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History and
Description
English Ivy is native to Europe, western Asia, and
northern Africa.
It was first brought to America as an ornamental plant
around 1723. The English ivy is an evergreen climbing vine that attaches itself
to trees and other structures. The leaves of the ivy are dark green and waxy.
Uses
The English ivy is used as an ornamental plant for
landscapes. It can provide low maintenance evergreen groundcover.
Reproduction
The fruit of the ivy matures in spring. It is black
with a few hard seeds inside. The seeds are mostly dispersed by birds. Stems
making contact with the soil can also result in a new plant. In
addition, the English Ivy can reproduce by cuttings.
Ecological
Threat
English ivy
infests woodlands, forest edges, fields, hedgerows, coastal areas, salt marsh
edges, and other upland areas, especially where some soil moisture is present.
It is toxic, causing vomiting, diarrhea, nervous conditions and dermatitis. The
fruits of English ivy are toxic to many native songbirds that are attracted to
the black berries in spring when many native fruit sources are limited.
English ivy is an aggressive invader that
threatens all vegetation levels. It grows along the
ground as well as into the forest canopy. The dense growth and abundant leaves form a thick canopy just above
the ground. They prevent sunlight from reaching other plants.
Vines
climb up tree trunks spread out and prevent
most of the sunlight from reaching the leaves of the host tree. The host tree
loses its vigor within a few years. It is shortly followed by death a few years later.
The added weight of vines makes infested trees susceptible to blow-over during
storms.
English ivy also serves as a reservoir for a plant pathogen that is harmful to native trees such as elms,
oaks, and maples. Once established at a site, English ivy can be expected to
move rapidly,
either by vegetative means or by seed.
Control
Vines growing as groundcover can be pulled up by hand, with
some difficulty, and left on-site or bagged and disposed of as trash. Vines
climbing up into the tree canopy are more difficult to manage. First, vines
should be cut at a comfortable height to kill upper portions and relieve the
tree canopy. The vines on the tree trunks need to be pried or snapped to remove
them. Vines can also be cut using a saw. Rooted
portions of vines will remain alive and should be pulled, repeatedly cut, or
treated with herbicide. Cutting may encourage additional growth, so regular
maintenance is
required to continue long term control.
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