Blocking neighbours weeds/ivy

karlitob

Hi all

I put a fence in last year - concrete post and wooden fence panel. The fence is entirely on my side. Had an awful time with the neighbour - truly awful.
Due to the undulations in the garden the gravel board ranges from about 50mm above the ground to flush with the ground. I’m planning on putting in a patio this summer and will build up the levels.

My question is what suggestions would you have to ensure that no weeds or ivy comes in from that battle axes garden.

I plan to put a thin piece of wood up against the gravel board, and put a concrete kerb of some description up against it packed into lean mix.

My question is - should I put some plastic sheeting behind it to make sure no weeds come through.

My other question is - how deep should I put the kerb. I had planned about 100mm below ground but how good are weeds/ivy to go that deep and make their way back up again.


Thanks all.

karlitob

Appreciate any views on this. Thank you

.42.

How will you stop the Ivy coming through the wooden panelling?

Thats my nightmare if my neighbour grows ivy

looksee

Ivy will get through anything, it is perfectly capable of getting through the smallest crack in concrete, a wooden fence will be easy for it. All you can do is spot treat it with weedkiller where it peeps through, and cut off any branches creeping into your side. It is very difficult to completely destroy ivy in a full on attack so you are not likely to kill the entire plant (which in the interests of neighbourly relations you are not likely to want to do), but you could avoid systemic weedkillers if you think that would be more sensible.

ellee

Ivy is a nightmare. I lifted paving last year and pulled out yards and yards of root trying to get rid of it once and for all.

And yet what do I see half way up the wall again this year?

The bloody ivy of course.

All you can do really is keep it cut back to where you will tolerate it. There's no perfect cure and you're just tormenting yourself really looking for a fix for what is few mins job every now and then.

karlitob

Thanks everyone. That’s good advice.

I actually took up tonnes of ivy on both sides last year. Along with 50 tonnes of other ****e from the back garden and I’m highly attuned to it.

Besides the ivy theres just general weeds. I’m sure the same advice applies.

LurkerNo1

If its not out of control already i dont see the big problem. Use a paint scraper or trowel and just scrape it off as it grows on your side. A small amount of maintenence per year. I wouldnt advise using weed killer if you are found out that you purposely damaged someones property and you says they are difficult you could just land yourself in more trouble. I have it growing from neighbors at my side maybe 30-40ft lenght along the wall of it, i do as above and scrape it off, takes a couple hours a year, its not ideal but its no big deal.
Also you cannot totally stop weeds coming in, if you found a way youd be a billionaire. No weeds takes maintenance, observation and handwedding and not having bare soil exposed. Most are blown in by the wind and can travel large distances never mind birds bringing them in.

Hocus Focus

Leave a gap all along the bottom of the fence and periodically use a long knife through the gap to cut off all the ivy at ground level.

Gamma1

karlitob wrote: »

Appreciate any views on this. Thank you

"Lists of the insects and mites that feed on ivy and find shelter within it run into scores of species, and the pollen and nectar it provides from its flowering, as late as November, is a key resource to pollinators – bumblebees, honeybees, hoverflies, butterflies and wasps. Ivy’s insects, in turn, are a food source for bats, which pluck them off the leaves as well as catching them in the air." Extract from
Give ivy a break – it’s a sanctuary for beleaguered wildlife
Michael Viney April 2, 2019

looksee

I am currently getting an old shed re-roofed. The pretty ivy on one end has penetrated the stone walls and some newer concrete, and part of the top of the gable wall has had to be partially dismantled to get the stems out. Its only a matter of time before the whole lot would have collapsed. It will be cut off at the roots and allowed to die back, then removed once the roofing work is done. There is loads of ivy elsewhere in the garden.

standardg60

Gamma1 wrote: »

"Lists of the insects and mites that feed on ivy and find shelter within it run into scores of species, and the pollen and nectar it provides from its flowering, as late as November, is a key resource to pollinators – bumblebees, honeybees, hoverflies, butterflies and wasps. Ivy’s insects, in turn, are a food source for bats, which pluck them off the leaves as well as catching them in the air." Extract from
Give ivy a break – it’s a sanctuary for beleaguered wildlife
Michael Viney April 2, 2019

Not exactly an objective view, given the title.
Ivy is a curse in the domestic garden, there's more than enough in the wild to keep Michael happy.

Jim_Hodge

standardg60 wrote: »

Not exactly an objective view, given the title.
Ivy is a curse in the domestic garden, there's more than enough in the wild to keep Michael happy.

Michael Viney lives in an area with hardly any ivy. He wrote a piece a few years ago about travelling to Dublin by road. He was astounded by the amount of ivy on trees, in hedges and on telecoms poles as he reached the Eastern half of the country,

I wouldn't give much credence to his views nature at the best of times.

standardg60

Jim_Hodge wrote: »

Michael Viney lives in an area with hardly any ivy. He wrote a piece a few years ago about travelling to Dublin by road. He was astounded by the amount of ivy on trees, in hedges and on telecoms poles as he reached the Eastern half of the country,

I wouldn't give much credence to his views nature at the best of times.

As is usual in divisive debates on all walks of life, the people who have the most polemic views tend to be those who are the least personally affected by the current or post circumstance.

Vaccinated30

I have ivy in my garden and I hate it. 2 years ago my neighbour helped me cut it all down and its starting to grow back now. I wish I knew how to kill it. I've tried every weed killer there is and every Internet suggestion available but it won't die. Maybe your neighbour feels the same as me and hates it too.

Edited to add, if I am your neighbour I'm sorry I'm trying.

standardg60

Vaccinated30 wrote: »

I have ivy in my garden and I hate it. 2 years ago my neighbour helped me cut it all down and its starting to grow back now. I wish I knew how to kill it. I've tried every weed killer there is and every Internet suggestion available but it won't die. Maybe your neighbour feels the same as me and hates it too.

Edited to add, if I am your neighbour I'm sorry I'm trying.

The leaves are pretty impenetrable for a systemic weedkiller, they need to be bruised or split prior to application, try that.

The Continental Op

standardg60 wrote: »

The leaves are pretty impenetrable for a systemic weedkiller, they need to be bruised or split prior to application, try that.

Over the years I've got rid of Ivy with glyphosate. Its not a one spray kills all. Probably 3-4 sprays over a year to do the job.

standardg60

standardg60 wrote: »

Not exactly an objective view, given the title.
Ivy is a curse in the domestic garden, there's more than enough in the wild to keep Michael happy.

The first part is pretty objective, Ivy is undoubtedly one of the most important plants for pollinators and wildlife of all kinds in Ireland, maybe the most important. Ivy is at least as abundant in the West as in the East of Ireland, it does have an altitudinal limit of about 300m, and doesn't like bog, but no part of Ireland is more than a kilometer from some thriving Ivy.

Just to note if glyphosate is used on Ivy that is growing from a neighbour's property, it could kill the whole plant as it is a systemic/translocatory poison. Just cut as necessary.