Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Layman[_2_]
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?
Can anyone confirm from the pictures what the apparent dead wood is and
whether it can be removed (and if so, how) without causing harm to the
trees? The wood is quite dry to the touch. It seems to be fairly tangled
and attached to the trees which I'm guessing makes trying to pull it
down (eg. with a rake) unfeasible.
Thanks
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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.
--
Jeff
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It seems you're spot on. I managed to speak to the previous house owner who confirmed that the stuff that looked to me like dead wood covering most of the higher part of the trees is actually Russian vine - as far as I can gather it's there deliberately because he liked it when it bloomed. In fact in the last day or so I can see buds starting to appear on the stuff.
He also pointed out to me where [he believes] the main stem is - picture attached - an assembly that looks like curved branches coming out of the ground, which I'd previous assumed was part of the tree as they were so close to the trunk.
So it seems I have several trees - which I like because they make the garden feel more private - all of which have their trunks covered with English ivy and their branches mingled with Russian vine.
What I'm gathering from this thread is that both the vine is and the ivy are likely to be threatening the trees so I probably need to remove them both. I'm reluctant to use herbicide so near the trees so am inclined to remove them by cutting them near the stems. (Though in the case of the ivy, I don't yet know where it's growing from - I think I'll need to remove a lot of foliage to find that out)
Out of interest, what would be the mechanism of the threat to the trees? Is it competition with the roots in the soil or blocking out sunlight from the trees, or both, or something else?