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Increasingly I find myself getting irritated at the sight of Ivy engulfing trees and hedges. As I look out of the window at a nearby allotment there are trees so covered in Ivy that only a few branches protrude at the top of the tree and what were once small bushes are now just green blobs of Ivy. Gone are the variety of shapes and form as Mother Nature intended. They are defaced into mis-shapen eyesores. I wonder too whether over time Ivy will choke to death the host tree.

Some folk may argue that it is beneficial in that ivy provides wild life with both habitat and food (berries). But over time at what cost? How long before the city and countryside becomes an amorphous mass of dark green blobs.

Perhaps it should become one of Mr Gove's green subsidy requirements the landowners (both public and private) take steps to eradicate Ivy?

Rant over.

Edited by Bobba
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there is a small wood near where i live,open to everyone,last couple of years weve had some guys come in in springtime,to pull the balsom thats taken over,the rhodydenrons have been cut right back and the ivy has been severed at the base of the trees to protect them,not sure who the people are but its in the care of local council.

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8 minutes ago, steve_b_wales said:

I always thought that it eventually killed the tree by robbing it of nutrients etc from the ground. when I'm on my permissions, I do my best to cut as much away from the base of the tree/s.

Older trees are usually fine as their root network spreads far enough to be able to get the nutrients despite the ivy. What it does do, though, is add extra weight to its branches and limbs, which in winter can put more strain on them, causing them to break off. That then exposes the tree to infections that could kill it. It is great for wildlife though and it's be a shame to lose it completely! high quality woodland doesn't suffer in the long run for having good amounts of ivy in it

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That's what landscape at work did cut two inches off the base of the ivy  covering the bosses office last summer and took it down over the winter , it looks hellish there's still  bits sticking to the building and the bricks that where under the ivy are a different colour from the rest of the building .

But if you did that to a tree would it matter the tree would grow there the dead ivy and it wouldn't need removing ?.

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Forty years ago there was very little ivy growing on hedgerow trees in the countryside. 

With the introduction of oil seed rape more pigeons survived the winter and then they tried ivy berries as an alternative food source. Berries passing through pigeons caused the spread as we know it nowadays. 

Sometimes cutting through ivy close to the floor is not enough to kill it as the plant produces little suckers which not only attaches it to a wall or tree but which provides it with moisture from rain like a root system. In this case spraying with roundup or similar can kill it.

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28 minutes ago, Bigbob said:

That's what landscape at work did cut two inches off the base of the ivy  covering the bosses office last summer and took it down over the winter , it looks hellish there's still  bits sticking to the building and the bricks that where under the ivy are a different colour from the rest of the building .

But if you did that to a tree would it matter the tree would grow there the dead ivy and it wouldn't need removing ?.

True. No point in removing it once it's been severed. Leave it there, it's still good the birds as cover, and as it rots it'll provide plenty for invertebrates

 

5 minutes ago, mossy835 said:

when im out the judges farm shooting. there is a young wood i put it off the young trees.

Yeah, young trees are far less tolerant. worth keeping a check on it as it can be a disaster for new growth in a woodland

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2 hours ago, chrisjpainter said:

Older trees are usually fine as their root network spreads far enough to be able to get the nutrients despite the ivy. What it does do, though, is add extra weight to its branches and limbs, which in winter can put more strain on them, causing them to break off. That then exposes the tree to infections that could kill it. It is great for wildlife though and it's be a shame to lose it completely! high quality woodland doesn't suffer in the long run for having good amounts of ivy in it

It will also bring trees down in winter gales.

 

As panoma1 said, cutting the ivy stems at the base of the host tree usually kill it, if not it will take a few years for it to reach any height again.

when going for a walk around the woods I usually carry a small fold-up wood saw in my pocket, if I see a tree that is heavy with ivy I cut through the base of the ivy stem, done some trees 10 years ago and no sign of it returning.

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One of the local woods where we walk the dogs is inundated with heavy Ivy covered Trees - I'm sure that some of the younger ones have been pulled down by the sheer weight of the stuff - I carry a Sheath Knife occasionally and hack thru the lower stems, it's actually really satisfying :yes:.

