Removing ivy

[Pford75]

We have a rather dilapedated greenhouse (well the remains of one) in our garden. The walls are brick (with flint infill panels) to a height of apx 2 ft and there used to be a timber structure above (we understand that this was removed sometime in the 60's.

It has been allowed to become covered by ivy over a period of many years and the ivy has forced it's way into the brickwork to the extent that the top 1-2 courses of brick have become dislodged. There is also rather severe ivy ingress into the mortar joints at the brick piers separating the flint panels.

I finally have a couple of weeks holiday planned and am intending to tackle this - removing the ivy and repointing the brickwork (My lime putty has been maturing for some time now). My main question is around the removal of the ivy - I have been persistently trying to kill it with weedkiller for several weeks...but the complication is that there is a hazel tree (which I want to keep) and asparagus beds close to the wall (so weedkiller run-off is undesireable).

A neighbour has suggested I use his flame gun (which is used for organic weeding on his driveway) http://www.mowermagic.co.uk/acatalog/SHEEN_X-300_Flame_Weeder.html#aSHEENX300

This would help to remove the ivy much more quickly and avoid damage to the other tree/plants. But would this cause any damage to the mortar which does not need repointing?

 

[Hatster]

This may be too late for you, if your holiday time is already planned, but I get rid of the ivy climbing on trees and buildings by severing it as close to the bottom as possible and then waiting for the shoots above that point to die, at which point I chop and pull and scrape with a screwdriver until it's off. I find it slightly easier to remove ivy when it's dead, although not everyone does. Then at least you have the vast majority of the ivy off, and can see the stump that you're dealing with. I would tend to dig that up as much as possible.

Because I spend a lot of time in the garden, all I then do is to remove any new shoots from the ivy whenever they appear. The ivy doesn't get a change to grow back, and will eventually die.

However, some people find that doesn't work for them, in which case I would mix up glyphosate and washing-up liquid, and then paint the mixture onto the new ivy shoots as they appear.

I don't quite see what a flamegun is going to achieve, to be honest? I don't think it will manage anything better than simply severing the trunk at ground level.

 

[Schoolmarm]

What weedkiller did you use and when was it applied?

 

[Pford75]

I've used both glyphosate based and sodium chlorate based weedkillers over a period of 4-6 weeks now and much of the ivy is dead. The problem seems to be that there are multiple roots (the greenhouse is apx 30ft x 15ft and every wall is covered).

I'm fairly sure that I could kill it off....but it's the removal which is a pain....it seems to be thickly matted (will try to take some photos) and can't just be pulled off....(to give you an idea, I had to resort to a bow saw in some areas). The thinking behind the flame gun was that it would be a much quicker way of removing the dead ivy and less likely to damage the mortar (which is what happens when it is pulled off). But I wanted to check if this is likely to cause the mortar to suffer.

 

[Hatster]

Maybe you could try a small patch with the flamethrower, leave it for a while and see?

I tend to try to chop ivy back as close to the brickwork as I can (with loppers and a prunign saw if necessary), and then go at the remaining bits with a screwdriver to lever them off. It does take a long time. In fact, I should do some more work on this this weekend.

 

[Pford75]

Here's a pic of the offending ivy. I must admit that perhaps I am looking for a gardening shortcut....I'd like to get on with the mortar repairs whilst the weather is good. In an ideal world the ivy would never have been left this long

 

[biffvernon]

The trouble with glyphosate is that it is an evil substance produced by Monsanto, the planet's most evil company.

 

[Feltwell]

I'm not sure there is a shortcut with ivy. I've gone down the secatuers and prising it out with an old screwdriver route.

If you're doing a lot then I'd wear gloves and long sleeves. I got a nasty allergic reaction after 3 days of stripping ivy, which I've never had before despite having done that job in smaller bursts previously. My GP said it was quite a common reaction.

 

[AMc]

I have been stripping paint with a heat gun on a gravel drive recently. In an idle moment I cooked some of the weeds growing up. The effect was rapid and quite pleasing, I can't imagine you will do any damage to (sound) bricks and mortar in the time taken to shrivel the ivy but test in an inconspicuous area first...

 

[Schoolmarm]

Agree, set it on fire. Most of the heat will be of short duration, upwards and intense.

Just have a hose pipe (connected to water :lol: ) handy.
Camera on standby too 8)

 

[Moo]

Don't do it yet, though - it would be a shame to let all those flames go to waste.

Wait until those lambs are ready, then invite us all round for a barbecue.

 

[worms]

Don't do it yet, though ...

Apart from the very sensible suggestion of the lamb consumption, it would be good to check that there no wrens nesting behind it as well, they love that habitat.

I've found a flame gun good for ivy, but have no experience of using it on mortared brick. Even on live,growing ivy, a couple of sessions a few days apart seems to work - the first session kills off the leaves and the second burns off the dead leaves. However, when I mentioned use of the flame gun for weed control on this forum before, I was roundly condemned by the spider preservation police!

 

[Schoolmarm]

Good shout there ref the birds :shock: hopefully in time

 

[Pford75]

Flame on!

Will try to post some pics/updates on how this goes (plan to start at the end of this week)...thanks for the responses

 

[Pford75]

Spent the morning flaming the ivy.

Will post pics soon, but I am a convert....perhaps I have pyromaniac tendancies? Needless to say, it seems very effective in removing very dense ivy