ned wrote:

Mike wrote:
In article ,
Paul England writes
Does anyone know if mature ivy develop aerial roots when attached
to trees ? My farm labourer neighbour, had to pull down a 50 yr
old, ivy strangled oak. He said it wasn't worth severing the base
of mature ivy, for the above reason.
What does the team think ?

Regards ... Paul


Been quite a hefty and interesting thread on uk.rec.gardening on
this very subject.

What was the verdict urglers?

x posted to uk.rec.gardening for response.


Cue to restart the thread!
IMHO ivy severed at the base will not continue to grow. But a mass of
dead ivy on a tree, will increase windage and the risk of the tree
falling is increased.

--
ned

IMHO (based on things I have read, and some personal experience), just
severing the base of the ivy will be the end of it.
Sure, it has developed aerial roots, but they are just attaching it to
the tree. Ivy won't survive as an epiphyte.
There has been some discussion about ivy surviving on old stone walls,
even with the base severed. But that's another matter entirely. Then
the ivy has found soil and sustenance within the old wall - not so on
trees.
A mass of dead ivy on the tree may be unsightly for some time. But the
windage, and so the risk of the tree falling, will be less than at
the time the ivy was alive. Anyhow, within one or two years the dead
leaves will be gone, and with it the increased (already existing)
windage.

Roger.

--
Walk tall, walk straight, and look the world right into the eye.

You're welcome to visit my gardening page:
http://users.pandora.be/roger.van.loon/gardenp.htm