While it's pretty and it smells nice and it's great for ground cover, it's darn invasive and my husband wants it out, out, out. We bought some Weed Stop, but it has to be under 85° to apply that, and I don't see that happening any time soon... But, does anyone have any experience with successfully getting rid of Charlie? Will Weed Stop do the trick, or is there another weed killer? I've heard Borax is helpful but I'm not sure... I don't mind it, but it's just creeping all into my gardens and choking everything in sight. Do I really just have to pull it all or can I spray something on it and be done?

Thanks!
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07-26-06, 04:39 PM
DvdGStwrt
Ivies, Creeping Charlie, Wandering Jews, mints – all you first must pull up/dig up the plants and try to get as much of the root system as you can. Yes lots of hardback breaking labor. That is if you are seeking immediate results.

Then you must be diligent, walking through the area once a week and either pull up the new sprouting growth or hit is with a poison before the tiny growth gets too big.

This method may result in you being able to use the area soon, however it is a lot of work.

I have tried to kill plants like these using poisons alone – it just doesn’t work. Nor Borax or any other of the other “home remedies” Its either going to require a lot of hand pulling, or you will have to make some long term goals using sun blocking methods to kill it out.

I did succeed in killing Boston Ivy my continually mowing it with the mower set on low - that took about two years.

The method I prefer to reclaim land from invasive plants is the mow and mulch methods.

The Black Plastic of Death Method is for a short term kill zone. First you mow the area a couple three times – depending on the plant you are attacking – starting out with the mower set high, then lowering it as you take out layer by layer. Bag the clippings on the mower, if you are going to compost it you need to cover that compost pile with black plastic for a couple three months – if it is in full sunlight in the middle of summer. The pile is “cooked” and that kills everything.

Get the stuff mowed as low as you can go, water the area, then cover it with a thick mil black plastic. If it is in the sunlight the sun will cook the soil – heat will build up rapidly during the day the water will hold in the heat and act like a steam cooker. In shady spots it will be deprived of sunlight and all of the plants underneath will starve to death. You need to over lap and fold the edges of the plastic in the field a few times. I use old brick and chunks of debris in the field to hold it down. Around the perimeter I used a flat nosed (square nosed) shovel, pressing down hard enough to push the plastic into the soil, not too hard as to rip/cut the plastic.

Wait a summer to a full year. Then remove the plastic. The area will be dead – completely dead of all living matter if it cooked in full sunlight (that means bacteria and insects too and most common weed seeds) you will need to amend the soil with common yard soil that has not been cooked to add back bacteria and beneficial critters like earth worms. Throw a few shovelfuls of that about 3 feet apart, let it sit a few days, then rake it flat – the colonies of life will move downward into the “sterile” soil and spread outward. I used the Black Plastic of Death to kill a fairy ring (fungus/mushroom) then reseeded with grass. I didn’t want to do it, the landlord insisted I get rid of the ring Frown

If you are planning on a new garden bed in the area then use the mulch fabric – this comes in several forms, either a white fabric that you can see through or a black plastic perforated with micro holes, there are a variety of different ones out there (different colors too.) Some will decompose over time some won’t. After you lay that out cover the area in 2-3 inches of mulch – this will deprive the soil from sunlight – wait a summer or a year and you can go back and plant, brushing aside the mulch, cutting a hole for the plant in the mulch fabric, pushing the mulch back to a few inches away from the base of the newly planted plant.

You can use Newspaper, the non-glossy sheets. A full section folded in quarters is about ¼ inch thick lay out the newspaper a couple of sections deep, over lapping the top layer over the seams of the lower level. Again top with mulch (for pretty factor). This last works well between established plants.

I prefer a “solid” base because it will block out light. You can achieve the same thing with 6-8 inches (or more) of mulch alone. However that is a thick layer that may not work in garden beds or just look plain weird in the middle of a lawn. Mulch can be expensive so using that thick of a layer may be too much for you to spend – fabrics and plastics are far cheaper – newspaper even cheaper – especially if you have folk with subscriptions.

Mulches include: Straw, bark, gravel, grass clippings (rot very quickly) cocoa bean husks, coffee bean sawdust, and wood chips. Gravel is used in areas where you don’t want anything to grow ever – the rest look relatively nice around plants, decompose at different rates to feed the plants. Cocoa bean husks and coffee beans (I used coffee beans in my indoor plants) have aroma to go with good looks.

08-18-06, 06:51 AM
Elexina
Thank you, David. I'm sorry I didn't get back to this post sooner.
Man, what a pain!
You fancy a trip to the Great Lakes? Want to come rid my lands of Charlies for me? Wink

08-26-06, 02:19 AM
DvdGStwrt

quote:
Originally posted by Elexina:
Thank you, David. I'm sorry I didn't get back to this post sooner.
Man, what a pain!
You fancy a trip to the Great Lakes? Want to come rid my lands of Charlies for me? Wink

Heh, heh, heh.

