[shazlette]

Hi,

Does anyone know a good way to kill Ivy and bindweed. They are never ending in my garden. The trees are covered in ivy and cutting the stems never seems to kill it. I have relentlessly pulled at the roots. Unfortunately i am not able to dig out due to tree roots and little topsoil. I don't mind using weedkillers etc but they must not be harmful to other plants or fish.

My neighbour is allergic to ivy so I would really like to get rid of it. The bind weed is just never ending.

Thanks

[BabbyAnn]

Unfortunately both ivy and bindweed are never killed off in the first treatment as they have good root stores and will regrow again (usually more vigorously than before - a natural response to replace lost foliage quickly so they can photosynthesise and build up food stores in the roots)  You can keep cutting the plants back where they grow at soil level before they get a chance to grow into plants again and eventually they will weaken and die, but you really need to keep on top of it and sometimes over 2 years.  The moment they get a hold again you are back to square one I'm afraid.

I don't mind using weedkillers etc but they must not be harmful to other plants or fish.

The bad news is that ALL weedkillers will harm other plants and fish as they are designed to be herbicides (which in pond water will quickly kill off aquarium plants) but if careful, you can treat just the plant you want to get rid of.  If you have to use a spray, cover the other plants/lawn/pond you don't want to be accidentally contaminated with a sheet of plastic (like the ones you can get for protecting carpets and furniture when home decorating or use several sheets of newspaper) where stray spray droplets will fall, and make sure you only spray on a dry (essential as you don't want the chemical diluted or migrating outside the spray zone), calm (windless) day and aim close to the leaves of the ivy/bindweed.  The weedkiller should be dry within an hour and be safe to remove the plastic sheet afterwards - take precaution and fold the sheet so that any possible contaminated side is shielded from other plants although to be fair, most weedkillers that land away from plants usually become ineffective by then.

Alternatively, you can buy weedkiller in a gel stick like this link so you "paint" the leaves (make sure other plant leaves don't accidentally brush against the painted ones)   

This advice from Roundup:

Ivy is a particularly problematic weed as it can be resistant to many herbicides, and if left it can end up taking over your garden. In order to deal with ivy effectively, it is necessary to use a weed killer that targets the entire plant in order to get kill it completely. The best time to use a weed killer for ivy is during the autumn as weeds will be starting to turn dormant and will be storing nutrients. By using a spray at this time of year, the weed will store the weed killer which will give you the best results and enable you to control the ivy better.

Bindweed - they have long brittle roots which readily grow into into plants when damaged, and easily grow where you don't want it to.  A neat trick is to push a cane/stick into the ground near where you see it growing out of the ground and train the vine tip to climb up it.  You can then use weedkiller on the plants growing up the canes. 

[Goosegirl]

You could bruise their leaves so the weedkiller can better get into their system and also add a bit of liquid soap which helps the weedkiller to stick on to them.

[bendipa]

That could involve having to 'bruise' hundreds of ivy leaves, and how exactly does one bruise an ivy leaf?

As for bindweed I find it's responsive to glyphosate, although  you might need 2 or 3 applications, depending how developed the underground  rhizomes are, but it will succumb. That stuff kills brambles and tree stumps so it's very effective..

[New shoot]

That could involve having to 'bruise' hundreds of ivy leaves, and how exactly does one bruise an ivy leaf?

You need to bash them about with something.  A handful of long whippy twigs would probably be the easiest option.  They just need to look a bit damaged, not shredded to pieces