I cut my ivy flush against the wall just to tidy up the façade: a few weeks later, I saw what had come back and what stayed welded to the render
Cut your ivy flush to the wall, and two things happen: fresh shoots emerge from dormant buds at ground level, while aerial roots cling to your render like they’ve been glued. Understand the hidden biology, and clearing ivy becomes far less mysterious—and far less destructive to your masonry.