[icibiu]

We are buying a new home in a very woodsy area, the front yard area right in front of the house has english ivy as ground cover, couple of flowering shrubs that I don't know the name of and some bayberry(?) which I believe is a weed and looks AWFUL.

As a condition of our contract the seller installed a new septic and the septic contractor did us a half favor/half disservice. When they excavated they needed more room so they cleared the brush on additional 25 feet or so of the side yard that was previously wooded and leveled out the top half (awesome, since before the side yard was nothing more than a terraced strip with dirt and stone now it is a level space big enough for my son to play) BUT they totally f'd us over by 1) taking all the natural stone that was there that formed some what of a short retaining wall 2) Stripped all the trees and root systems that were holding the ground in place 3) left a 10 foot tall 45 degree incline mound of dirt leading right up to the street (no sidewalks)

I figured that I could just use ivy to continue the look from the other half of the side yard on the slope to help with erosion. The ivy that is already there is not too dense and some ground is exposed so today I've been looking up how to care for the ivy and help it fill out plus bring it over to the "naked" area. Well to my horror everything i've found online today is how to KILL the ivy!!! People saying how instusive it is and how difficult to control it is. Is english ivy a bad idea? I don't have any landscaping experiance or much money but I have a lot of pride in ownership and don't mind hard work.

I know this was long but I'd love some input!! TIA!

[agla]

It is a very aggressive plant which is the quality that makes it attractive to you. I'm not sure that people do not confuse "aggressive" with "invasive". Invasive usually refers to a plant that disperses itself all over the place AND is rather aggressive in its growth to the point where it is displacing plants all over the place.

You will find that English Ivy is very hard to stop. I would not want it nor would I be charmed up with a neighbor placing it close to the property line. But, it will effectively do what you are looking for it to do. I'll let you use your judgement whether it is in a place where it will impact others and whether you will make the effort to contain it in the areas that you want it.

It has been used for centuries and is quite attractive. The environmental community has declared war on it and they tend to spread information on the web faster than anyone, so you could expect to find a majority of the info you google to be negative on it as you will with lawn.

[VoodooChile]

Your State D.N.R. should have a website with a list of Noxious weeds and Invasive Species. If English Ivy is listed as a noxious weed in your state, it is illegal to cultivate it. If it is listed as invasive species, then there will varying restrictions on its cultivation as well. The plants are usually listed in Latin first, so look for Hedera helix or English Ivy.

Micheal Dirr says of Hedera helix that it is "invasive at times, and may smother an entire woodland floor."

To pretend that the damage caused by invasive species is some sort of environmentalist conspiracy theory ignores the devastating economic impact that invasive species can have. 3 quick examples:

#1) Asian carp have migrated up the Mississippi from Arkansas and are now only a few miles away from entering the Great Lakes via the Chicago River. The Army Corp of Engineers has erected an electric barrier across the river to prevent the carp from migrating into the world's largest body of fresh water. Economic impact from loss of game fish species in the Great Lakes has been projected at 100s of billions of dollars, should Asian Carp enter the Great Lakes.

#2) A homeowner at a local condo association got the bright idea to introduce Yellow Floating Heart into 2 retention ponds. Within 2 years, both ponds were covered. The state D.N.R. caught wind and forced removal (drain ponds, dredge bottom, bury spoils, line, refill) for many 10 of thousands of dollars. The threat? Lake Delavan, one of southeast Wisconsin's premier game fish lakes, was a few 100' away. If Yellow Floating Heart has entered the lake, remediation would have cost 100s of millions of dollars. That's one person's actions having the potential to cause millions of dollars in damages.

#3) European Buckthorn was introduced to this country 100 years ago as a quick growing, impenetrable hedge. It has migrated across the country, displacing countless acres of vegetation and the animal species that relied on them. The economic impact of European Buckthorn's introduction to the U.S. is incalculable.

Then there is Purple Loosestrife, Emerald Ash Borer, and Norway Maples. The list is endless.

People want to believe that they have the right to plant whatever they want in their yard, but acting on that perceived personal right can have dire economic and environmental impacts.

Do the right thing. Don't plant invasive species.

[agla]

I'm not saying that the concerns are illegitimate, only that sometimes there is excessive concerns with some issues and it makes it difficult to sort between very serious problems and not so serious problems. ... particularly on the web.

English Ivy is not on my state (MA) list which is pretty extensive. I agree that everyone needs to check their state's lists (if they have them) AND try to keep up on plants that are causing problems in other places as they may become problems locally as well.

[Mac]

what happened to the survival of the fittest theory?

[VoodooChile]

It got swallowed up by a Kudzu vine.

[mountainx]

english ivy is ok in the right place and with the right home owner. it's not something you can plant and just forget about so keep in mind in a few years it will need regular maintenance to keep it within the boundries you want. don't plant it near woods or any where else it can disrupt the natural environment. keep in mind if you ever sell your home or pass it on the future homeowner may not be quite the yard worker you are. there are other great shade ground covers for your zone like pachysandra, tea berry or helleborus that aren't nearly as aggressive so they won't require nearly as much work in the future.