On Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:05:56 -0400, "symplastless"
wrote:

I have dissected a scots pine that had ivy all over the ground . The tree
was the healthiest scots pine I have seen.
So some trees may be companion plants and some not. Again, other than
blocking sunlight from needles and leaves I know of no published research
showing that ivy kills trees. I personally do not like ivy growing on
trees. The reason is because it covers up defects and signs of a high risk
of hazard situation such as cracks and so on.

Does anyone have data (peer reviewed published papers) showing that ivy
kills trees. I would like to read it and place it in my dictionary for all
to read under hard to get docs.

Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.

I haven't seen any serious problems with English Ivy around
here but grapevines and poison ivy are another story.

What happens is they eventually weaken the tree via shading,
competition for moisture and at the same time put quite a
bit extra weight load on the tree skeleton/structure. Now
when a good wind comes up they get blown over due to the
extra wind loading, weight and weakening to the trees
ability to support itself and vine.

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
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