Hi, 

We aren’t sure if it is bacterial blight or a fungal leaf spot as the symptoms can after appear very similar. Either way though we generally recommend removing English ivy as it is considered invasive. 

You can avoid overhead watering to help and also cut back and rack up the foliage as it may help to reduce the symptoms. 

Emily

As the page Emily linked to mentioned, the most practical approach to reduce the infection is to strip the foliage off by mowing the planting low to the ground, which removes all of the ivy's current set of leaves, and allowing them to grow back. Once cleared, the ground can be raked so any old fallen tree or ivy leaves or other debris, which can reduce air circulation through the ivy foliage (creating conditions more conducive to fungal and bacterial leaf infections), is more easily removed. Regrowth could still get infected, but dry weather will make that less likely. That said, the ivy may still be drought-stressed if rains are too infrequent, so it should be periodically checked for watering needs. Use of a fungicide is not recommended, in part because they cannot cure existing infections, because they rarely affect bacterial pathogens, and because their use may risk harm to beneficial insects or other organisms.

One feature of English Ivy that makes it such a successful invasive plant is its resiliency, so a planting that has healthy roots will likely recover just fine once a current infection runs its course and wanes as the weather changes. How long that process takes can depend on the vigor of the ivy, the pathogen involved, and how extensive of an infection outbreak occurred.

If you are open to using a different groundcover (or, ideally, mix of groundcovers) in place of the ivy, the linked page may provide some ideas, though it's not an exhaustive list of options.

Miri

That's okay! Often our management information for a given pest or disease is at the bottom of the web page, with ID information and other diagnostic tools in the upper portions of the page.

Miri