Neighbours causing such a fuss about ivy! Really?

What’s the betting the fence was old and the posts had rotted at the roots.
Fencing needs replacing after 15-20 years anyway. Sooner if the ground is very wet.

Ivy creeping through is damaging their fence you have to maintain it better

If the ivy gets as far as their bushes it will grow up and through all of them and then is a complete PITA to get rid of, I can understand why they're concerned. There are a million plants that don't spread aggressively and that are good for bees (and far, far prettier) that you could chose to grow. I don't think anyone 'chooses' to grow English Ivy anyway, it's just a weed that appears. Why not get rid of it and grow something that doesn't spread aggressively that they won't have to worry about?

Our neighbour loved his ivy growing all over our fencing insisted it gave them privacy into their dining room which they never used. The fencing was as rotten as a peach. One stormy night the whole lot blew down. We very quickly organised the fencing people to clear the six panels and replace with concrete posts and new more robust panels. Our neighbour now the ivy had gone found room for a shed and was delighted with the new fencing.

Some people just don't like change, until it happens.

I’ve been after glacier ivy for ages, it’s always out of stock or expensive. Any good sources?

Wow what an uninformed post. Ivy is lovely and there are many, many Ivy plants sold on Crocus that are v popular. I know as they're often out of stock. It's fantastic for wildlife and beautiful, I want more!

Its leaves provide year-round hiding, roosting and hibernating places for various insects, birds and small mammals.
It is a preferred nesting plant for dunnocks, flycatchers, wrens and robins.
Its leaves are an important food source for caterpillars of many butterflies and moths, including the holly blue butterfly and swallow-tailed moth
If allowed to flower, it offers an invaluable late pollen and nectar source to many pollinating insects, including bees, hoverflies, wasps, butterflies and moths, and its high-fat berries are eaten by numerous different garden birds.

It tastes bitter so dogs won't eat it and if they did it just makes them unwell sickness and diarrhoea).
There are far more dangerous plants.

Ivy doesn't cause structural damage as its aerial roots can't bird into masonry and it can actually be beneficial. It's just an issue if there are existing cracks which you'd seriously hope there not to be.

Op isn't talking about a building but a fence so
OP just cut back stems poking through and enjoy it on your side. Inform your neighbour that is what will be happening and you don't want any more discussion on the subject.

Thank you!

Why can you not grow anything because of Ivy? My garden has it along a fence and I grow loads of other plants, trees and flowers.

You’re very wrong about birds not liking the berries! I have seen blackbirds and thrushes myself eating them! in the spring, the flowers attract many bees and other pollinators.

This is from Suffolk Wildlife Trust:

“Ivy berries finally ripen in early spring, just as other resources have been exhausted and bird life flocks to these high energy treats. Blackbirds, thrushes, blackcaps and starlings have all been recorded feasting on ivy berries. If lucky, you might see redwings re-fuelling on a cold late winter day”

My goodness. What a big deal about ivy. Maybe offer to pay for a gap free panel behind it and keep it trimmed as you are. Boundaried many an ivy and it never caused such an issue as desribed. In one house I used to try and grow ivy and the neighbour poisoned it so wouldn’t grow. 😄. Instead of privacy i had to watch them throw chicken carcasses into the garden for wildlife. 🤮

Cut it back & apply stump killer

I agree.

Ivy is incredibly invasive and does damage fences and brickwork. At least the type of ivy growing through the fence at the back of our garden does. We have already had to replace one trellis because the other one rotted due to the ivy.

I don’t know why anyone would want to have Ivy in their garden to be honest I wouldn’t just cut it back I’d dig it out. It’s dangerous for dogs, is a beacon for pests, strangles other plants, is evasive to structures such as sheds and walls. It’s evil and unsightly.

That’s because they are rare nowadays! People using fake grass, tearing out hedges, concreting over drives, using slug repellent…

Lazy ageist assumptions like this do not add to the strength of your argument.

"I just don't know if it's because they're an older couple with too much time on their hands."

You sound very judgemental and ageist maybe . What if someone said the real problem is you are a young couple who are selfish and entitled?

If you do not have time to maintain your garden/ ivy properly you should dispose of it. Unlike your infirm shared neighbour at the back you are quite capable of preventing the ivy invading their garden and taking root behind / amongst/ underneath their shrubs; you just can't be bothered.

You neighbours are in their 70's; they may not be agile enough unable to reach around the shrubs to remove the ivy going through the fence and preventing it rooting in their garden and this will only get harder for them. Frankly they shouldn't have to anyway.

If you like the ivy and want to keep it make the effort to control it properly

They sound like total arse wipes. Tell them to go fuck themselves.

So much misinformation about ivy here - I'm amazed! Speaking as a Landscape Architect & garden designer, I've been planting it in projects for over thirty years & it will not cause any problems IF IT IS MAINTAINED PROPERLY - which is the same for any relatively vigorous plant in your garden.

Generally speaking the species (Hedera helix aka English Ivy) grows fastest, but there are many cultivars that are much slower-growing & more ornamental eg Glacier, which is variegated. Ivy, contrary to what some posters have said, is brilliant for wildlife - it flowers in autumn when insects find it a great late source of nectar, & birds love its berries, which are very high in nutrients. It also allows insects to hibernate.

It will only damage walls if they are already cracked or in poor condition - if your masonry is sound it will not cause damage, & in fact studies show it generally protects walls. Whereas over-forceful stripping of ivy from house or garden walls actually causes damage! Ditto ivy will only damage tiles on roofs etc if left completely unchecked.

The OP's ivy is on a fence. Ivy will not "rot" a standard timber fence or trellis - most cheap fencing will start to fall apart within 20 years anyway. If the fence isn't close-boarded then there's a possibility that some stems growing through will thicken with age & could warp the fence. However, checking & trimming it once or twice a year will prevent that, & also keep it from overhanging into your (anally retentive ..!!) neighbours' garden. That's all - no more effort than trimming a hedge twice a year, & an awful lot less than mowing lawns!!

And if you don't believe me, maybe you'll listen to the Royal Horticultural Society ...?!! Maybe, OP, you could send this article to your neighbours ... 😁

https://www.rhs.org.uk/prevention-protection/ivy-on-buildings

We've got ivy in a few places which isn't causing a problem - I quite like it there (most places zero tolerance for it though due to the other plants). It's on one bit of fence and rather than damage it it's sort of reinforced it! I would probably wouldn't have it on a shared fence though.

Ivy is a complete pain in the arse. The school behind us doesn't control it and as a result I can grow fuck all in my garden, have spent hundreds on trying to kill it unsuccessfully cos I can't get to the roots, and it's now growing under my patio causing a ton of expensive damage. You need to sort it out.

Ivy is thought to attract rats,cindonr know if it's true but I know people thnk this.

So that might be one reason they're so against ivy. Maybe someone has recently mentioned it to them which is why they've been fine up until now.

I had both! have spent £100s getting it all cleared and dug out, bamboo planted by idiot neigbour and ivy that appeared from a wall that runs across the back of all the houses, It has been a nightmare. I doubt that either are fully vanquished so i keep a watchful eye open for their return.

This. They sound like petty dickheads - ignore

Are you sure it’s not Virginia creeper. Looks identical.

Cut it at the root if they’re that bothered, it’ll grow back within about half an hour