How to Kill Invasive Ground Cover Without Killing Everything Else
Invasive ground covers like ivy can be difficult to get rid of even if you do not care if you kill everything around them. So when you are trying to save the plants in the area but still kill the ground cover, things become far more challenging. However, with careful attention to detail, you can get rid of your invasive ground cover while retaining your other botanical elements. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Garden gloves
- Clippers
- Small squares of canvas
- Spray bottle
- Vinegar
- Plastic garbage bags
Instructions
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1
Clip any vines on the trees. Clip the vine at shoulder height, then pull the lower part of the vine off the tree. This will eventually result in the death of the vine still clinging to the tree, and you can pull the dead vine off later or wait for weather to wear them away.
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2
Remove as much of the ground cover as possible. This will clear up the area so that you can work with it. As you work, you must place every stray vine and clipping in a plastic garbage bag or the ground cover will re-root itself and come back. Pull up each vine and clip pieces off regularly so that you are consistently clearing the ground rather than pulling vines in large chunks that can get accidentally left on the ground.
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3
Trace remaining ground-cover tendrils back to the root. Clip them off about an inch above the root. You are not pulling the root out of the ground because if it breaks, it may manage to spring back to life. Don't worry: you are about to kill this part of the plant as well. At this point, you should have a lot of clear area with little vine stubs sticking up. You can mark them with the canvas squares if you like.
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4
Spray the exposed vine stub thoroughly with the vinegar. Use a thin stream rather than a mist so that you do not kill the foliage around the exposed plant. Saturate that exposed part. For best results, dig some of the dirt away from the exposed vine stub and spray part of the root as well. You must do this for every single root.
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5
Cover the clippings with the canvas squares. This will prevent them from getting any light. If they survive the vinegar bath, which is unlikely, they will be unable to revive themselves using photosynthesis. Leave them covered for the next few weeks and monitor the area for any stragglers you missed (there will be some).
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6
Dispose of the garbage bags full of ground cover clippings. These cannot go in a compost pile because the clippings will root in the compost and you will have the same problem in a new area.
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Tips & Warnings
Do this when the weather forecast does not predict rain for a few weeks. If the covered roots cannot get much water, this increases the chance of success.
You can spray the roots with targeted herbicides, but these can wash off and seep into the soil, potentially killing other plants around them. Vinegar also can kill other plants, but generally it will do less damage in a spot-treatment scenario than chemical herbicides.