NO! although I would love to meet you, I would hate to meet your charlie Wink

08-27-06, 06:06 AM
Toni B
David, your answer to Elexina was very interesting. I have quite a large garden and, since my dad died, only me to sort it. Try as I might, the most I can get my boys to do is mow tha lawn, and that requires much butt-kicking! Down the side of the property, between the neighbour and the garage, I have a huge ivy problem. It has come over from the neighbours and gone up the garage wall. As I never go up the little alley there, I didn't even notive until I realised it was sterting to creep through the garage roof! When I went to investigate I saw it was fwr too big a problem for me to even know how to start. I don't have the money to hire someone. I am aiming at using my retirement lump-sum, which should come to me early next year, toconvert my garage into a flat to bting in aextra income. Do you think I can just ignore the problem until then? I really don't know what else to do.

08-29-06, 08:58 AM
Elexina

quote:
Originally posted by DvdGStwrt: NO! although I would love to meet you, I would hate to meet your charlie Wink

Darn it darn it darn it!! Wink

Toni, if you can get a company to come give you a free estimate and just give you an idea of what you're in for, or at least identify the type of vine, that would be a good place to start. Many types of vines can be quite damaging to walls and foundations...

08-29-06, 10:49 PM
Tree
This forum speaks about your beloved Charlie! Wink

08-31-06, 10:59 AM
Toni B
Thanks Elexina and Tree! I'll try to find a company that would come and have a look for me Elexina. The foundation damage is a worry. I'll also go through the site Tree. Is creeping Charlie the same as ivy? From what I can see I have 2 types, a big-leaf kind and a very pretty tiny leaf variety. I really don't have a clue thogh whether or not South African ivy is the same as yours, although they must be very closely related.

Spring has sprung here and the weather is warming up nicely. The trees are mostly in new leaf and my azlea is looking glorious. I love spring!!

09-01-06, 02:29 PM
DvdGStwrt

quote:
Originally posted by Toni B:
David, your answer to Elexina was very interesting. I have quite a large garden and, since my dad died, only me to sort it. Try as I might, the most I can get my boys to do is mow tha lawn, and that requires much butt-kicking! Down the side of the property, between the neighbour and the garage, I have a huge ivy problem. It has come over from the neighbours and gone up the garage wall. As I never go up the little alley there, I didn't even notive until I realised it was sterting to creep through the garage roof! When I went to investigate I saw it was fwr too big a problem for me to even know how to start. I don't have the money to hire someone. I am aiming at using my retirement lump-sum, which should come to me early next year, toconvert my garage into a flat to bting in aextra income. Do you think I can just ignore the problem until then? I really don't know what else to do.

Sorry it’s taken a while for me to see and respond I've been under the weather lately.

I wouldn't put it off to long, ivies are invasive and the bigger they get they harder they are to kill. Ivies tend to spread their root system by rooting where ever a joint is in contact with the earth. Further, some also spread by seed, mostly eaten by birds and dropped in their aerial bombings Wink

The main root of the problem is in your neighbor’s yard – this means that your war on Ivy will be a constant series of battles to prevent it from crossing the fence line. However once it is under control bi-annual hedge clipping will keep it in check. That is if it is the English Variety which is a slow growing but very, extremely, hardy. If it is a fast grower trimming it will naturally take place more often.

I loath Boston Ivy, it is a fast spreader, pervasive, seeds itself, is seeded by birds, grows 3 foot long tap roots at major hubs, can climb a tree in a single summer. Worse yet when you go to pull it the vine breaks, even the smallest portion of vine can, if in contact with the soil and not immediately dried out by the sun, start roots and start growing.

If you are “lucky” in having the slow growing English Variety then waiting another year is not going to be that big of deal. It has already gotten to the point where you will need to hire on somebody to hack it back, haul it out and pull up as much of the root as possible on your side of the fence.

It has already gotten in, its not going to matter now if you wait another year – and since you are going to be hiring folk for the conversion next year, might as well wait until you have the debris container and strong backs to “deal” with it.

As for the kids, send them to me for 2 months, I live on two acres which need a lot of work – I guarantee that after being with me here for two months they will see no problem in tending the average house lot and most likely, under threat of another visit to ‘Uncle David’, they will be more than willing to tend to the yard. Wink

09-02-06, 03:54 AM
Toni B

quote:
Originally posted by DvdGStwrt:

As for the kids, send them to me for 2 months, I live on two acres which need a lot of work – I guarantee that after being with me here for two months they will see no problem in tending the average house lot and most likely, under threat of another visit to ‘Uncle David’, they will be more than willing to tend to the yard. Wink



Oh David thanks! You made me laugh at the thought of the boys working their soft little butts off! They are realy good and do help as much as possible money-wise, but John is utterly useless with real labour and Tim, though reasonably willing, is very busy with his own social whirl. Funny thing, I always felt pretty good about how I brought them up alone. It's only when they hit late teens and early 20's (where they are now) that has made me wish they had a dad or I had a brother to sort out the "guy: stuff.

Anyway, thanks very much for the advice. I think, as I hope it will only be about 4 months before I can get builders going, I'm going to take a chance on leaving it till then.

Hopefully next year I can let you all know that things are going well. Hope you're feeling better by the way?

10-01-06, 07:02 PM
dodgecity
round up will kill everything (almost)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,