Ivy and Vinca have taken over Hebe and Dogwood!

16 years ago

Posted this on landscape design also...

I would love to get a bit of advice on what to do w/ this area in our front yard. The vinca and ivy have taken over the hebe and are creeping up the dogwood and into the shrubs that line the sidewalk. I have attempted to start a new collection of plantings in one end. A few questions...

Can I cut the hebe way back to see if it can grow back, not as leggy as it is now?

Should I remove that old heather?

What should I do with the ivy and vinca? Get rid of it all or try and cut it way back and pull it out, then control it?

Here are two pictures of the area from different sides:

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Thanks for any advice!

Comments (4)

kmnhiramga
16 years ago
I have some vinca and haven't found it to be that bad, in fact I've been waiting for it to fill in on the bank I planted it on. Of course, someone told me it would work in full sun, at least the variety I have?
Vinca isn't supposed to grow up trees, check again and be sure it's not just the ivy. What you should do? I don't know but I will say that vinca shouldn't be that tough to control, ivy on the other hand I've heard is really invasive.
Good luck.
cayuga2008
16 years ago
casey3-Your photos are great! I am new to this website and didn't know we could post photos! I have had a similar problem withmy vinca and pachysandra. The vinca keeps tryig to invade my perennial garden. I am planning to put down a barrier. But of course that doesn't help you! Is hebe the pink flowering tree? Are the vinca and ivy intermingled? Does the old heather still bloom?
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cayuga2008
15 years ago
So, Casey3, I can't really tell from your photos if the heathers are still in good shape & if they still bloom. If so, I would leave them. If the ivy & vinca are encroaching on them, I would either pull the ivy & vinca or the heather--whichever makes most sense. I like the look of vinca, but to me its all-green color begs for some contrast, like lime & gold hostas. Good luck!
casey3
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks so much for your input. I decided to remove the ivy and vinca (or at least the bulk of it) and took out the dead/dying hebes and heather. Now what to do...some ideas:
-- cover bed in newspaper and bark mulch for the next several months and kill the ivy, then plant in the fall
-- use roundup and try and kill the ivy that way
-- try to pull out ivy by hand now and plant this spring (but someone said the ivy will keep coming back and when I go to pull it, I'll pull out the new plantings too)

Any advice/thoughts on the above? I'm anxious to get new plantings in there, but want to do the right thing and get rid of the ivy. +

Also, I was thinking of removing the yeddo shrub in the front by sidewalk. The ivy and vinca have completely rooted beneath it and I'm worried if I take care of the ivy elsewhere, it will just keep coming back. Also, yeddo leaves are spotted and the underneath, leaveless, due to the ivy that's been choking it. What do you think?
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