Briars and Ivy taking over Ireland

Donald Trump · 28-09-2020 12:56pm

Old school video here

yosemitesam1 · 28-09-2020 12:57pm

Biscuitus wrote: »

Straw yields way down this year and grass growth rapidly dropping yet briars growing 6-10 feet this year. madness!

Local contractor doing hedges says it's great for him. Hedges he cut way down at the start of the year have 3 years worth of growth now and he'll be busy for weeks on end.

Maybe try going to the pub?
Travel a fair amount of ground around here and would be on a lot of farms of varying land quality and you're just spouting pure nonsense. Haven't seen the likes of what your saying anywhere.
Maybe your firing fertilizer into the ditches...

patsy_mccabe · 28-09-2020 1:30pm

Donald Trump wrote: »

Old school video here

My father used to lay hedges like that. He'd just do it in certain patches where there was a hole. Tough work and a real dying art.

forgottenhills · 28-09-2020 1:49pm

I notice a lot more land down the country now left to its own devices than used to be the case. This is typically poor to middling land that is typically owned by bachelor farmers that is now left to grow rushes and briars as well as grass. Looks like some elderly farmers in this category have effectively given up commercial farming and are living on saving or supports. I imagine when they pass on younger farmers will buy in and clear all these hedges and weeds away, drain and improve the land. And some of this land will be planted. But the amount of land currently left looking fairly neglected is quite noticeable.

yosemitesam1 · 28-09-2020 3:46pm

Worth having a good look at any flowering ivy ATM. Supports a massive range of hoverflys, bumbles etc and gives them a fill of food before the winter

whisky_galore · 28-09-2020 6:27pm

wrangler wrote: »

Wildlife doesn't bother me and I don't bother them, plenty of wild areas in Ireland for them and there'll be more wild areas for them

There aren't really.

Say my name · 28-09-2020 6:48pm

whisky_galore wrote: »

There aren't really.

It depends where you're living and what you associate as/with wildlife.
Also if you're a landowner what you do yourself.

whisky_galore · 28-09-2020 7:33pm

Say my name wrote: »

It depends where you're living and what you associate as/with wildlife.
Also if you're a landowner what you do yourself.

https://irelandswildlife.com/book-review-whittled-away-irelands-vanishing-nature/
https://greennews.ie/irish-bird-population-decimated-few-decades/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.irishexaminer.com/property/homeandoutdoors/arid-20450584.html%3ftype=amp

No it's not down to someone's "opinion" or someone's inexpert observations, there are actually a hell of a lot less wildlife now than in decades past. That's a fact, it has been shown to be so and it's not up for debate.

Say my name · 28-09-2020 7:41pm

There were over fifty crows and a Heron going amongst the cows this evening tearing up dungpats looking for Dor beetles.

To the outsider looking in they'd say it was a desolate waste land of dairy cows grazing a monocrop of perennial ryegrass.

It entirely is down to how you use those eyes.
There's more wildlife and variety of on this semi intensive dairy farm than is on the Blackstairs commonage.

massey woman · 28-09-2020 9:52pm

Has anyone noticed the shocking decline of mature ash trees in the west of Ireland particularly this summer
We have the best part of 500 mature ash all semi leafless in a totally un polluted rural area
I cut one to see what the body of the tree looked like to find the centre or inside 6 inches was totally rotten
Is this ash die back
Whats the experience out there?

Biscuitus · 28-09-2020 10:03pm

Siamsa Sessions wrote: »

Seems to be a year for weeds and other undesirables. Would it be the extra heat we had maybe?

It's the hotter summers and milder Winters according to the experts. The summer had a rainforest climate. Nature's way of dealing with the growing levels of carbon is to continue growing all year round. Unfortunately this is ivy and briars here in Ireland.

yosemitesam1 wrote: »

Maybe try going to the pub?
Travel a fair amount of ground around here and would be on a lot of farms of varying land quality and you're just spouting pure nonsense. Haven't seen the likes of what your saying anywhere.
Maybe your firing fertilizer into the ditches...

