Is english ivy a bad idea?

[si33]

Three words describe English Ivy...Cats, Rats, and Bats...and thats no joke..

When i was a kid, a neighbor had this stuff growing everywhere and we had a neighborhood cat who regularly would house her litters there..

Once he passed away, the ivy was tore out and we had a rat problem for the next year..Even now, anytime this stuff is taken out of a house undergoing some sort of construction, you will see rats show up in parts of a neighborhood where they were not as common..to a rat, ivy is a high class hotel..on steroids..

Back when i was living in Ohio, my boss told me about how one of the houses he maintained was so overgrown by this stuff that it had gotten into the attic and was growing down into the wall spaces on one side of the house.

When him and the guys working for him at the time got to it, there was a small colony of Brown Bats established in a corner of the chimney in a spot where they would'nt otherwise try to roost.

He told me that the ivy was so dense that the home owner had to contact a contractor to tear out the side of the house the ivy had invaded.. simply because the entire wall was crumbling under the weight of the ivy breaking through it... so no, i never recommend this stuff to anyone..Especially if there is any chance of it escaping into the wild..

[formercalifornian]

Yes, yes, yes! Our home's previous owner had a love affair with the stuff and planted it against a railroad tie retaining wall. The stuff is nearly impossible to control, and like another poster mentioned, critters love to nest in it.

[icibiu]

Wow, thanks for the feed back. I had no idea so many people felt so negatively about the stuff! I’m really torn on what to do...

I definitely need something that will hold back all that dirt, I wish i could show you all pictures (maybe once I unpack and find the cord!!) and ivy seems like it will establish quickly and since I already have some growing on one side it will be free, which is good since there are so many other projects to attend to. Also people have said it's so much maintenance I have to cut it every couple of months, but that is much less than I would have to cut grass. I don't like the idea of having to push a mower up this very steep slope.

If I were to go with another ground cover wouldn't I still have the whole critter problem? Plus sounds like ivy is no fun to get rid of how long would it be before I could put down another ground cover if I chose to remove the ivy that is already there?

As far as being invasive, from what i can tell the ivy has been there for a long while and the current owner has done zilch with the landscaping (hence the huge bayberry bushes) and it hasn't started going for the house. It did however go up an enormous maple tree in the front yard that seems to be dying (lower branches still have leaves but upper branches are dry and cracked and had no leaves this summer) I wonder if it's the ivy's fault? The ivy doesn't go up as high as where the tree seems to be dying. And the ivy is also on the power lines in front of the house which is not so bad right now but a house a couple of doors down has A LOT of ivy on the lines and it is obstructing their view of the lake. There is a lot of ivy in this neighborhood.

ooohhh what to do??

[gentlearts]

The thing about ivy is that it's runners are almost entirely above ground. While it spreads like a son of a gun, at least it's not that hard to pull out where you do not want it. It is great for ground cover and easy to control.
I have some other stuff growing called houttuynia, and also anemonies, and I can't kill either one with anything as hard as I try.

[formercalifornian]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

The thing about ivy is that it's runners are almost entirely above ground. While it spreads like a son of a gun, at least it's not that hard to pull out where you do not want it.

You have a good point. Boston Ivy, like Virginia Creeper, on the other hand, I hate, hate, hate with a passion. It's beautiful, but once it gets a good start, it will swallow a house.

[azoria]

Originally Posted by icibiu

I figured that I could just use ivy to continue the look from the other half of the side yard on the slope to help with erosion. The ivy that is already there is not too dense and some ground is exposed so today I've been looking up how to care for the ivy and help it fill out plus bring it over to the "naked" area.

You won't need to worry about "using" the ivy to help the naked soil gain coverage. The ivy will quickly regenerate on this bare landscape all by itself without any help from you. Give it two years.

Meantime, stop fretting and just wait for spring when the ivy begins its journey across your bare spot. It will be a short wait.

[rickers]

Originally Posted by formercalifornian

critters love to nest in it.

Yes, critters such as SPIDERS !
I don't know which is harder to keep within their boundaries Ivy or bamboo.

[tibbar]

When we pulled our ground cover out it was full of copperhead snakes. Can you tell I hate ground cover?

[formercalifornian]

Our ivy is full of snakes, too, but fortunately they're of the nonpoisonous persuasion.

[lucknow]

It really depends on where you are. I have used it for a ground cover here in southern Ontario {zone 6} and I have no problem with it at all because it's easy to control because of the cold weather. I still would not let it frow on my buildings even here. I have a suggestion for your bank. Get rid if the Ivy and plant cotonasters. You can get them in whatever height you want and they are just beautiful. They are covered with bright red berries for much of the year and each plant grows and spreads out to cover a large area. Therefore you don't need to buy many of them if cost is a concern. I planted one and the 1st year I took about 20 cuttings off it. The branches grow roots on them so all you have to do is cut and plant. The second year I had about 1000 sq. ft. covered.