In article , Paul
England writes
Does anyone know if mature ivy develop aerial roots when attached to trees ?
My farm labourer neighbour, had to pull down a 50 yr old, ivy strangled oak.
He said it wasn't worth severing the base of mature ivy, for the above
reason.
What does the team think ?

Regards ... Paul


Been quite a hefty and interesting thread on uk.rec.gardening on this
very subject.

What was the verdict urglers?

x posted to uk.rec.gardening for response.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one
pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside,
thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!

Mike wrote:
In article ,
Paul England writes
Does anyone know if mature ivy develop aerial roots when attached
to trees ? My farm labourer neighbour, had to pull down a 50 yr
old, ivy strangled oak. He said it wasn't worth severing the base
of mature ivy, for the above reason.
What does the team think ?

Regards ... Paul


Been quite a hefty and interesting thread on uk.rec.gardening on
this very subject.

What was the verdict urglers?

x posted to uk.rec.gardening for response.


Cue to restart the thread!
IMHO ivy severed at the base will not continue to grow. But a mass of
dead ivy on a tree, will increase windage and the risk of the tree
falling is increased.

--
ned

ned wrote:

Mike wrote:
In article ,
Paul England writes
Does anyone know if mature ivy develop aerial roots when attached
to trees ? My farm labourer neighbour, had to pull down a 50 yr
old, ivy strangled oak. He said it wasn't worth severing the base
of mature ivy, for the above reason.
What does the team think ?

Regards ... Paul


Been quite a hefty and interesting thread on uk.rec.gardening on
this very subject.

What was the verdict urglers?

x posted to uk.rec.gardening for response.


Cue to restart the thread!
IMHO ivy severed at the base will not continue to grow. But a mass of
dead ivy on a tree, will increase windage and the risk of the tree
falling is increased.

--
ned

IMHO (based on things I have read, and some personal experience), just
severing the base of the ivy will be the end of it.
Sure, it has developed aerial roots, but they are just attaching it to
the tree. Ivy won't survive as an epiphyte.
There has been some discussion about ivy surviving on old stone walls,
even with the base severed. But that's another matter entirely. Then
the ivy has found soil and sustenance within the old wall - not so on
trees.
A mass of dead ivy on the tree may be unsightly for some time. But the
windage, and so the risk of the tree falling, will be less than at
the time the ivy was alive. Anyhow, within one or two years the dead
leaves will be gone, and with it the increased (already existing)
windage.

Roger.

--
Walk tall, walk straight, and look the world right into the eye.

You're welcome to visit my gardening page:
http://users.pandora.be/roger.van.loon/gardenp.htm

"Roger Van Loon" wrote in message
...
There has been some discussion about ivy surviving on old stone walls,
even with the base severed. But that's another matter entirely. Then
the ivy has found soil and sustenance within the old wall - not so on
trees.

Won't you get a build up of decomposing leaves held at the bases of the
branches? Even more so if the ivy is creating lots of pockets where debris
can collect. if part of the tree itself is rotten as well I don't see why
this couldn't provide enough sustainance for the ivy to survive.

Martin

Haven't followed the urg thread but have followed postings here...

Yes, Ivy does develop aerial roots - those are the short sticky-out coarsely
hairy bits on the climbing stems - but they don't take sustenance directly
from the supporting tree. If the Ivy comes across a pocket of soil in the
course of its climbing, for instance in a fork or poll, the roots will
develop and take advantage of it. I doubt very much whether this would ever
be enough to support a large crown of ivy once the land roots had gone.

It can cause local bark damage - tree surgeons seem to disagree about how
serious this is - but I don't know of any evidence it poisons its support.
As others have said, the main threat is the weight causing overthrow in
windy conditions.

Ivy of course has a lot of wildlife value of its own but it can be a threat
to other things, such as rare corticolous lichens.

BTW forms of Ivy prevalent along SW and W coasts, known as 'Atlantic Ivy' or
ssp. hibernica, are mostly not much cop at climbing trees.


"Mike" wrote in message
...
In article , Paul
England writes
Does anyone know if mature ivy develop aerial roots when attached to
trees ?
My farm labourer neighbour, had to pull down a 50 yr old, ivy strangled
oak.
He said it wasn't worth severing the base of mature ivy, for the above
reason.
What does the team think ?

Regards ... Paul


Been quite a hefty and interesting thread on uk.rec.gardening on this
very subject.

What was the verdict urglers?

x posted to uk.rec.gardening for response.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely
in one
pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside,
thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!

Ivy goes through two stages in its life. It starts off in its juvenile state
as a climber with adventitious roots. It doesn't take nutrients from trees or
poison trees in any way, or do anything of that nature. Later, it enters a
mature state where it grows without adventitious roots, and bears flowers and
fruit.

Though Ivy doesn't suck the goodness out of other plants, or strangle, poison,
or in any other way actively seek to kill other plants, it does form a huge
mass of leaves that block out the sun. It competes so effectively with other
plants and grows so rapidly that many trees die from the competition.

Cutting the stems of Ivy plants where they grow up the trunk of a tree will in
most cases kill the Ivy above the point where the cut is made, but bear in moid
that unless the roots are removed, the Ivy may come back with a vengeance in a
very short space of time.

I hope this is helpful and might clear a few things up for people. All the
best for now.

Dave.

"ned" wrote in message
...
Mike wrote:
In article ,
Paul England writes
Does anyone know if mature ivy develop aerial roots when attached
to trees ? My farm labourer neighbour, had to pull down a 50 yr
old, ivy strangled oak. He said it wasn't worth severing the base
of mature ivy, for the above reason.
What does the team think ?

Regards ... Paul


Been quite a hefty and interesting thread on uk.rec.gardening on
this very subject.

What was the verdict urglers?

x posted to uk.rec.gardening for response.


Cue to restart the thread!
IMHO ivy severed at the base will not continue to grow. But a mass of
dead ivy on a tree, will increase windage and the risk of the tree
falling is increased.

Nowhere near as much windage as a live ivy, and the dead ivy will fall out
of the tree.

I've just been killing an ivy in just this manner and the tree is much
better.

Alan
--
Reply to alan(at)windsor-berks(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk

"Martin Sykes" wrote in message
...
"Roger Van Loon" wrote in message
...
There has been some discussion about ivy surviving on old stone walls,
even with the base severed. But that's another matter entirely. Then
the ivy has found soil and sustenance within the old wall - not so on
trees.

Won't you get a build up of decomposing leaves held at the bases of the
branches? Even more so if the ivy is creating lots of pockets where debris
can collect. if part of the tree itself is rotten as well I don't see why
this couldn't provide enough sustainance for the ivy to survive.

You will have severed the roots so the ivy will die, ivy does not get
sustenance
from aerial roots, thiose roots are there just to help the ivy hold on, they
have
no other purpose.

Alan
--
Reply to alan(at)windsor-berks(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...

You will have severed the roots so the ivy will die, ivy does not get
sustenance
from aerial roots, thiose roots are there just to help the ivy hold on,
they
have
no other purpose.

But you can *very easily* take cuttings from ivy by cutting off a piece and
weighing it down on the soil. Will it not produce proper roots just as
easily in the tree if there is enough soil and moisture - effectively
air-layering. I'd expect this would happen as soon as the conditions were
right so it may have rooted before you cut it. It's not taking anything from
the tree directly, just using the rotting debris getting trapped up there.

I've never seen ivy do this but when I was younger and regularly up trees I
remember seeing all sorts of plants germinate in the pocket formed where the
main trunk splits and several inches of moist, well rotted leaves
accumulate.

Martin.