No, you really wouldn't want it! It pulls the mortar out, dislodges the
bricks, has broken panes of glass and their frames, throws original roof
tiles to the floor and smashes them, pulls drainpipes off the wall and kills
anything else that tries to compete with it. One "plant" also harbours a
lovely nest of flying ants right below my window. I have to move out of my
room every summer because of the invasion! The wrong sort of Ivy is hell,
frankly I'm worried about my house staying upright after I've taken the Ivy
down, it's been there for so long.
Charlie.
"Heather" wrote in message
...
Thanks for your advice. I have Boston Ivy and will try to attach it to
the
wall with a trellis as you have suggested Paghat. Charlie, I love english
gardens (and am trying to create on in Toronto, Canada) and would love for
the thick ivy that you have. Sorry yours is such a pain on your home.
Heather
"Charlie" wrote in message
...
Ah sorry, thought I was in the Brit newsgroup. :-D I cut a section of
trunk
out a few hours ago and it was a good four inches in diameter. I used
to
love the stuff when I was little, but I hate it now! This is the third
tree
of it that I've started on, and when I say tree, I mean it! If the
house
fell down, this stuff could stand up on it's own!
Charlie.
"paghat" wrote in message
news
In article , "Charlie"
wrote:
Cut it down while you have the chance! I've spent the last few
weeks
trying
to get Ivy off my Victorian house because it's pulling the mortar
out!
Charlie.
There are many kinds of ivy. The cultivars with small or with deeply
cut
leaves are not invasive. Algerian ivy, invasive in the south, is very
restrained in northern climates. But you're absolutely right NO
English
ivy should EVER be trained to the side of a house, as even if not
invasive, it'll leech nutrients out of the mortar until it turns to
powder.
"Heather" wrote in message
...
I have an Ivy that I planted last year that grew really well but
did
not
attach itself to the brick wall right beside it. How do I go
about
'training' it to climb the wall this year? Do you have to 'tack'
it
in
place for a while until it get's used to being on the wall?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Heather in Toronto, Canda
If it's English ivy it won't necessarily cling to the wall on its own.
Deciduous boston ivy attaches & spreads along a wall much more
readily.
But I'm assuming you have English ivy, & do warn as did Charlie that
if
it
is not a quality cultivar, it could in the very long run really get in
the
way & strangle smaller plants all around it, & be a bear ever to get
rid
of. English ivy cultivars that have a lot of yellow in the leaves, or
variegated, are deeply cut so look a bit like marijuana leaves, or are
miniature leaves or "curlies", are never invasive. Info on invasive
potential he
http://www.paghat.com/ivy.html
Once you have it actually growing into the wall, the roots will
eventually break down & cause the mortar to powder, & roots will get
in
every available crack & possibly widen the cracks. Imperfections in a
brick fence can improve its looks if rusticity is the goal, so
attaching
to brick & mortar is not necessarily a negative thing -- just so long
as
it's not the house, in which case you'll someday be very sorry.
To train it to a brick fence or barrier is easy enough but not
automatic
as the vines will be more inclined to be groundcovers & not climb
anything
until they find something wooden (tree or fence), & even then won't
necessarily climb up unless its seeking sun -- if plenty of sun
reaches
it
it's not that interested in climbing. You might get a trellis to
attach
close to the brick, in order to have something to wind the ivy through
&
upward; once established on the trellis it will continue to spread
left
&
right even on the untrellised part of the brick barrier. If it could
be
planted ABOVE the wall like on a cliff edge, it would spill down more
readily than it will climb up without encouragement. Or if you even
just
train it up a few slender sticks that are placed up against the
bricks,
EVENTUALLY each upward-trained vine will find a part of the wall it
wants
to adhere to, & then the stick can be broken out of the vine, & it'll
continue to spread on the wall.
If you switched to boston ivy it'd all happen more naturally on its
own
with no special training required. There is also an "upright" English
ivy
cultivar that grows from a vertical trunk -- usually sold in the
three-foot-tall range, look like little ivy trees. Those can be
espaliered
to anything.
English Ivy can take three or four years to really be satisfied with
its
root development, & only then start spreading like mad so that you may
want to trim it annually thereafter. The first couple years, many
people
feel disappointed because they thought it was going to cover a whole
fence
in a matter of weeks.
-paghat the ratgirl
--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/
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