# Getting Ivy to *spread*



## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

I have a large 80'x80' pad of ivy under some large oak trees. It used to be shared with the neighbors yard, but they lost their tree and decided to get rid of the ivy bed on their side.

They sprayed gly or triclopyr on their side of the ivy, but it killed off about 10' into my bed. It's been about 2 season and is still pretty bare. I've been spraying urea on the edge where I have good growth and into the bare area in the spring/fall but doesn't seem to do much. Last month I sprinkled some osmocote pellets in the area.

Wondering how I can accelerate this. I've read germinating from seed is very hard. Could I take cuttings from healthy spots and plant in the bare spots? Any other options?


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

Dang! It take a lot to kill ivy. That must have been some pretty toxic stuff! You need to have a talk with your neighbor.


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## jpos34 (Aug 31, 2019)

stevehollx said:


> Could I take cuttings from healthy spots and plant in the bare spots? Any other options?


My dad took cutting from one side of his house and placed them in a bucket of water until they grew roots out. He then transplanted them to the ground and they have spread over an area about 50x100.


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## DR_GREENTHUMB (May 24, 2018)

What type of ivy are you talking about? @stevehollx

English
Virginia creeper
Boston


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## stevehollx (Apr 8, 2020)

DR_GREENTHUMB said:


> What type of ivy are you talking about? @stevehollx
> 
> English
> Virginia creeper
> Boston


It's english ivy.

I like the bucket idea since I can put a lot of cuttings in a few buckets easily. Thinking of cutting them about 6" long. When is the best time to take a cutting and/or plant? Could I take a cutting in Nov while there is still growth here (NC), germinate for roots over the winter in the bucket, and then plant in March when the spring flush arrives?


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## DR_GREENTHUMB (May 24, 2018)

English ivy is the slowest growing of the three, but to your question yes. The roots will quickly start growing after a couple weeks, you can put them in dirt pots indoors to possibly help establish a "plant". I don't think they would do very good until March if you planted them any time before that...


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