts that are climbing or by removing the whole plant.
The Express reports that ivy climbing up fences can be risky. Its aerial roots can go into the wood, causing damage. If left unchecked, these roots can grow bigger and go deeper, possibly making the wood rot or decay where the roots have entered.
Some group members suggested natural methods like using boiling water, but others said it wouldn’t work because it “can’t reach the roots.”
Most people advised David to cut the ivy’s stems at the bottom and then carefully dig out the plant. Therese Heap said: “Cut at the bottom, let the branches die, and then remove them (preferably in September or later because of bird nesting). To really stop it from coming back, you need to dig up the roots. They spread a lot, and you might find ivy shoots for years, but small ones are easy to deal with.”
Sheila Morgan gave her advice: “Cut it off at the base, remove as much as you can, and the rest will die. Then you have to dig up the roots. That’s the only way to get rid of this plant forever.”
Vicky Beeson suggested: “Cut it at the base, dig out the root, and the ivy on the fence will die quickly and never come back. Once it’s dead, pull it off your fence. It’s less likely to damage the fence if you wait until it dies.”
Trudy Raven shared her experience: “I never would have gotten rid of mine without digging up the roots. I had a lot to remove. It was a nightmare, but now I’m free of it.”
Finally, Tracey Liddle said: “You have to cut it at the base and remove parts of the growing section. It will die eventually, but the only way to kill it is to pull off all the dead parts.”
