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#1
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Ivy on old trees
I'd like to kill off the ivy on a very large, old ash tree, in the hope
of preventing it becoming overly festooned with the damned stuff [like so many mature trees, around here]. So, I've cut the ivy climbers up the trunk (and left a large gap between two cuts on each climber), and will keep an eye out to prevent new ones growing. My question: is there any truth in the old saw that ivy, once securely established on a tree, will become genuinely parasitic, and will draw sustenance from the tree itself? Cheers John |
#2
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Ivy on old trees
In article ],
Another John wrote: My question: is there any truth in the old saw that ivy, once securely established on a tree, will become genuinely parasitic, and will draw sustenance from the tree itself? No. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#3
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Ivy on old trees
On 05/05/2014 19:26, Another John wrote:
I'd like to kill off the ivy on a very large, old ash tree, in the hope of preventing it becoming overly festooned with the damned stuff [like so many mature trees, around here]. So, I've cut the ivy climbers up the trunk (and left a large gap between two cuts on each climber), and will keep an eye out to prevent new ones growing. My question: is there any truth in the old saw that ivy, once securely established on a tree, will become genuinely parasitic, and will draw sustenance from the tree itself? Cheers John None at all. The greatest danger is that the ivy will increase windage on the tree and may cause its downfall during gales, esp. following wet weather. -- Spider. On high ground in SE London gardening on heavy clay |
#4
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Ivy on old trees
On 05/05/2014 20:25, Spider wrote:
On 05/05/2014 19:26, Another John wrote: I'd like to kill off the ivy on a very large, old ash tree, in the hope of preventing it becoming overly festooned with the damned stuff [like so many mature trees, around here]. So, I've cut the ivy climbers up the trunk (and left a large gap between two cuts on each climber), and will keep an eye out to prevent new ones growing. My question: is there any truth in the old saw that ivy, once securely established on a tree, will become genuinely parasitic, and will draw sustenance from the tree itself? Cheers John None at all. The greatest danger is that the ivy will increase windage on the tree and may cause its downfall during gales, esp. following wet weather. On the other hand tie ivy was providing shelter and food for a number of birds and insects •Holly blue caterpillar feeds on the flowers buds. •Wasps, hornets, hoverflies, bumblebees, red admirals, small tortoiseshells and peacock butterflies, and other late-flying insects, drink the nectar. •Many birds, such as blackbirds and thrushes, eat the berries. |
#5
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Ivy on old trees
In article ,
David Hill wrote: My question: is there any truth in the old saw that ivy, once securely established on a tree, will become genuinely parasitic, and will draw sustenance from the tree itself? None at all. The greatest danger is that the ivy will increase windage on the tree and may cause its downfall during gales, esp. following wet weather. On the other hand tie ivy was providing shelter and food for a number of birds and insects €Holly blue caterpillar feeds on the flowers buds. €Wasps, hornets, hoverflies, bumblebees, red admirals, small tortoiseshells and peacock butterflies, and other late-flying insects, drink the nectar. €Many birds, such as blackbirds and thrushes, eat the berries. Sure David - I am acutely aware of the beneficial effects. However we're talking "balance of nature" here, and I want to restore some of the balance lost when agricultural workers left the land. [1] John [1] Most of them for the cities, and the rest, for their tractor cabs! I don't begrudge them their tractors one whit, in particular as their numbers are a tiny fraction of what they used to be. However there are a million small jobs that used to be done on the land which now never even get considered: keeping the ivy off major trees is one such. And there's ***plenty*** of ivy elsewhere, by golly! |
#6
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Ivy on old trees
On 05/05/2014 22:11, Another John wrote:
In article , David Hill wrote: My question: is there any truth in the old saw that ivy, once securely established on a tree, will become genuinely parasitic, and will draw sustenance from the tree itself? None at all. The greatest danger is that the ivy will increase windage on the tree and may cause its downfall during gales, esp. following wet weather. On the other hand tie ivy was providing shelter and food for a number of birds and insects €Holly blue caterpillar feeds on the flowers buds. €Wasps, hornets, hoverflies, bumblebees, red admirals, small tortoiseshells and peacock butterflies, and other late-flying insects, drink the nectar. €Many birds, such as blackbirds and thrushes, eat the berries. Sure David - I am acutely aware of the beneficial effects. However we're talking "balance of nature" here, and I want to restore some of the balance lost when agricultural workers left the land. [1] John [1] Most of them for the cities, and the rest, for their tractor cabs! I don't begrudge them their tractors one whit, in particular as their numbers are a tiny fraction of what they used to be. However there are a million small jobs that used to be done on the land which now never even get considered: keeping the ivy off major trees is one such. And there's ***plenty*** of ivy elsewhere, by golly! You might find this item of interest http://www.arborecology.co.uk/article_forf.htm |
