Just moved into a new home. Would the reddit experts on this sub recommend to pull all this common ivy out and attempt to grow grass there instead? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Seems like the generic Google search says the ivy is damaging to the trees. Get lots of rain where I am in lower mainland BC.
by gwong094
3 Comments
Weed killers with triclopyr if you can get them. I know you don’t get a lot of options in the way of herbicides up there, but I’d bet there’s atleast something with triclopyr meant for use in non-lawn situations.
You pm’ed me, but I’d rather keep this out in the open. Just easier to keep the conversation organized for me and someone stumbling on this may have a similar situation that they want answers to.
You asked if I would recommend planting grass here.
My answer to that is: only if you really want grass there.
There’s several hurdles to growing grass in a spot like this:
– lots of shade
– competition with tree roots
– english/common ivy produces chemicals that can inhibit seed germination and root growth. Such chemicals are called allelochemicals… They’re complicated… Whether or not those chemicals are in the soil in appreciable quantities, and how long they persist for, is impossible to know for sure until you try.
So, at a minimum, IF you were to plant grass:
– completely eradicate the ivy. It will take several months. Use herbicides (if available). If you pull it, it’ll just regrow like nothing happened. It will take probably 2 sprays (3 weeks apart) to kill a vine down to the ground… And then like a month after that a new vine will grow from that root system. You’ll have to kill that vine too in order to kill the roots. You may even have to kill a 3rd attempt at regrowth, but hopefully that’d be it if you stay on top of it and don’t let it grow for awhile between sprays.
– chop up and remove thin roots near the surface.
– optional: scrape off and remove .5-1 inch of top soil. I say option, but it would definitely help.
– spread 1 inch of new top soil.
– plant poa trivialis or poa supina grass seed. Those grasses don’t produce the most durable turf, but they are very shade tolerant and can grow just fine in areas with shallow soil above tree roots. For context, they spread aggressively (so you’ll only have to seed once), and when they’re well fertilized they produce a very dense stand that is soft and lush. But they do get matted down easily and can thin with heavy traffic (but always recover).
I had a long stretch in my back area of house. Former owner let it run wild. I find that herbicides are pointless and it was among arborvitae that I like so I didn’t want to hurt them. I sat down and pulled almost all of it. I covered it with weed barrier and put cedar chips on top. I think it looks great as an option. Some weeds will peek though but you can pull them. Later you might want to open it up to plant other things but at least it will be gone.