Problems with Ivy (merged)

hairymolly

I'v got alot of ash trees around the house. Just spotted a hugh chunk of one of the trees has fallen. Advise please on what to do.

bmaxi

hairymolly wrote: »

I'v got alot of ash trees around the house. Just spotted a hugh chunk of one of the trees has fallen. Advise please on what to do.

Why do you assume ivy is killing it? Usually the problem ivy causes in trees is it makes them top heavy and more likely to blow over in a storm but it is not a parasite of trees. I would investigate further.

Aeneas

bmaxi wrote: »

Why do you assume ivy is killing it? Usually the problem ivy causes in trees is it makes them top heavy and more likely to blow over in a storm but it is not a parasite of trees. I would investigate further.

I have several willow, alder and hawthorn trees where ivy has climbed high into the canopy. Apart from the risk from wind will this damage the growth or health of the tree eg by blocking out light from the canopy?

bauderline

Not buts about it, ivy will strangle the life out of any tree given enough time. Get out a handsaw and cut a 6 inch chunk out of the ivy branches at the base of your tree. Wait for ivy to die off a bit and after a few months set about pulling it out of the tree.

There is a bit of work involved but the tree will look much better without the ivy and will recover its health in a few years.

baud.

hairymolly

Thanks for that borderline. Problem is there are loads of briars at base of trees and the ivy goes all the way to the crowns of the trees. Its going to be a megga job and will cost me.

bmaxi

Aeneas wrote: »

I have several willow, alder and hawthorn trees where ivy has climbed high into the canopy. Apart from the risk from wind will this damage the growth or health of the tree eg by blocking out light from the canopy?

Ivy, like any plant, will compete with any other plant for food, light and water. Ivy and trees have co-existed for millions of years, if it was such a threat, surely all woodland would have disappeared by now. My point to the OP was, that while ivy may well indeed be the cause of the branch or branches falling, it's appearance can often be as a result of damage and in that case not to rule out other causes.

John Mason

I spent most of yesterday pulling ivy out of my garden and rescuing some plants from its evil clutches.

from what i can see the bloody thing seems to have rooted all over the place. What is the easiest way to make sure it never comes back?

Is it just a case of having to dig up all the roots, which will be a huge job, as it had taken over a rockery

thanks

IB

Caoimhín

You could spray it with a herbicide like Roundup or Garlon but that's likely to kill any plant it touches. Also dead ivy doesn't look very good. Depends on how bad it is, but just try to keep it in check by cutting it back twice a year. Digging up the roots would indeed get rid of it but i wouldn't fancy that job myself.

John Mason

caoibhin wrote: »

You could spray it with a herbicide like Roundup or Garlon but that's likely to kill any plant it touches. Also dead ivy doesn't look very good. Depends on how bad it is, but just try to keep it in check by cutting it back twice a year. Digging up the roots would indeed get rid of it but i wouldn't fancy that job myself.

thanks caoibhin, that's the big probably there are plants everywhere, and i really dont want to kill them.

so it look like a case of just pulling up any new growth i see.
thanks

Reyman

I don't think Roundup is any good for killing ivy. You need SBK brushwood killer - mix it with oil and keep it away from everything, including yourself.

There was a post on it lately and maybe the EU have taken it off the shelves, but you could try for it - it does work!

Irish Gardener

Reyman wrote: »

maybe the EU have taken it off the shelves, but you could try for it - it does work!

As far as I know SBK brushwood killer has not been removed by the EU, but all the Ammonium sulphamate stump and root killers such as “Dax Root-out" have been removed from the market.

Caoimhín

Triclopyr maybe?

bauderline

Whilst I cannot tell you the reasons for it, you will note that in woodlands / forests ivy does not seem to flourish on the majority of actively growing tress, you will see it on dead or fallen trees though.

Wild hedgerows that often form borders for fields / sites seem to be an ideal place for ivy to flourish, first killing the hedge, then attacking apparently healthy trees ans causing damage to them.

At the site I am building my new house all the boundary hedges are in ruins and infested with ivy which is attacking a number of healthy trees. I intend to rip out the deceased hedgerows but preserve the good trees and remove the ivy from them and plant a new hedge consisting of hawthorn and similar.

bauderline

Yupp, once you have managed to remove as much as possible initially you should carry out and inspection once a year and remove and new growth so it does not get a chance to establish itself again in your garden. Its an awful bloody plant.

Caoimhín

Whilst I cannot tell you the reasons for it, you will note that in woodlands / forests ivy does not seem to flourish on the majority of actively growing tress, you will see it on dead or fallen trees though.

Quite simply, ivy is a symptom of a more serious weakness in a tree, it can grow more vigorously into the canopy if the crown is thinner, thus allowing more light onto the ground and trunk. This is why you can see ivy on dead or dieing trees than healthy trees.

bauderline

I disagree strongly with you, ivy attacks perferctly healthy trees in wild hedgerows. In woodlands / forests it seems to only attack dead or half dead trees.

I have seen way too many trees in hedgerows that have never looked back once the ivy was removed from them to be convinced otherwise.

b.