[Brucester]

In Connecticut we planted Pachysandra and Periwinkle as ground cover. Pachysandra is a great place to sprinkle leaves in the fall to get rid of them. The Pachysandra grow like mad with all that good stuff in the soil. Fisherman note: worms love that environment as well. Sometimes we'd plant English ivy in solitary beds because it grows so fast. One needs to be careful because it will eventually grow beyond the bed's borders. English ivy can also wreck havoc on chimneys and force their way inside houses like at my moms house. The English ivy grew under the aluminum siding pulling it away from the house and entered the house via two metal basement windows. It also grew up the chimney. Later she had to have work done on the chimney. It is beautiful but destructive. Here in Seattle ivy grows up trees and fully engulfs them. On slopes their added weight can cause trees to lean toward the downward slope. I've read some argue that the ivy can do good but all I see is it being a bully. IMHO On the ground they cover everything like a tide that never retreats until volunteers painstakingly remove it. I like to walk amongst the trees and try to find the largest vine. I've found I am not alone. Others throughout time have also been at the aid of our friends the trees.

[Anne Elk]

To get a good look at how bad it can get with ivy, drive down the 110th St. access to Carkeek Park (off of 3rd NW). The slopes and nearly all the trees are just covered in the stuff. Recently one homeowner on a slope above that road paid to have a commercial outfit remove all the ivy, and lay down that degradable netting that preserves slope stability (I'm assuming something useful was replanted). You can't miss it on one of the first curves on the way down to the park, on the right side. There are dozens of plants (including ornamentals) that are highly invasive out of their native habitats. ("Thugs" as we gardeners call them). 10 Most invasive plants by region Ornamental invasive species And we have non other than Luther Burbank to thank for that most invasive of NW vines, the Himalayan blackberry.

[Ski]

There is a good reason why it has been declared a noxious weed in both Oregon and Washington. It should be eradicated in every case where it exists. Repeated applications of strong glyphosate solutions will eventually take it out. == Actually the only reason I logged on was because somebody told me Joe Biden signed some executive order that calls for an "inventory of old trees", but I see it apparently hasn't caught anyone's attention here yet. Should be interesting. == If it looks like English Ivy, kill it.

[Brian Curtis]

I hate English ivy with a passion. We've removed most of it from our yard along with most of the Himalayan blackberries, and a good portion of the holly. The largest diameter pieces of ivy were cut, split, and put in the firewood pile.

[Brucester]

It's a bully for sure!

[mike]

[InFlight]

[lookout bob]

There's a group in Portland that does nothing but remove ivy from Forest Park....a 4000 plus acre park in Northeast Portland. They call themselves "The NO Ivy league."

[Dick B]

We have a particularly obnoxious plant down here on the south Oregon coast called gorse. It is mainly concentrated around the town of Bandon and was introduced from Ireland by the towns founder back in the late 1800s. The plant was a major contributor to the towns burning in 1936. It is almost impossible to irradicate, and it's only positive feature is that it is in the pea family so has some nitrogen fixing capabilities.

[Brucester]

[NacMacFeegle]