help identify this vine? And how to control or get rid of it?

9 years ago

My husband and I bought this house over the winter and have had such fun learning the yard and planting a garden this spring. However, as the weather gets warmer in zone 5, we are having a serious Ivy problem. This spreader and climber that we found in the garden is moving faster than we can keep up with it and choking other plants. It is lovely when it is under control, but we don't have the time or resources to keep the amount that is here under control. So my question : is there an easy way to control it that we don't know about? Or is there a way to get rid of it without damaging other plants there? My thought was to leave it and just let the garden be, trimming it back for the summer time, and then treating the entire garden with Roundup in the fall and hope that it kills of whatever is left and we can start fresh next year. But I also don't want to do damage to bulbs or perennials or do irreversible damage to the soil that takes years to recover from. Does anyone have any insight? Or can even tell me what this ivy species is? I have done some research but I'm coming up short. It is a light green, & a flat heart shaped leaf. thank you!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
9 years ago
Morning Glory - it's not Ivy - you can see the typical bifurcated seedling leaves on the babies bottom right. It's all I can do to get it to grow at all in my climate so I'll leave it to others to tell you how to deal with it, if you want to.
User
9 years ago
It's morning glory. Floral is absolutely right.
It won't grow in my garden either, lol.
They will really grow all over your garden.
The good news is, they are annuals. They reseed themselves every year.
The bad news is, they reseed themselves every year, lol.
Decide right now, do you want it?
If you don't, Round Up only the morning glory leaves when it is not windy out.
Round up will kill it through the leaves, keeping the plant from "eating" sunlight.
It will not harm the soil at all.
Spray it soon, you don't want it to bloom and seed, or you will have to do it all over again next year.
Shield any plant around it with newspaper while spraying, just in case.
Remember, if it blooms, it will seed, you will have them again next year.
Related Professionals
Quincy Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Alexandria Landscape Contractors · Stoughton Landscape Contractors · Addison Landscape Contractors · Brookfield Landscape Contractors · Ellicott City Landscape Contractors · Hayden Landscape Contractors · Hoffman Estates Landscape Contractors · Longview Landscape Contractors · Manhattan Landscape Contractors · Pahrump Landscape Contractors · Palm Beach Gardens Landscape Contractors · Salem Landscape Contractors · White Bear Lake Landscape Contractors · Norco Stone, Pavers & Concrete
jerseymaids
Original Author
9 years ago
thank you both! I had no idea, no wonder I was not having any luck researching ivy haha. they are very pretty, but it is so aggressive. I guess we will have to decide!
thedogsLL
9 years ago
Aggressive? That's putting it mildly. I'm just north of Boston, and planted it deliberately 3 years ago. After it took over my fence, I decided I didn't want it. I did the Roundup on the leaves, and the next year still pulled up way too many seedlings. My problem is some of the original seeds fell into my neighbors iris/lily bed, and I can't get to them to pull the seedlings. They just keep coming back. sigh.........I hope the honeysuckle can choke them out.
Lynn T
countrycrafter
9 years ago
Years ago we lived in a very old house and fought morning glory day and night. It wasn't unusual to wake up in the morning and find a stem growing thru a crack inside the house!

It was a constant job pulling out every year but after 10 yrs it was finally eradicated!

Good luck
CHFIII
9 years ago
ROFL.... I am working hard to get Morning Glories to climb my fence and arbor right now along with several other vines.

If you give it something to climb I just love having hundreds of incredible blooms every morning. As far as killing it, I don't know why you would bother with Roundup since that would kill it and then you'd presumably pull it out. Why not just pull it? Maybe in other zones it is more difficult to kill but I've had fits with rabbits on the ground and ^$**#^$*# roof rats running my fence rails to eat the tender tips and if you snip one by the ground it is done... at least here in Texas.

Moonflowers starting to take off now... can't wait to see how they do.