Ha the irony of your post :rolleyes: You must be living in an area of Ireland that barely supports sheep if you think such nonsense yourself. I've been all across Ireland this summer. You need to look beyond your own farm and get out more and no the pub doesn't count, try leaving your county

. Take a trip around Ireland and open your eyes. You'd have to be blind not to see the rampant growth taking over every field and road.

And we stopped using fertiliser 2 years ago. No reason to anymore with how crazy the growth has gotten. Even the intensive dairy farms around here have cut way back.

And one more point to drive it home. Dublin Country Council were cutting miles of hedgerow this summer cause it was already creeping out onto the road and couldn't wait until Autumn.

Birdnuts · 28-09-2020 11:18pm

Biscuitus wrote: »

And one more point to drive it home. Dublin Country Council were cutting miles of hedgerow this summer cause it was already creeping out onto the road and couldn't wait until Autumn.

From what I see Dublin CC are only cutting verges and the likes once a year now - nearly all their parks/public areas have large areas of natural meadows for pollinators and its great to see the likes of Bumblebees etc. taking advantage. Very little use of sprays like roundup any more too - wish some of the CC's down the country would wise up on such things:rolleyes:

emaherx · 29-09-2020 8:35am

Biscuitus wrote: »

It's the hotter summers and milder Winters according to the experts. The summer had a rainforest climate. Nature's way of dealing with the growing levels of carbon is to continue growing all year round. Unfortunately this is ivy and briars here in Ireland.

Ha the irony of your post :rolleyes: You must be living in an area of Ireland that barely supports sheep if you think such nonsense yourself. I've been all across Ireland this summer. You need to look beyond your own farm and get out more and no the pub doesn't count, try leaving your county . Take a trip around Ireland and open your eyes. You'd have to be blind not to see the rampant growth taking over every field and road.

And we stopped using fertiliser 2 years ago. No reason to anymore with how crazy the growth has gotten. Even the intensive dairy farms around here have cut way back.

And one more point to drive it home. Dublin Country Council were cutting miles of hedgerow this summer cause it was already creeping out onto the road and couldn't wait until Autumn.

I didn't find briar growth particularly bad this year, last year was a much bigger issue. But growth of 6 to 10 feet? Is that a claim that they are growing out bushy 6-10 feet or just some 6-10 feet strands? If the latter then that has always been the case as far as I can remember, but ploughs, mowers and livestock don't be long knocking most of them strands back. I live in Meath and there has always been lots of briars and Ivy. But I think there is much less ringing of trees for Ivy and people let briars grow out much further than the past and then get a contractor in to scalp the hedges back to nothing. Personally I like to see a bit of wild vegetation in the hedge rows and try to avoid obliterating hedges while still keeping some control on them.

I just cleared the growth from an electric fence from a 10 acre field for the first time this year over the weekend using a hand held hedge cutter and to be honest long grass was a bigger issue than briars.

I've seen no co council hedge cutting here except verges and junctions as per a normal year and no need for anything extra either.

Widespread use of temporary electric fences probably has more to do with increases in hedges than the weather, where some people just keep pulling the wire from the hedge to avoid shorts.

I took on a field about 3 years ago which had been idle for at least 10 and some of the hedges had grown out about 12ft in a few places but certainly not 6-10 per year and also not everywhere. Mostly just where there were fallen trees.

whisky_galore · 29-09-2020 9:06am

Say my name wrote: »

There were over fifty crows and a Heron going amongst the cows this evening tearing up dungpats looking for Dor beetles.

To the outsider looking in they'd say it was a desolate waste land of dairy cows grazing a monocrop of perennial ryegrass.

It entirely is down to how you use those eyes.
There's more wildlife and variety of on this semi intensive dairy farm than is on the Blackstairs commonage.

Crows are very adaptable and can survive on a rubbish dump so that observation proves very little. If you saw a flock of sparrows that would be actually something.

