English ivy roots run very deep, so it will be a matter of getting a spade, digging down about 8" and unearthing the darned root system, then pulling it out. It's a mean job (we just did it!), but if you don't you will have it growing back with even more force.

kayjones -- Would it help to use a rototiller on the area? Digging and pulling kills my back which is why I hired someone to do the work, but my fear is that as hard as they worked they didn't get all the roots. I am also worried about making that slope too unstable and losing all of the topsoil.

I'm also battling ivy as the result of my nextdoor neighbor having planted it between our houses. The waxy leaves are a strong defense to topical herbicides. My plan is to cut through the runners with a weedwhacker, create an open wound and then spray with Roundup.

Don't rototill the ivy, it will sprout from tiny pieces of chopped root and you'll have a gazillion plantlets.

"Use an incremental approach for steep slope areas:

Remove good-sized circles within the ivy mat, from 1 to 3 feet in diameter.
Plant "good" landscaping plants in those circles; plants that have large root systems to keep the soil intact.
Keep the circles ivy-free for the new plants to become established, adding more new plants in new circles cleared from ivy over time.
Eventually, "connect the dots" by removing ivy in between. "

I have a north-facing side yard in heavy dense shade and we were considering planting ivy there because it's so dark and nothing else will grow. I guess, considering the title of your post, you would NOT recommend ivy?

PLEASE do not plant english ivy. It is a non-native invasive that is literally choking out many of our native plants and ruining natural parkland and landscapes. Once established it is very difficult to remove, but worse spreads far and wide by its long shoots and by birds. In some states it is actually illegal to have it on your property (as I do believe it should be) and some stats and cities are spending thousands of $$ and manpower to get rid of it.

I am not an expert, but have you tried hosta? I have had good luck with them in dense shade in my yard -- and there are many beautiful varities. It won't offer year round green. But I would do a search either on this forum or on Google and I am sure that you will get some good suggestions that you can try.

But please, even if you don't take my word for it - -search "kill ivy" on Google and see what other people say.

How can I tell whether it is illegal to have English Ivy in my state? The big blue box store down the road from me (orange one too) has lots of quart containers of the stuff, so I'm guessing it is legal here in PA. I have a very steep south-facing slope in my backyard. I have to wear baseball cleats to go up and down, and the grass planted on it originally is an eyesore (clumpy and brown for too many months of the year). The stickerbushes that have proliferated from the treeline behind us (I back up to a fairly dense line of trees and underbrush) are even more undesirable. I hoped to have something invade this unusable slope while preventing a mudslide, and I purposely got english ivy and vinca minor (for the more shaded portion of the slope) for their invasiveness. I guess I need to know if I should dig up.

I would also assume that it is legal in PA, but you can always check with your cooperative extension and see what they say. You mentioned that your slope is southfacing, so I assume that it gets sun. That should make it easier than a shady site to get something to grow. I am probably not the best expert, but what about forsythia bushes? The one I have in my backyard is prolific without being uncontrollable and I think would be deeply rooted enough to help stabilize the slope. Also I would think that they would be fairly inexpensive and common at the big box stores so that you could get a bunch in without breaking the bank. My other thought was some low growing evergreen bushes. I have some on my sunny slope and they are doing quite well. For the shaded portion of my slope I am looking at planting some hydrangeas (once I get the ivy out) and maybe some ferns. Litrope would also be a good choice and is sold at the box stores.

I would consider digging it up now while it is not completely established and not out of control. Like a misplaced tree, it will just get to be a bigger proble to solve later if it is left to flourish now. Plus I would expect to find it establishing other places in your yard (far from where it is planted) and becoming a problem in many spots. Last, I know that in my english ivy is where the poison ivy starts. I only have poison ivy where the English Ivy is and that is a bigger problem!

Here is a link that might be useful: MD Suggestions for Groundcovers

I've planted 4 forsythia bushes, 2 each at the corner of my property. The burlapped bushes were quite an effort to lug up the hill, but I was able to get them up there and dig. The hard thing (aside from needed a sherpa to do the lifting) is digging a hole deep enough without causing a minor landslide or falling down the hill myself. I only bought them last year, and they'll need some good pruning this year, because some of the canes look a little weak in the bloom department. I had thought about Liriope as well, and maybe that is an angle I'll pursue, as they were in the same section as the vinca, but I thought of those as more of a shade plant, and the area where the ivy is planted gets 90% sun, so water and sun tolerance is key. Kind of the opposite of the needs of the post originator. Sorry about that.

My experience withthe forsythia is to prune then soon. This way you don't have to worry about upsetting the bud formation. I cut mine drastically every year and it blooms fabulously.

I have a very large old poplar being slowly consumed by ivy. I have tired hacking away every spring, but i am losing the battle. Help! Is there anything more i can do short of calling in an aborist to try to pull out as much as possible?

Thanks!

"What we cannot cure, we must endure" :) Arum

I have had good luck with daylilies om my slopes below the pine trees

Sharpsburg, take your clippers and cut the ivy around the base of the tree and spray with Roundup. The ivy can be pulled from the tree or left there. It will die and turn brown, fading into the bark of the tree. Keep spraying the ivy with Roundup until no more grows there.