I have a front yard full of grass and I want to eliminate it. I planted some ivy last year and I was told it would grow "like fire" and start to grow over the grass. It has not. In order for it to grow must I remove the grass in front of the ivy? Thank you. I live in NJ

I planted ivy in N. Cal and it would take over the grass if I let it, maybe it just needs a little more time.

Hi Angela,

I live in central NJ - monmouth county. My property was almost completely overrun by ivy at one point, before I moved in. Ivy is incredibly invasive and even though it has not taken over at your home yet, it can and will. If you're hoping to avoid having to mow the lawn by planting ivy, my opinion from living with this stuff for 3 years is that it will eventually spread to the grass but it will take a long time to actually over run the grass to the point where the grass dies or does not come up. I work hard to control the ivy, mostly it shoots tendrils into the grass and eventually spreads this way. In my opinion if I did nothing the ivy, which is already really well established around the edges of my property, would still take a good 2-3 years to take over the grass to the point wHere I would not have to mow. The only other thing I can add is that ivy is now considered a nuisance plant and can detract from the value of your home if not well manicured. Its very hard to control -- I still pull it out of basement window seams, off the house foundation and chimney, and out of all the hedges and trees. Pain in the butt. A well controlled ivy bed is pretty, but you need to get there and not let it get out of control. I'd rather mow any day. Good luck! :rolleyes:

As the other posts states and I agree, 'Be careful what you wish for.. . '
I'd especially worry about the damage ivy does every year to home foundations and brick walls.
There are other types of ground cover that you may be interested in that aren't near as troublesome. Periwinkle or Vinca is a nice shade tolerant ground cover that grows to almost 10 -12 inches and has lovely purple blue flowers.
You could also use walkable thyme or sedum. Although these are s l o w growers.
Check out PARKS.COM (http://www.parks.com) or Home: High Country Gardens (http://www.highcountrygardens.com) for other ground cover ideas.