Mooooo · 29-09-2020 9:12am

Sparrows are gone on, left here about 5 days ago. Have to clean the feckin dairy down after them now. Have gotten a roll of plastic to cut in to strips to prevent bird access for next year, what could you put up for the returning swallows outside the building or will they just not nest here if the dairy/ parlour is closed off?

Say my name · 29-09-2020 9:20am

whisky_galore wrote: »

Crows are very adaptable and can survive on a rubbish dump so that observation proves very little. If you saw a flock of sparrows that would be actually something.

I have those also.
They roost in the cow sheds.
I have a flock of starlings and a flock of pigeons also.
Ain't modern dairy farms great for wildlife better than years ago.

emaherx · 29-09-2020 9:26am

Say my name wrote: »

I have those also.
They roost in the cow sheds.
I have a flock of starlings and a flock of pigeons also.
Ain't modern dairy farms great for wildlife better than years ago.

Not only that but sparrows are actually on the increase. And most of their previous decrease was associated with urbanisation and air pollution.

It's not just the evil farmers who are responsible for loss of habitats and feeding grounds. Sparrows in particular spent the past 10,000 years gaining dependence on humans for seed to eat, but less gardening has had its impact. Astro turf and concrete gardens are a great addition for the urban dwelling birds.

JustAThought · 29-09-2020 11:13am

amadangomor wrote: »

Cavan as well? My grandfather had loads of the cures for animals and had them in a book that was lost.

How was it lost? Loaned out or borrowed or used as a school project and not collected back or loaned to the vet/neighbour?

Just hacking back brambles this week - they grew 4 foot out, 40 foot long and 10 foot high in less than two years Nd thats just a garden plot. Leaving some for the birds but its a task.

Got some great audio footage of the birdsong coming from a field with massive hedgerows during the lockdown. Builders have moved in now and bulldozed it bare and 16 sets of itinerant trailers and double as many white no reg hiace vans in there now - terrible to see the place laid bare and filling up with human waste. They probably wouod have never noticed tha place was undergoing building works if they’d left the huge hedgerows in - at least 15 foot high - all those birds and habitats lost - terrible shame.

memorystick · 29-09-2020 11:16am

I’d be slow to ever let a digger in to pull bushes again. A million furze in a ditch after growing back. The whitethorn I sowed is barely visible. May get the strummers out.

minerleague · 29-09-2020 11:42am

massey woman wrote: »

Has anyone noticed the shocking decline of mature ash trees in the west of Ireland particularly this summer
We have the best part of 500 mature ash all semi leafless in a totally un polluted rural area
I cut one to see what the body of the tree looked like to find the centre or inside 6 inches was totally rotten
Is this ash die back
Whats the experience out there?

Noticed the same as that this year

tele2020 · 18-02-2024 7:46am

Ireland needs a national Ivy cull

Lime Tree Farm · 18-02-2024 8:26am

Ivy is one of the most environmentally friendly, green all year round plants, for animals, birds and bees. It is also regarded as a medicine by some

kollegeknight · 18-02-2024 10:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121783110#Comment_121783110

21B26DE5-E7FC-4305-873F-22840119B9E9.jpeg

I saw that at Coole park at the weekend.

Lime Tree Farm · 18-02-2024 10:53pm

I don't know what species of bee, small ones, but the ivy was live with the hum of bees, I think it was November last, it was winter time anyway.

Just googled it, they're Ivy Bees, though it says they are slightly bigger than honey bees the ones I saw on several ivy's were quiet small.

yosemitesam1 · 19-02-2024 8:18am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121786080#Comment_121786080

A massive amount of different insects visit ivy when in flower, well over 100 different types of insects getting a boost before winter

GreeBo · 19-02-2024 10:55am

Just because its good for wildlife, doesn't mean we should let it take over.

Having just ivy isnt very bio diverse either.

twin_beacon · 19-02-2024 11:18am

I must be the only person here that prefers the sight of a big overgrown hedge/ditch in a field.

grange mac · 19-02-2024 11:44am

I have ash and pine trees covered in ivy..... Both are being slowly choked by it. Cut ivy 2 years ago to give trees a chance and it just grew back more.

