On Thu, 13 Sep 2012 12:02:04 +0100, Martin Brown
wrote:

On 13/09/2012 11:57, mark wrote:
I have some very old and well established ivy growing up a a very old
outbuilding.

I want it gone. Mechanical means (ie., a mattock) would damage the old
brick work. Round-up is not effective on the glossy leaves.

I'm looking for a chemical warfare answer. The ground is just shingle and
part of the drive. In previous years a dose of sodium chlorate would have
done the job but is no longer readily available.

Any ideaas?

Stage one is cut through the stems where they enter the ground. The
stuff is a bit easier to prize off brickwork after it has dried up.

You are likely to make a lot of additional work for yourself repointing
brickwork after the ivy comes off.

The waxy leaves make ivy hard to kill by chemical means so you have to
use something that works through the roots and risk collateral damage to
any adjacent plants. Not sure what is available for this these days.

One technique I've used in the past with some success is to cut the
stems and IMMEDIATELY paint the cut ends with concentrated glyphosate
(you need to buy the liquid concentrate, not the powdered sachets that
you mix with water).

If you want to try this, cut the stems off initially about a foot
above ground and paint. About two weeks later, chop 6 inches off and
paint again. Then about two weeks after that, cut to just above ground
level and paint again.

Downside is that when I was originally told about this method the
instructions also included "do it in early summer" so I don't know how
effective it would be now.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the East End of Swansea Bay where sometimes
it's raining and sometimes it's not.