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.