GreeBo · 19-02-2024 2:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121787193#Comment_121787193

I would much rather see individual trees of multiple varieties than see a solid lump of green bushy ivy where you cant make out individual trees.

How was the above tree supposed to grow with this ivy all around it?

twin_beacon · 19-02-2024 3:27pm

I mean I prefer looking at wild hedge rows, rather than ones that have been trimmed constantly. I think one of the pics looks a lot better than the other below, but each to their own.

Ive no issue with Ivy at all, its a native species and has been here long before we had the saws to cut it! In the pics above, I think the Ivy adds a lot of colour in the winter months as its an ever green. I think dead Ivy looks unsightly and you are stuck looking at it for years. Trees can grow just fine with Ivy around them, shur how many years was that Ivy stuck to that tree above?

yosemitesam1 · 19-02-2024 3:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121787117#Comment_121787117

The only trees negatively affected by ivy are ones who've long since lost their vigour and are on the way out anyway. Most either outcompete it or tolerate it just fine. It doesn't choke trees at all, it might outcompete a worn out tree for light but that's it.

GreeBo · 19-02-2024 4:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121788459#Comment_121788459

Agreed the second looks much better and is more diverse.

But both look better than this IMO

GreeBo · 19-02-2024 4:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121788662#Comment_121788662

So at what point does the Ivy stop in your opinion?

Even the most vigorous trees have a natural height and will essentially stop growing, Ivy doesn't.

Ivy will keep growing until it has covered every inch of the tree and every tree all around.

It will also cover every inch of the ground around the tree and so nothing else is growing as there is no access to sunlight.

You might as well cover the place in bind weed and be done with it.

Birdnuts · 19-02-2024 5:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121787117#Comment_121787117

I wish those obsessed with butchering a native plant that supports much wildlife, would be as motivated to do something usefull about non-native invasive species like Rhodendron and Laurel etc. that are strangling what little is left of our native woodlands and other habitats.

yosemitesam1 · 19-02-2024 6:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121788875#Comment_121788875

A good canopy on the tree stops ivy effectively. If there wasn't so much light hitting the tree trunks in your photo there would be much less ivy there.

older by the day · 19-02-2024 9:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121789026#Comment_121789026

That's is true, we have a big ditch of Ivy, up the road, when it flowers (puts out the black balls) every bee from cork city to mizen, must gather there, as well as wasps and midges.

The briar is the plant I admire the most. Strong, hard, spreads mad, cuts me,trips me and yet has a beautiful flower and the most delicious fruit

GreeBo · 20-02-2024 12:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121789026#Comment_121789026

Maybe the do that in the Rhodendron and Laurel threads? Why cant people have an issue with both?

GreeBo · 20-02-2024 12:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121789455#Comment_121789455

Ivy grows year round, deciduous trees don't have a dense canopy year round so that doesnt really make sense?

Also, Ivy grows along the ground and up a tree, unless you have a dense woodland, the ivy will get all the sun it needs from the side. Light is always going to hit those tree trunks, since we dont live at the equator.

Biscuitus · 14-04-2024 3:09pm

4 years since I made this thread and ivy has got so much worse. Take any road in ireland and every second tree is covered. Once smothered it kills the tree. I'll never understand how people think that ivy doesn't kills trees. One of those myths are fathers spread around and should have been disregarded years ago.

Nothing we can do at this stage and nothing we could have done to begin with. Warmer winters cause the plant to flourish all year round. About 9/10 trees on my farm are covered and I have lost so many to it since closing the fields last Autumn. Every farm I passed on my way from Cavan to Cork last month was in the same position. The destruction to hedges and trees is going to cause irreparable damage to biodiversity.

Briars is a whole other problem. I measured one briar growing 9 foot since the hedge cutter trimmed it the previous year. If only grass grew as well.

