On 4/21/13 9:00 AM, abbeygardener wrote:[i]
'Jeff Layman[_2_ Wrote:
;981459']On 21/04/2013 04:07, David E. Ross wrote:-
On 4/20/13 3:33 PM, abbeygardener wrote:

We recently moved into a house in London, UK, that has the trees
pictured growing at the edge of the garden. On the side facing the
garden, the trees are covered with what I think (but I'm not certain)
are small dead branches. We'd quite like to remove them as they look
unsightly, but are unsure whether this is advisable or how to do it?

snip


The photos look as if some kind of vine was growing on the trees and
was
then cut away at the bottom without removing the top growth. I see a
similar situation near my house where wisteria grew to the top of an
Italian cypress. The wisteria would have eventually killed the
cypress
but was cut last year near the ground. The dead vine is still up in
the
tree, well beyond anyone's reach other than with a crane.-

Yes, I'd agree with that. Could be a clematis or (gulp!) Russian vine.

Bit puzzled at the apparent lack of thicker branches, although those
may be underneath. Whatever, if it isn't dead it should be showing
signs of sprouting, which should then aid identification. It could be
cut down or pulled off as much as possible. It looks as though it's a
climber that doesn't stick onto its support (like hedera or
parthenocissus), but just scrambles through it. Even if it is stuck to

its support, cutting through the main trunk(s) will make sure the top
dies and can be removed. I can't see that its removal would harm the
supporting trees in any way.

I've just done that with a 30' cypress which is more ivy than cypress.
The ivy's two main trunks are 8 and 10 cm in diameter! And there are
numerous smaller ones. I've used an axe to cut through them, and after

only a month the ivy has dried out enough to become brittle and be
pulled off relatively easily.

--

Jeff

Thanks for the replies. After reading them I had a closer look and it
seems I can in places track the tangled mass of whatever-it-is to thin
stems growing from the ground near the tree trunks, which seems to
confirm the vine theory. I'm happy if I can remove it. I also realized
that there are other plants wrapped around the lower trunks of the
trees, showing three different types of leaves. I've attached a couple
of closer pictures - if anyone can decipher what's going on from those
it'd be appreciated. I know very little about gardening so can't tell
what they are. The leaves around the trunks low down do look nice though
so I'm inclined to keep them - unless of course they are likely to harm
the trees?


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: LowerTrunk1.jpg |
|Download: http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=15520|
|Filename: LowerTrunk2.jpg |
|Download: http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=15521|
|Filename: HigherUp.jpg |
|Download: http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=15522|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+


I think they are all varieties of English ivy (Hedera helix). This can
grow sufficiently dense as to kill a tree.

The last photo (#15522) seems to show ivy foliage just as the plant is
preparing to bloom. The flowers are not showy or in any way attractive.
When ivy blooms (very infrequently), it then grows even more
vigorously. This can be somewhat mitigated by removing any shoots that
appear to have flower buds.

I have dwarf English ivy (H. helix 'Hahn's') planted as a ground cover
around a liquidambar tree (L. styraciflua). This variety is not
vigorous enough to harm the tree, but I still cut it away when it starts
to climb.

I have non-dwarf English ivy on my hill, to stabilize the slope and
prevent erosion. I keep it trimmed away from my grape vines that are
also on the hill. I also trim it off the slough wall at the bottom of
my hill so that it does not become established in the rose bed below the
wall.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary