Ivy

trebor28

Would like to know what peoples thoughts are on ivy. Along my road there is lit of trees which are pretty much getting smothered with it. Now I realise it plays it's part in providing food shelter and foundations for lots of birds but it isn't very good if it goes and kills the tree, or is it?

I am thinking of cutting it of trying to cut some of it at least. Anyone have any ideas?

Mickeroo

trebor28 wrote: »

Would like to know what peoples thoughts are on ivy. Along my road there is lit of trees which are pretty much getting smothered with it. Now I realise it plays it's part in providing food shelter and foundations for lots of birds but it isn't very good if it goes and kills the tree, or is it?

I am thinking of cutting it of trying to cut some of it at least. Anyone have any ideas?

All you need to do is saw it near the base of the tree, that should kill it handily enough. I think its preferable to having it kill the tree.

Alun

I've always wondered about this too and from doing a bit of Googling it would appear that the idea that ivy 'strangles' a tree is a bit of a myth. It's not a parasite, in that it takes all it's nutrients through it's own root system, and not from the tree itself (like mistletoe), and only attaches itself to the tree for support.

One reason proffered for the myth is that often trees that are covered with ivy look in bad condition, but this is supposedly down to the fact that the tree was possibly on it's way out anyway for other reasons, and the reduced canopy allowed more light to get to the ivy thus allowing it to grow more vigorously.

See here ... http://www.treestransformed.co.uk/2011/tree-guide/tree-surgeons%E2%80%99-prejudice-against-ivy

Mickeroo

Alun wrote: »

I've always wondered about this too and from doing a bit of Googling it would appear that the idea that ivy 'strangles' a tree is a bit of a myth. It's not a parasite, in that it takes all it's nutrients through it's own root system, and not from the tree itself (like mistletoe), and only attaches itself to the tree for support.

One reason proffered for the myth is that often trees that are covered with ivy look in bad condition, but this is supposedly down to the fact that the tree was possibly on it's way out anyway for other reasons, and the reduced canopy allowed more light to get to the ivy thus allowing it to grow more vigorously.

See here ... http://www.treestransformed.co.uk/2011/tree-guide/tree-surgeons%E2%80%99-prejudice-against-ivy

Forget what I said OP

Mothman

And to quote from the link Alun supplied

We’ve all seen trees smothered in ivy and intuitively we feel this can’t be very good for them. The evidence, however, indicates that ivy is usually benign and of great benefit to wildlife. As a rule of thumb, leave alone. That said, there may be exceptional cases where intervention is required. Bushy ivy growth in the top of a tree adds weight and sail area. If the underlying timber is diseased then ivy could be a cause of limb breakage or even wind throw, particularly in the strong winds of winter. If you think a tree is diseased or if you are trying to preserve a very old tree, then cutting out the ivy may be justified, especially if tree failure could pose a risk to life and limb (e.g. if the tree is close to a house or road). Sometimes ivy will be cleared from a tree when customers want to see the bark, such as that on birch, but this is all about aesthetics rather than plant biology. A good tree surgeon should tell their customers that sight of the bark comes at a cost – not just a financial cost, but a wildlife cost.

I do on a rotational basis tackle the Ivy along my roadside trees, due to the increased risk of storm damage and I'll cut the Ivy on occasional trees away from road if I feel the Ivy is taking over. I was always aware of the points mentioned in the article.

V_Moth

I can only add that Woodpigeons depend a lot on Ivy "berries" for food in February/March as do Blackcaps.

trebor28

thanks for the replies.

is there any point in cutting "half" the ivy from around the base to "slow down" the growth?

googsy

I really hate Ivy, that said it does provide great cover for bird nests and a found source in winter. It's more about the aesthetics with me on this one... every few years what I do is remove it from the trunks of any large specimen trees growing around the garden and leave it on hawthorn and blackthorn ( obvious reasons there - thorns ! )

The tool I use to do this is usually a long handled pruner and my hands ( ivy when large is very easy to break when you make the initial cut and brings alot of the smaller stuff with it when you break it from the trunk )

Do not use a chainsaw as the smaller ivy stems will get caught in the chain and cause it to come off at high speed... ( happened to me when I was cutting up a fallen tree and didn't realise a bit of ivy behind the branch I was cutting up.. I was very lucky that day )