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meaganec

Should I remove the dead ivy underneath my growing ivy?

meaganec
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago

Hi!

I have a new house with years of Ivy growing around it on the fences. I love the Ivy but it has 1- 5 inches of dead ivy underneath it. Should I just leave it or clean it out?

Comments (6)

  • Faith
    5 years ago

    Does it bug you? If yes, clean it out. If no, then just make sure that it’s not destroying the fences in any way, and put that yard time into planting bulbs!!

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    5 years ago

    IME there is a range of plants folks refer to as ivy, so if you add a photo, you may get more specific info on care for your particular plant.

  • PRO
    Red Berm
    5 years ago

    agree with cleaning out ivy.. which means selective removal of dead growth...but there is a story from one of my contractors.. he grew a vine on a trellis for 10 years to get it over the top..the vine was brown at the bottom and flowering on top.. his wife cut the vine at the bottom because she thought it was dead because it was brown ..and then it of course it died because it lost it's connection to it's roots. So..just mentioning we usually cut top down and some cleaning up may be possible but the way to make items look new is.. replacing it.

  • Jean
    5 years ago

    There's no way to remove the dead stuff without harming the live, top layer.

    The correct way to renovate a ground-cover ivy is to mow it short, just before growth begins. It will return and look better than a new planting.


    Heavy duty equipment will obviously be needed. Probably best to hire someone to do it for you.

  • cakbu z9 CA
    5 years ago

    I have aged honeysuckle growing on a fence. same scenario as your ivy, top growth looked good but undergrowth not so much. I cut it back every fall. I use electric hedge trimmers and it goes through the growth like a hot knife through butter. The vines don't look so good for awhile, but they quickly put on new green growth and look great.