I was looking through old photos of the farm and it's like a different country. Hardly a weed in sight and barely any ivy on the trees. How much things can change in 30 years.

Count Mondego · 14-04-2024 8:18pm

The majority of modern farmers only work from the tractor, they wouldn't dream of cutting briars with the tools. If you clear them once, a few knapsacks of Grazon Pro will keep them down for good.

893bet · 14-04-2024 8:21pm

A quick google suggests ivy doesn’t harm a healthy tree.

Briars are a pest. I was on the saw for an hour earlier just keep manners on them on a bit of barbed wire. The power of them is unreal when you think of it.

GreeBo · 16-04-2024 12:51pm

DLRCC were busy pulling/cutting ivy from the walls or Marley park for the last few weeks.

Diarmuid B · 16-04-2024 1:09pm

it was mentioned in our KT group that one fella thinks the growth of ivy etc taking over trees and killing them is down to farms being fenced now with electric wire. Cattle aren’t able to get to the trees to scratch/eat the ivy etc and as a result it’s thriving. Not sure what to make of it but he does have a point

Hard Knocks · 16-04-2024 10:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122026069#Comment_122026069

Sadly not, cattle can access the hedges here and there’s lots of ivy

16-04-2024 10:19pm

There should be a national Ivy clearing day....it destroys the tree/hedge it inhabits. Google is wrong.

standardg60 · 16-04-2024 10:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019816#Comment_122019816

It absolutely does, it is basically a parasite, it is nonsense to suggest it only targets weak trees, or that trees that can't cope with it were weak to begin with.

It's ivy that weakens trees, by strangling branches, obscuring light, and adding weight to the crown so the tree can't withstand storms.

It's a curse and should be severed at the base of all trees.

Jim_Hodge · 16-04-2024 10:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019816#Comment_122019816

Keep googling.

Trees and ivy rely on the same supply of water and nutrients.
Ivy growth crowds tree branches, blocking sunlight trees need to make food.
Vines can weigh a tree branch down, putting it at a higher risk of breaking in a storm.
Over time, an ivy invasion weakens a tree, making it a target for opportunistic pests.

I've seen first hand the difference in growth and vigour of trees with and without Ivy growth on the same site.

blackbox · 16-04-2024 11:03pm

Deciduous trees survive winter storms because without leaves, they have less wind resistance.

If the crown of the tree is covered in ivy it is effectively an evergreen but without the strength or roots to support this in a storm.

Goats were great to take ivy from trees but you rarely see them now.

Birdnuts · 17-04-2024 1:41am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122028379#Comment_122028379

Nonsense - its a native species that provides cover and food for much wildlife during the winter period in particular.

https://www.echo.ie/nature-on-our-doorsteps-ivy-a-keystone-species/#:~:text=Ivy%20provides%20a%20wide%20range,late%20autumn%20and%20late%20winter.

Its the non-native invasives like Rhodendron, Monbretia, Laurel etc. that do the damage

Birdnuts · 17-04-2024 1:53am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122028428#Comment_122028428

Ivy has been here as long as all our native tree species - its part of that woodland ecology that are the most biodiverse types we have. Same with Moss, Lichens, Ferns and other epiphytes that are commensal with trees around the world. Dead wood, storm damage etc. are part of these natural processes too, something which many in the plantation forestry sector don't seem to get…

https://treeplantation.com/dead-wood.html#:~:text=Deadwood%20and%20fallen%20trees%2C%20far,its%20biological%20and%20physical%20structure.

"Deadwood and fallen trees, far from being mere detritus, are foundational elements within the ecosystem, playing a crucial role in both its biological and physical structure. They foster biodiversity, enhance nutrient cycling, and contribute to landscape diversity, thereby bolstering the overall health and functionality of the ecosystem. Recognizing their value is integral to fostering an understanding and appreciation of the complexity and interconnectivity of forest ecosystems and underscores the importance of including these elements in conservation and management efforts."

Briars and Ivy taking over Ireland

Comments