Post #2567228
2026-05-06 02:45 UTC
@rootsandcalluses@mstdn.social There are situations where smothering the whole area might be the right choice. An elder neighbor let poison ivy and oriental bittersweet take over her garden. I'm so allergic to poison ivy I'd end up in the hospital if I tried to remove it by hand. Even if someone hit it with herbicide, the dead poison ivy vines would still be dangerous. If it were my garden I'd wait until winter, smother the area under paper & mulch, and let it lie fallow for a few years before replanting
Replies (2)
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@rootsandcalluses@mstdn.social 2026-05-06 07:24
@trachelipus@masto.ai We have an area like that, though luckily not the poisonous variety, just ivy and a persistant evergreen. We had a sick tree removed, so we started dumping the wood chips there to smother the persistent invasive evergreen. Neither of us likes the look or feel of wood chips but it is a necessary step in between. When the ivy and that blasted evergreen is smothered, I will replant with forest-soil loving plants like blueberries (the European variety) and some shrubs and trees.
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@deepmud@mas.to 2026-05-14 19:08
@trachelipus@masto.ai this is the best advice