Cleaned up the RR a bit this weekend to run some trains and I noticed that ivy had grown up and around one of my trestles and a truss bridge. Part of me thinks to let it go and that it will look neat growing all over the structures while another part says it’s not a good idea. I’m thinking the ivy may hold in moisture and do damage.
The trestle is made from mahogany and the bridge from cedar.
The ivy is not poison but decorative. What do you think?
Don’t let it grow there…it will take over, and will be constantly derailing your trains. It may look neat to the girls and gardeners, but your operations will suffer, and you will constantly be cutting it back…get rid of it.
We have three types of Ivy in the yard here. Yes it is nice, but not around the R.R. It will take any structure or bridge apart in time. Grow very fast. We even had a board fence that the vine got so big it took board off the fence.
We have one place that the R.R. is raised about a foot off the ground and Ivy under it and looks good there as long as we keep it trim and not get up to the tracks level.
We suggest and like Fred Mills said, GET RID OF IT…
I think you guys are right. I went away for a week and when I came back some of the ivy had grown a foot plus over the tracks. I’m gonna cut this stuff way back. It does look nice going over the tunnels.
Thanks guys.
Not as bad as kudzu, but close!
Ivy even resists roundup!
kill kill kill…
Greg
Gasoline and a match is effective…
" Gasoline and a match" Funny. When I was first expanding the RR I had a hill thick with ivy so when I was having my annual yard cleanup and brush burning I let the fire get out of hand and burn up the hill taking all the ivy with it. After near 5 years it is back and with the RR in place burning is not a option though it would make a good movie.
If all this rain will ever stop, we got an inch this morning in about 30 minutes, I can get out and start hacking.
Copper sulphate works well, although NOTHING will grow after a treatment with that. Try some rock salt scattered around and let mother nature work. The salt will most likely kill the ivy and what ever else is growing, but will dissipate over some time and allow for good stuff again.
Bob C.
Fire wont kill things unless it gets at the roots. I always burn the dead stuff on my lyout in the spring. It actually makes most things come back nicer. Its funny Ivy around here grows painfully slow. I would keep it off the trestles. The tunnel I bet it would look good.
It probably would look good around the tunnel but it will probably attract spiders and grow into the tunnel!
The ivy is growing and if we ever get a day without rain then I plan on cutting it way back from my trestles and other parts but I like the way it looks going over this short tunnel.
(http://freightsheds.largescalecentral.com/users/capecodtodd/_forumfiles/IvyTunnel.jpg)
I wonder if you could attach a weedwacker to that engine?
That may be a good idea Doug. There is pleny of clearance near that tunnel even though it doesn’t look that way there are other sections where I could use a weed whacker LOL
I once saw a photo of a scratch built car that had 2 model airplane motors with propellers on it that spun to shred over growth along the main. Seems like a good idea now.
With all the rain we have been having the weeds are out of control while the garden veggies are drowning.
I would have to say that burning ivy on a wood trestle would probably not have a good result.
The Ivy looks nice, I cant get it to grow here. It gets too cold in the winter.
I would try the Round-Up/Salted Roots combo first. I am going to try that with my little problem:
I have had real problems with a plant called a Tree Of Heaven, they are very fast growing, very prolific, and the dam things are virtually indestructible, cut it down to the roots, it grows back, spray it with Round-Up, it dies off, but the next year it grows right back, dig it out by the roots and the dam root fragments grow back… real tenacious bugger. You can’t let them go because they can grow into full blown trees of 20-30 feet. and their sap stinks a foul odor. Definitely not a keeper.
(http://lawnpatiobarn.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/tree_of_heaven2.jpg)
Vic,
May I suggest Bayer Advanced - Brush Killer Plus.
Spray it on the foliage & it kills it, stump & roots too.
It kills Kudzu, Sumac & Persimmon trees, Poison Ivy, et cetera
& should deal quite well with your Tree of Heaven problem.
Dave
Thanks Dave I’ll look for that
And if you don’t get a warm and fuzzy feeling with any of the agent orange type killers, just cover the ivy with a plastic tarp. It may be difficult in an existing railway however. We had a front slope covered with ivy that we wanted gone, the ivy that is. We don’t like using chemicals so I covered the entire area, 12’ x 150’ with a huge brown plastic tarp. Fortunately the tarp was someone else’s trash. We left the tarp in place for two full years. It did the job. We had a landscaper plant grass on the slope after he cleaned up any roots that were still there.
Your best bet with ivy would be to pull it all out. There are other vine like plants that are much less invasive and prettier than ivy.