More of a landscaping question - if you don't mind

R.Boreal

I'm doing a small removal for a family nearby; they just moved in. The front yard is a disaster - overgrown with ivy, totally invading what's left of their yews, azalia, and whatnot, and these other ornamental shrubs are totally overgrown and misshapen as well.

I am submitting a proposal for some clearing, but I wanted to ask, what's the best way to get rid of common Eastern US ivy before planting grass? Of course without an excavator there's some work to be done, so obviously I would dig and rake when the soil is moist to get it out. Is that adequate to keep it from coming back?

She's talking about dousing the ivy with Roundup weed killer 3 or 4 times first, and I am unsure as to what condition the soil will be left in (for grass) after that. There also a young tuliptree and a small hickory that I do not want to "overmedicate" with Roundup. She may want to keep those trees.

It's almost November and my advice to her was, maybe leave the ivy until spring, because of mud and erosion considerations in the winter. I don't think the grass will take soon enough to prevent a mess before winter. Maybe if I hustle, I still have time.

What do you think?

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irishjoy

Using round up this time of year is the best time. One full application on foliage should do it.Plant in the spring for grass, this fall there is still time to plant shrubs and trees. Wait one week after round up application. Carson (certified arborist and licensed pesticide applicator)

James Taylor

Round up, will probably not kill the Ivy as it's pretty tough it may just knock it back.

i would suggest using a broad leaf weed killer they are generally more effective at killing the tougher broad leaf weeds.

I'm not sure what chemicals you have available in the USA but we often use a product called Spearhead made by a company called Aventis,which i think would defiantly do the Job or another option is one called Broadside by Nufarm equally as effective though spearhead is a lot more user friendly.

Other than that i would spray with round up at a concentration of about 50:1 then give it time to work if it's cold it will take a couple of weeks at least. then as you said just get in there with a heavy rake and your hands and manually pull it out making sure to get all the roots.

R.Boreal

Thanks much for your ideas. I have been reading also, and experimenting. Before I quoted the job I took a drive over with some common tools. Ultimately what worked best was threading a rope under a section of the ivy, tying a running bow, and then the other end onto my truck hitch! Using this method I can pull up huge tracts at once. There's still going to be digging to root it out, and I will hire help for that.

I am going to take your advice on the chemicals, but I am going to apply after I have pulled it up and rooted it out. If you have a particular preference as to which chemical should be applied AFTER it's taken out, to prevent re-growth, let me know. Otherwise I am going to go with one of those already mentioned.

I quoted this phase of the job for next spring so there won't be a bloody mess of mud during the winter.

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Brent Ferris

Roundup is intended for foliage and to translocate into the roots, and is considered inactivated when it contacts the soil. Removing the foliage will prevent use of Roundup doing any good, While lifting huge masses of ivy does the work fast, finding the roots will be tedious. You may have to sift the soil to get the roots --generally any roots left will resprout. Do you have any idea which kind of ivy it is? This will be a difficult job to make money at -- unless your client is ok with overruns.

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R.Boreal

I am thinking "English Ivy", that's really all I know. It's the common stuff that grows everywhere here. I was going to use a product like Weed-B-Gone Max after the stuff is all pulled up. Yes, digging and sifting will be part of it. I capped the digging part of the job at 7 hrs labor for a 2-man team price. If I go over, well, that's on me.

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Brent Ferris

Do you have any pics of the leaves?

I hope that time limit works out for you. I generally find in estimating these kind of jobs, I figure what it should do for, add 10% and double it. And tell the client if it takes less time, I can charge less. After all, haven't got xray vision -- who knows what the soil holds......

__________________
My business: Tree Pruning and Removals -- Strump Removals -- Advice -- Consulting -- Arborist Reports
If you want an honest opinion, call Brent Ferris...because, Trees want to Live Too !
We do great jobs, even in small yards.

Free Estimates Oakville to Oshawa - North to Bradford (Will travel further if cost of travelling covered)

Brent Ferris

I just finished a job pulling out grape vine that had grown along the fence, in and behind the various shrubs. Spent one day cutting the tops and disentangling from the fence lattice and the various shrubs, and the middle section; and then one day, curled up, ball-like squished under the shrubs trying to uproot the vine. Got a large part of the roots (soil damp enough), but some roots growing vertically down, and under the fence I had to leave. Additionally, there was a board (2x10-client's side - nailed to the posts) approx at ground level, where the vine had grown between the fence and the board that made removal extremely tedious.

The job certainly took longer than anticipated, but not too bad -- except for the leg cramps during the day, and during the nights and days for the next two days,--they were a real pain.

__________________
My business: Tree Pruning and Removals -- Strump Removals -- Advice -- Consulting -- Arborist Reports
If you want an honest opinion, call Brent Ferris...because, Trees want to Live Too !
We do great jobs, even in small yards.

Free Estimates Oakville to Oshawa - North to Bradford (Will travel further if cost of travelling covered)