Hello and welcome to my newest series, all about my obsession with the Invasive Species of Georgia!
I've got no idea how long this particular obsession will last, but I figured, i might as well lean in to my hyper-focused tendencies and go all in, dragging you down this rabbit hole with me. Won't it be fun?
Today, I wanted to focus on the plant that has captured my attention in a myriad of ways:
ENGLISH IVY (Hedera Helix)
Currently, my yard is absolutely overrun with this ivy.
The ivy has taken over several trees and is slowly creeping past where I'd originally removed it
This is the area past our gate which is part of our property. I hadn't realized how much the ivy had spread recently until we went out to survey it for fallen trees.
I had managed to stop its spread from our fence to one particular tree in ur yard by pulling it a few years ago. I even had plans to continue pulling it until it was all but gone from our immediate backyard. But time slipped through my fingers (as it so often does), and suddenly, I woke up one day to discover it had begun its steady creep back through the yard.
So my goal for this year? To remove as much English Ivy (and any other noxious, invasive plants I find) from our property as I possibly can while simultaneously replacing said invasives with native plant alternatives.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Now, I love the look of ivy. I love how it can cover a brick wall and lend it that old-world, English-style charm. I mean, what is a cottage garden without a spot of English Ivy trailing among the shade, covering the bare earth and wrapping itself around a tree?
Unfortunately, for as beautiful as Common Ivy is, for us here in Georgia, it can be equally devastating to our native landscapes. it is an aggressive plant that smothers everything in its path, including native varieties of plants that many bugs, birds, and other animals have evolved to coexist with for thousands of years. It also loves to climb, climb, climb our trees, eventually covering them so heavily in their own foliage that it inhibits photosynthesis in the host tree. This eventually leads to the slow decline of said tree until its untimely death. That is, if the added weight of the English Ivy vines doesn't first topple the tree over in a mad rain storm first!
English Ivy is also a common skin irritant to both humans and animals alike (I have a friend whose dog loves to roll around in patches of Ivy every summer and then comes up to her with round, confused eyes wondering why his belly is so red and scratchy). And as damaging as it can be to trees and the native plant community, it is equally damaging to homes, eating away at the foundations and brick work. Plus (as I learned while tentatively pulling a blanket of ivy in my own yard), it's thick, mat-like blanketing of the ground is perfect for hiding rats nests. Yeah, you read that right. Did you know that rats are also considered an invasive species here in Georgia? I just learned that myself.
Is it all so bad?
As with all things in life, English Ivy cannot be viewed as entirely bad. . . or entirely good either. It just is.
For our landscape, yes, it's terrible and does a lot more harm than good. But it also provides a lot of benefits that you might not have known about.
1. Houseplant
It is a truly wonderful air purifier and can help improve respiratory health, especially for allergy and asthma sufferers. So, instead of growing it outside and letting it run wild and free, why not bring a cutting inside to help improve your indoor air quality? Especially considering homes now often have lower levels of air quality than outside.
2. All-natural Detergent
Did you know that English Ivy has a very high saponin content, which has soap-like foaming qualities. There are loads of DIY recipes online for turning all those English Ivy leaves taking over your landscape into your very own laundry detergent recipe, including this one.
3. Homemade Wreaths/ Baskets
Ivy is great in the same ways that it is terrible. The creeping varieties send out long, strong tendrils that eventually carpet the earth and blanket a tree in the blink of an eye. However, those same strands are absolutely brilliant for crafting wreath forms and weaving baskets from, exactly because they are so strong and flexible. I've already collected and organized loads of the stuff for my own, future basket making, and plan to continue collecting more! Turning invasives into something practical, beautiful, and useful? Wins all around.
4. Ash for the Garden
This isn't something unique to ivy, but if you are planning to try to eradicate any ivy spreading through your landscape, its always good to know how you might transform it from a headache into a helper. One way is by burning your ivy and utilizing the ashes in the garden instead of bagging it up and trashing it in the landfill where it will release methane (a horrible greenhouse gas) as it decomposes. Sure, you are releasing a bit of CO2 while you burn the ivy, but the ash by-product can help amend your soil over the long run. You can even throw some into your compost for added nutrients and trace minerals! Just be careful about inhaling the smoke as the same things that cause ivy to irritate the skin can just as easily irritate your lungs/ nasal pathways.
Burn, baby, burn.
Now what?
Well, that is really up for you to decide. For me, I have plans to remove as much English Ivy from our property as possible, to give the native species and trees a fighting chance. I've already managed to clear out the entire space around our poor tree that had started to crawl with ivy. I swear, once I took the ivy from its trunk, I heard an audible sigh of relief from the tree. It could finally breathe a bit easier.
Doesn't it already look happier?
Tackling that last little bit
If you are also interested in containing your own English Ivy spread, here are a few tips:
- Be sure to wear protective gear i.e. boots (in case of snakes/ rats), long sleeves, pants, and gloves (in case of skin sensitivity/ allergic reaction to ivy/ hidden poison ivy intermingling with the plant).
- The best time to remove ivy is in the winter, after a nice rain. The moist ground will make it easier to pull up in big swathes and you'll be able to see more of the plant in the winter since other species will have died back. Plus, you won't have to deal with all the mosquitoes who love nestling in the cool, moist shade of the ivy come summer time.
- When cutting it back from trees, cut any roots on the tree at your eye line and remove everything from that cut down to the ground. Be sure to remove the ivy as far from the tree as possible to prevent regrowth up the trunk. Leave the ivy above your eye line (the stuff that is likely towering overhead and tangled in the trees branches) to wither and die over several weeks/ months. It will eventually slough itself off.
- Go back through the area and pull as many roots as you can. For truly stubborn roots, you can place a small container/ plastic bag filled with either a diluted bleach solution or a vinegar solution over the exposed root for several days. This should ensure that the ivy has drunk the solution that will eventually kill its stubborn roots.
- Be sure to completely rake the ground until you see bare earth once you pull the ivy. English Ivy is very tricky and can easily re-sprout, so remove everything you can and dispose of all contaminated debris properly before #6.
- Deep mulch it and replant with native species suited for the area. The deep mulch will suppress and smother any lingering roots you may have missed while the native plants will help to fulfill whatever role the ivy had bridged prior to its removal, but with the added bonus of being more ecologically beneficial. The best best best defense against ivy regrowth is replacing it as soon as possible. Fill its niche before it can come in and take over again
- Periodically do a sweep of the area to pull any errant ivy that managed to hang on. It can sometimes take several years to get an invasive species under control, especially one as resourceful as English Ivy.
And that's my spiel on English Ivy and why I am focusing my attention on removing it. I've actually been so invested in removing invasives from my yard (I've already uncovered Japanese Honeysuckle, Monkey Grass, Chinese Privet, AND Thorny Olive, all of which need removing ASAP) that I kind of want to start an unofficial Invasive Removal Club here in Georgia. Open to anyone who is interested in helping others/ receiving the help of others in removing invasives from their own property.
My thought is that we (i.e. anyone in the Atlanta/ Athens area of Georgia) could form a community of sorts and work together on a rotational basis to help remove any invasives currently taking over our yards. Even if you aren't located in this area, you could still be a part of the club, or even gather friends in your area to create your own. I'd love to see your progress!
If you are interested in joining the club (whether in person or just online) feel free to send me a quick message at brittani@untitledthoughts.com.