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30 minutes ago, bruno22rf said:

One of the local woods where we walk the dogs is inundated with heavy Ivy covered Trees - I'm sure that some of the younger ones have been pulled down by the sheer weight of the stuff - I carry a Sheath Knife occasionally and hack thru the lower stems, it's actually really satisfying :yes:.

What about starting a, ‘cull AN ivy bush month’ and that’s not a pub.:)

just for you mice;)

Edited by old'un
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tut tut old'un it would be "cull AN ivy bush month" 

I was expecting this to be about ivy growing through the felt on a shed or garage, I've had trouble with this it just goes through instead of round.

but now you say about cutting the ivy I have seen a few trees over winter that have had the ivy cut about chest night.

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7 hours ago, figgy said:

I have it running through my mixed hedging and its a right pain to thin out. it don't die off with glyphosphate. too many trees are being strangled by it.

But its not Japanese Knot weed or some other foreign invasive species.

It does if you use enough of it mate, I had a wall full of it, 2 coats of the stuff over all it’s leaves and roots it’s 70% dead I’d say.. another two coats this year should sort it out...

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4 hours ago, panoma1 said:

Easy to sort........just cut out a few inches out of the main stems of the ivy where the plant grows out of the ground...all growth above it will die and eventually fall off! Takes minutes!

That's what I do. There was one tree that was covered in Ivy, but once cut, the Ivy withered and died within 3 weeks (summer time)

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Ivy won't actually kill the tree itself as has already been said, but it can accidentally suffocate the tree when it shields out all the branches and as others have said can catch a lot of wind and cause branches to break of or the whole tree to be windblown.

The ivy only needs the tree for support/structure

 

I dunno if anyone else has noticed this but I think ivy tends to get worse the closer u get to the sea/coast. I don't know wether the milder climate or more nutrients in the air from sea spray?

But in my area once u get 5 or so miles from the coast its quite unusual to see a tree overgrown with ivy

 

Some best practice/conservation advises if possible (affordable) ur best to leave the ivy on the lower main stem but actually climb up the tree and cut it back of the branches (best to cut 2 cuts and take the piece out) that way birds/insects etc get the prime nesting/feeding habitat of the Ivy on the stem but u minimise the wind throw and suffocation risk of the ivy.

But the problem is it's a lot more expensive/dangerous to cut it higher up the tree

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You do seem to see more.  Some on my trees has stems 3" in diameter.   I have cut some on the trees where it is smaller, but the big stems are often hard to get at - especially where trees are in hedges.

We also get a lot of mistletoe - which also seems to be regional.

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Ivy will kill trees including by crowding them out.   Healthy plants need light and air and space and ivy denies this.  In time only the extremities will support any leaves and that which plants need and this is not enough to sustain the tree.  It will then die.  It's been from the wildlife perspective that I've heard that ivy doesn't kill and I believe because of how good ivy is for wildlife.  True, but so is the deep and featured naked bark of trees such as oak which houses many insects that many small birds then feed on. I've heard within this argument that the trees that die were weak anyway but it seems odd how ivy almost exclusively seems to grow up trees that will become weak many years in the future.  

We've just lost a mature hawthorn to ivy, by the time I got round to killing off the ivy it was irrevocably weakened and never recovered being strangled by the suffocating cloak of dead stems.  Next time anybody is out in the country check out the oaks with a few leaves at the tips and think how that is supposed to sustain the tree.

Edited by yod dropper
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Not too sure if pigeons can be blamed for the spread of ivy lol.

There is definitely a better understanding of how ivy (doesn’t) affect the tree it climbs and also ivy is now recognised as a major benefit to wildlife through autumn and winter, being a provider of high quality nectar supporting insect and bees during autumn and producing  berries during winter. This understanding means ivy has been allowed to flurish in recent years rather than be controlled.

In general it doesn’t damage the tree and unless the ivy is so thick on the limbs that it’ll make a big difference in a gale then leave it be. 

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