I have 3 cedar trees about 40 feet high that have been covered in English Ivy for the last 23 years. Some of the vines are inches thick at the bottom of the trees. If I cut the vines carefully and paint some poison on the ground side of the vines, will the upper vines stuck to the trees just die off? Or will they continue to grow by feeding of the trees? Thanks
Roots are in ground not trees, trees are just supports. Cutting all the way through all ivy stems on tree trunks kills all ivy growth above cuts. Ivy stems on ground can be rolled up like carpet. Do get the ivy out of your yard, it is all over the place now in and near local cities. In Seattle public lands ivy and Himalayan blackberry are choking the vegetation.
Hi Sheena, cut away, and pull what you can off the cedar trunk, the continual pull to the roots of the Ivy (Hedera) will eventually have the vine in your yard, succumb to its doom! The Ivy is the cause of many tress in our nearby forests, only to fall under the weight of these invasive stranglers! Thanks to our pilgrims!
Thank you for your replies. Fortunately the ivy is only on the trees as there is gravel at the base of the trees and we have pulled it out every time it sprouted there.
English ivy is THE DEVIL. My neighbor's crept its way under and through the fence between our yards...now one can literally not see the fence for the ivy all over it. Trunks on the vines inches in diameter. The worst part is that it has blotted out my once-thriving iris bed, and the whole area looks like !@#$!. These people also have unpruned grape vines that add to the Lost World look. Well, unpruned on THEIR side: they are thoroughly smacked back on mine. Rid yourself of this pest, Sheena!
You are not alone, Hedera is a beautiful vine yes..... but it does not mingle well with any other plant, as it consumes everything in its sight! I won't even talk about the experiences that I have had with miles of this vine, it's something that cannot be put to coherent verse!
There once was a dastardly vine With tendrils of adamantine. I whacked and I hewed And finally slew This pest---with a shot of strychnine.
Sheena1, Could the Ivy have rooted into rotted materials accumulated on top of the branches where they attach to the tree? It does root redily and that would explain all foliage being "in the tree" and nothing apparently coming from the ground. If that is so, do you know anyone that has and knows how to use "climbing spikes" and also has a very sharp machete? Barbara lloyd
Barb It is possible that it has rooted at the top because there is an enormous mass of vine and berries about 10 feet from the top of the trees . But there is root at the base of the trees as we cleared the area about 20 years ago and put the gravel down and left it on the trees because we thought it was "pretty" !!!! DUH!!! My husband has retired from the phone company so I may have to dig his spurs out and send him up to do a prune job.
Sheena1 How lucky can you be! The next sunny Saturday invite all his (younger) old buddies over for a "who can climb, pull more Ivy" and beer party. (The beer after the Ivy's down) Barb