#7
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Ivy on old trees
In article ],
Another John wrote: My question: is there any truth in the old saw that ivy, once securely established on a tree, will become genuinely parasitic, and will draw sustenance from the tree itself? No. I agree I cut through loads when we first bough this house, it all died. But, 11 years later dead ivy is still falling from high up in the trees. Mike |
#8
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Ivy on old trees
On 05/05/2014 22:49, David Hill wrote:
On 05/05/2014 22:11, Another John wrote: In article , David Hill wrote: My question: is there any truth in the old saw that ivy, once securely established on a tree, will become genuinely parasitic, and will draw sustenance from the tree itself? None at all. The greatest danger is that the ivy will increase windage on the tree and may cause its downfall during gales, esp. following wet weather. You might find this item of interest http://www.arborecology.co.uk/article_forf.htm An interesting article, although it doesn't mention ivy on conifers. Although I would never expect ivy to act like a strangler fig, I sometimes wonder if excessive coverage inhibits tree growth. Also, does it weaken the wood or strengthen it? Old ivy "wood" seems quite tough to me, requiring several strikes with an axe to sever it. So does it add support to a tree, and if so does the tree react by not needing to llignify quite to much to support its own weight? Or is the ivy just added weight, so the tree then needs additional lignification to support the weight of the ivy as well as its own weight? -- Jeff |
#9
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Ivy on old trees
In article ,
Jeff Layman wrote: On 05/05/2014 22:49, David Hill wrote: .... You might find this item of interest http://www.arborecology.co.uk/article_forf.htm An interesting article, although it doesn't mention ivy on conifers. Yes - interesting, and provides answers (presumably accurate ones) to all the questions I had (as well as the one I actually asked, which was: does mature ivy morph into parasitic growth on trees? Answer: No.). Jeff also said: Although I would never expect ivy to act like a strangler fig, I sometimes wonder if excessive coverage inhibits tree growth. ... It does. I have dealt with ivy in a very large hawthorn hedge, where it had been allowed to grow unrestricted for many, many years. Some of the ivy stems were 4 to 6 inches thick; where they had twisted round the hawthorn trunks, the trees were dying; further, the thick masses of ivy "undergrowth" in the hedge tops had caused the host wood to rot, through debris accruing year, on year, on year, getting wet, and rotting down: a hedge bottom in the hedge top, in fact. I would never eradicate ivy (you couldn't, anyway!), because of the good that it does (listed in that article); but it's an awful bully, and needs keeping strictly in check. In my humble opinion. J. |
#10
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Ivy on old trees
In article ],
Another John writes In article , Jeff Layman wrote: On 05/05/2014 22:49, David Hill wrote: .... You might find this item of interest http://www.arborecology.co.uk/article_forf.htm An interesting article, although it doesn't mention ivy on conifers. Yes - interesting, and provides answers (presumably accurate ones) to all the questions I had (as well as the one I actually asked, which was: does mature ivy morph into parasitic growth on trees? Answer: No.). Jeff also said: Although I would never expect ivy to act like a strangler fig, I sometimes wonder if excessive coverage inhibits tree growth. ... It does. I have dealt with ivy in a very large hawthorn hedge, where it had been allowed to grow unrestricted for many, many years. Some of the ivy stems were 4 to 6 inches thick; where they had twisted round the hawthorn trunks, the trees were dying; further, the thick masses of ivy "undergrowth" in the hedge tops had caused the host wood to rot, through debris accruing year, on year, on year, getting wet, and rotting down: a hedge bottom in the hedge top, in fact. I would never eradicate ivy (you couldn't, anyway!), because of the good that it does (listed in that article); but it's an awful bully, and needs keeping strictly in check. In my humble opinion. J. We have a hedge, mainly hawthorn and field maple, in a rural setting that I have been been cutting for nearly 40 years. The hedge has been there at least twice as long as that. To begin with I left the ivy alone persuaded by the comments in gardening programmes that it is a natural resource. But then I noticed that when a plant died no replacement grew, you are supposed to be able to estimate the age of a hege by the number of species in it, right? I reckon the ivy was to blame so I started clearing it on a rolling basis, starting at both ends and working to the middle. This seems to work as I do mot have to plant new bushes where I have cleared the ivy. There is still a small section in the middle (about three yards long) where I leave more ivy. This is where the birds mostly nest and where they retreat when disturbed. So like many things it seems a compromise and there is no absolute right way to do it, just the different ways that suit you (and me) best. I found the DEFRA website helpful, for example: http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm...ws.htm#mainten ance -- Ellis Morgan |
#11
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Ivy on old trees
In article ,
Ellis Morgan wrote: http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm...ows.htm#mainte nance That looks a great reference -- thanks Ellis. J. |
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