Expert: C.L. Fornari - 11/4/2008

Question
About a third of our backyard is ivy.  It was planted about 12 years ago. Is it ok to mow it to try to somewhat contain it and clean it up? We live in the Kansas City area.

Answer
Patricia,
Whew!  When I saw that the question was about ivy I was afraid that you were going to ask how to get rid of it... this is a tough plant to eradicate, but an easier one to clean up.  Containing it will take persistence and effort.

Clean up ivy in the spring by either mowing it or chopping it down with a weed-whacker.  You could probably get away with doing it now but it will look pretty ugly over the winter since it won't replace its growth before spring. So if I were you I'd do it in April.

To contain ivy you'll need to chop it where you want it to stop on an annual basis, and dig up any that has rooted in the area where you don't want it to go. Do this in the spring and again in mid-summer, and then cut all sprigs that are growing into the forbidden zone again in the fall. Don't bother with edging or other barriers to contain it - ivy will just eat them for breakfast, growing under and over.   If you don't mind using an herbicide you could spray what you don't want with that, but you'll still need to dig out the roots so it's not really worth it in my opinion.  

Be sure to cut any ivy that tries to grow up trees as well - it will smother a tree and make it so top heavy that they come down in storms.

I hope this helps!
C.L.
www.wholelifegardening.com