Maintaining a Fast Growing Vine
Most already know that the English Ivy has been designated as an invasive plant. Even so, the English Ivy is easy to spot on most neighborhood and commercial streets, as the plant is adored by many for its old world charm and fast growing nature. From English castles covered in manicured ivy, to cottages overtaken, the aesthetic is warm, quaint, and inviting. An aesthetic that fits nicely with almost any architectural style. Tudur’s? Looks great with a lattice of ivy. Cottage. Definitely! Even modern homes can benefit from the warm feeling of a home enveloped in the plant.
SW Roanoke Tudor Style Home We’ve Recently Pruned.Image Credit: The Old House Life
On the other hand, English Ivy grows quickly and can cause significant damage to your home or business’ structure. The vine is persistent, and its roots can easily find seams in siding or old bricks, wood, or stucco. You might be asking, how? How does English Ivy have the capacity to wreak such havoc? It mostly stems *uh-hem plant joke* from the roots of the ivy. English Ivy grows aerial rootlets from the stems that adeptly attach to whatever surface they’re climbing. Could be a fence, your home, office, or in areas you definitely don’t want ivy taking over (ie., Boxwood bushes, Birch trees, garden beds). Once attached, the rootlets become stronger as they mature. English Ivy isn’t the only plant that has this ability, the Pothos in its natural habitat (tropical climates) also grow aerial rootlets that have the ability to rip paint right off of concrete upon removal. To sum it up, plants are cool and full of unique survival adaptations.
Luckily, if you’re hellbent on keeping ivy on or around your home, constant maintenance can thwart the vine before it gets to areas you’d rather keep the plant away from.
I know, we said it, “constant maintenance.” Doesn’t sound all that lucky for a home or business owner. There’s already the regular needs of a yard; mowing, edging, weeding, watering, etc, who wants to add a war with ivy? Unfortunately, most people are already assuaging this battle. Might have been from planting without the knowledge or realization of the upkeep required, or because the charm of that new home you just bought came with the ivy.
I know a homeowner in the area who has spent 30 years carefully picking and choosing what plants stay and go, from trees to shrubs to garden beds. The two acre lot is beautiful and well maintained, it attracts wildlife and offers many places to sit and enjoy the decades of persistent work. When asked what they wish they had known and done differently many years ago when starting the process of manipulating the lot, they took no time in replying “removing the small patch of ivy in the side yard. I should have done it right away, now it’s been much harder to get rid of.”
We’re not here to advocate for the immediate, or even eventual removal of your English Ivy. Instead, we offer you a service, and not just any service. We have a secret ingredient: the Plant Growth Regulator (PGR). We use Atrimmec, a foliar treatment for hedges, shrubs, trees and groundcovers. We use this chemical to treat wisteria, ivy, and shrubs.
Atrimmec is sprayed onto the tips of, in this case ivy, or any plant you’d like to slow the progression of growth. We apply directly after pruning so that it maintains a neat and well-kept appearance for months at a time. It works by preventing the division of cells, known as mitosis. It slows the growth of the plant and can reduce trimming and pruning maintenance by 50% or more. Meaning, if you’d like your ivy to stay in the spot it currently inhabits, this is the chemical for you. As an added bonus, Atrimmec can also improve the look of your plant by rerouting the energy of growing new shoots, branches, or fruits, into preserving the existing plant. After application, depending upon growing conditions (rain, sun, drought, etc) your ivy, shrub, or tree should keep its shape for up to an entire season before needing maintenance again.
There are restrictions, as with any yard chemical, in how and when you should apply. While we’re going to do our best to fill you in on all our trade secrets, we also highly recommend using a lawn service to handle your chemicals. At Roanoke Landscapes we have trained and certified professionals who know how to use and apply these chemicals. Improper use can have devastating effects if you care deeply about the health and look of your yard.
If you’re bound and determined to apply the treatment yourself follow these rules of thumb:
Apply in the morning hours before the heat of the day begins to rise. This protects your plant from burns, as spraying in temperatures above 85 degrees carries added risk, both for applying Atrimmec and for more general yard maintenance like watering.
Prune the day before you plan to apply Atrimmec. Doing so gives your plant a bit of time to recover before applying the Plant Growth Regulator.
Only apply Atrimmec twice a year at most. You might be tempted to do otherwise if seasonal conditions are perfect for growth and your vines, shrubs, or trees are rebounding faster than you had anticipated, but don’t. Just grab the shears and prune the old fashioned way. Even though it’s more work, it’s worth it to keep your plant in a healthy condition.
Mix with a chemical like LI-700 which provides more uniform coverage of spray solutions and aids in penetration. The English Ivy is a waxy plant, and without the addition of a spreader sticker surfactant you’re running the risk of the Plant Growth Regulator washing off of your plant before it gets the job done.
Have additional questions or are interested in getting on our schedule to tidy up an unkept plant? Give our office a call and we’ll happily come out to help! Perhaps you’re interested in seeing the process in person? Within the next week we plan to prune and apply Atrimmec to a wisteria plant and will be uploading a video to compliment our written article so check back soon! We’ll link below.
~RL