English ivy is seen in many parts of Greater Victoria. They are usually covering the ground or climbing up trees. Introduced in the 1900s, they were brought for their aesthetics and beauty. It was a taste of the old country, that is Britain, for many people. This was before the widespread education of ecology and our impacts on the local environments. As a result, their prevalence went mostly unchecked.
English Ivy has very distinct waxy looking dark green leaves. They are mostly seen covering the ground completely, crowding out all other plants. They are very hard plants that can spread via seeds transported by animals ingesting their fruits, or by a single cutting of their vines.
The plants are detrimental to local ecology by crowding out all ground cover nearby. They take all the sunlight from any competing plants on the ground starving them out. These plants are also seen climbing trees, at which point their behavior changes somewhat. They start to grow into the bark these tendrils that harden into a woody like material, becoming very difficult to remove. As they climb up the trees, they slowly strange and starve out the tree's own limbs and leaves. Eventually the tree is overtaken and dies due to lack of sunlight as well as the extra weight it has to carry.
To tackle such a plant on your property, a landscaping company is invaluable. All ground cover must be carefully removed so that no cuttings are left over. This is because as mentioned above, a single cutting can take root and start the spread all over again. The ground cover is generally vast but is easy to remove. The vines creep without really digging into the soil and due to its tensile strength, one can generally just pull a vine and the entire branch will follow. This can be done by hand, with a rake, or with an excavator.
For the vines that have made it up a tree, the best way is to sever their ground connection. By doing this the vines are no longer able to move nutrients and water up the vine system and anything above the ground will starve to death and dry out. This is the most efficient and effective way of dealing with the climbers.
Complications can arise when there is a lack of cooperation with the neighbours. It is extremely common to see these plants spread across multiple yards and cross property lines. If all of the vines are not removed, then they will spread vigorously and quickly in no time at all. Thus cooperation between neighbours is very much preferred in their removal.
For those who are thinking of planting these, hopefully this article will convince some of you to think twice. They are indeed classified by the Province as an invasive species and efforts have been made to remove them at local parks by volunteers. If you have decided to tackle on removing these yourself, be sure to dispose of them properly to avoid transplanting them elsewhere.