- and how long will I have to wait to start planting my flowers?

I could be wrong, but I think the question is what is the best herbicide to use?

The only herbicide that Stephanie can use is a non-systemic one such as vinegar. While vinegar is relatively harmless to butterflies, the larger problem is that Stephanie can't use anything that will permanently damage the ivy, unless she gets her neighbor's permission to kill it. It isn't her plant to do anything to, except for that part of it which grows onto her property! She would then have long tendrils to deal with, if she uses an herbicide, so she may as well cut them off at the fence line in the first place.

The best way to keep that invasive plant from spreading into your yard is to cut off any tendrils that come into your yard as soon as you notice them. Do not let it root. If any tedrils have rooted dig them out. Any spray you use, including vinegar, is at best as temporary a halt as hand digigng.

Vinegar is totally harmless to English ivy. I've tried and tried. I used a string trimmer to keep it out for years and now my wife wants to let it come over the wall.

Will bleach kill the English Ivy growing in my grass? Digging is not possible.

Flamethrower. I just took down a wide swath of ivy between me and the neighbor off my fence from a rat condo complex nest on their side. We are in the woods. At first they were concerned their privacy would be tainted but then they saw my garden and said oh we can see your flowers. Leave it clear. Anyway, I use Ground Clear to keep the other neighbors ivy from creeping in the other side of the house. If you get it on the foliage only, the soil stays fairly clean to plant within two to three weeks later. You can detach the ivy from the fence and just treat what is on your side. Neighbors generally have the right to obliterate overgrowth from another garden that overlaps their property line if that neighbor is not going to maintain their side of the property. Though you wanna keep the peace too. We agreed to bring it all down in this case.

Ground Clear contains glyphosate and is therefore not an acceptable product for any organic grower.

Had the same problem. When I see it invading and choking my plants I shoot it with roundup.

Ever notice how black sheep always tend to wind up in the wrong pasture ?

You can shoot 'em with a peroxide/bleach solution, and if you hit 'em just right, they can even fool a border collie.

Sheepherder Mack

We had English ivy growing all on the fence and the side of the house. Even had a huge tree that we thought was our neighbor's. Made a solution of vinegar, salt and hot water. It killed all the ivy. Took a couple of times spraying it but killed all of it.

Did the vinegar/salt/hot water solution harm the tree?