Killing ivy (the plant, no homicidal intentions)

bouicca21

I want to clear a patch of ivy.  Under the carpet of leaves it’s all woody stems. It will therefore be easy to remove the leafy bits but do I then dig up the stems?  How deep are they likely to be? 

 I plan to put some euphorbia and stinking iris in the area since both seem happy to grow vigorously more or less anywhere in the garden.  The euphorbia has self seeded itself so I can move some of the baby plants, the stinking iris just needs splitting.  Would I need to enrich the soil before transplanting? 

twopenny

No need to enrich the soil. Stinking iris will grow anywhere. Good luck with the splitting. It doesn't give up easily.
Digging up roots of ivy is similarly difficult. My experience is to pull it upp near the base of the base of the stems before cutting them off. Pull along the stems before that as some may have rooted.
Watch your back when doing this. It doesn't notice while you're doing it but it can really scupper you afterwards..

Another option is to twine ivy stems up into a tree shape. Great for wildlife

ka7e

Wear gloves! A lot of people are allergic to it and it can cause contact dermatitis.