Advice on removing ivy from your house

[bellabee]

Ivy is coming off today.... I will post pictures here bye bye ivy!!!

Itma, thanks. Um... my partner and his friend are doing the ladder work, me and a friend are in charge of clearing up the ivy from the floor they pull off. I can not wait to get the wisteria going now looks so much better, still for bees and birds and doesn't damage your house. Win win.

Veg, I only have a 900cc Saxo!! I might pull the front off!! Teehee. Glad you got yours off that way

Hedgenav, We have some strange Russian(?) vine my father has warned us of... not sure if it is going yet, it is only on an outside structure.

Arfermo, We are a hard brick too here, with no external plaster work, just need to get the ivy off the cables now!!

Hombre, Luminos, Yeah I am sure we have one that flowered straight away too

 

[victor meldrew]

I think this may only be true if grown from seed -

My wife picked a shriveled pod off a wisteria in France Summer 2009.
She planted(sowed) a couple of the seeds, they both germinated , she gave one to a friend and kept the other . It is growing very well and has made a sturdy plant . Problem is deciding on a location to plant it .
VM

 

[jakethedog]

I think this may only be true if grown from seed

very true, it's notoriously slow to flower when grown from seed (although there will always be exceptions to the rule), the majority of commercially available plants will be named varieties which have been grafted and should flower reasonably quickly.

 

[victor meldrew]

very true, it's notoriously slow to flower when grown from seed (although there will always be exceptions to the rule), the majority of commercially available plants will be named varieties which have been grafted and should flower reasonably quickly.

I wonder if the old botanists trick of sticking a fork under the roots and prising it sufficiently to give the plant a shock thus initiating it to commence flowering ? I know this works with the rhododendron , another well know tardy flowerer 80-100 years being quoted .
VM

 

[jakethedog]

I wonder if the old botanists trick of sticking a fork under the roots and prising it sufficiently to give the plant a shock thus initiating it to commence flowering ? I know this works with the rhododendron , another well know tardy flowerer 80-100 years being quoted .
VM

can't really see any valid reason why that wouldn't have a good chance of working. maybe you'll have a chance to test the theory on your wife's plants in a couple of years time.

 

[bellabee]

As promised...

With ivy:

With out:

Hurrah we won, just need to clean the bricks with a stiff brush tomorrow and pin back the wire, and get the wisteria growing. Helping very much was cutting the trunk low to the ground and leaving it a week, the ivy had all wilted today and was easier to pull back. I would not leave much longer than a week though.