Poison Ivy Gone Mad? [PHOTOS]
Gorguruga
Posts: 57
This stuff has eaten away at this hedge and nearly ruined it altogether. I'm guessing it's poison ivy but not sure.
What is it and how do I get rid of it please?
Is there any chance I could regrow the hedge or maybe introduce another vine to provide equivalent coverage?
0
Posts
If you live in UK then it will not be poison ivy. Poison ivy does not exist here.
If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
That is plain old ivy. It hasn't killed your hedge. It is just using it as a support.
If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
Oh it's Ivy, so how do I get rid of it? And why is the hedge losing all it's leaves?
Dig it up. No idea why the hedge is losing all its leaves. Maybe it has been poisoned. Maybe it has contracted a disease. Maybe attacked by fungi. Maybe old age. Maybe too dry. How long has it been dying?
If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
Common ivy (Hedera helix) is such a useful plant for wildlife http://www.wildlifegardenproject.com/wildlife/plants/104-common-ivy-hedera-helix
do you have to get rid of it?
Yep - it looks like plain old Hedera helix to me. It might be killing the hedge indirectly by outcompeting it for water or soil nutrients, or there might be some other cause as Pansy says.
Cross posted with Dove. The flowers in autumn are particularly good for bees at a time of year when there's not much else about. They don't flower till they're a few years old though.
Ah you just jogged my memory. That reminded me about something the previous occupants said a while ago. The neighbour apparently poured a weed killer or pesticide (can't remember which exactly) in his garden and it ran across to the hedge which is what they said caused the hedge to start dying. I think this happened a few years ago, if I remember right.
I hadn't paid it much attention until today, had forgotten the story, so I'd assumed it was the ivy killing the hedge off.
If you don't want to dig out and replace the dead hedge, you could let the ivy grow up and clothe the dead hedge branches - keep the sides clipped and you'll have a lovely green ivy hedge that the birds will love to nest in
Nice link, thanks. I do like the look of it in some ways but I'd just thought it was responsible for killing off the hedge. On top of that, with my assumption that it was poisonous and with a public footpath very close to it, I thought I should get rid of it to prevent any kids touching it and getting ill. If it's harmless, I wouldn't mind keeping it, if I could get my hedge back too though.