Our local council has a lot of trees with ivy growing on them like this. They have been notified about it, but they do nothing.
See picture on this link on Tinypic webpage.
Only in the sense that it increases the wind loading in winter and may result in the thing being blown over in storms. A healthy tree can tolerate ivy growing on it, but the example you show is pretty extreme.
Regards, Martin Brown
I go along with what Martin says here, but only you can tell how severe it is, for example is the tree dead, or is it 'winter'?
There is a very strong case of a Health and Safety matter here for people attending graves and the possibility of the tree toppling and killing or injuring someone. With all joking apart about being killed in a graveyard, I feel that a letter to the Council, a clearly worded letter at that, pointing out that they might stand to receive a very severe claim if nothing is done about the tree, then you stand a good chance of having something done.
Don't forget, that once your letter hits the council's desk, 'something' has to be done. This depending on the council as to whether it is 3, 5 or 7 days.
And finish off the letter that you would support any claim should anything happen because warning notice has been given.
Send your letter recorded delivery :-))
Helping my daughter and son in law on having two, if possible, but certainly one tree felled which has is growing on Council public land which has grown to be a danger to their house. Rather a large claim if it falls and demolishes part of their house!!!!
Mike
According to a certified arborist, ivy wont hurt trees in Tennessee. As you can see from the picture, the ivy did not canopy over the top of the tree. It is better to keep the bark and the area surrounding the tree trunk free from plants, mulch, debris. Keeping this area clean helps discourage rodents from chewing on the bark, boring insects, etc. In some parts of the country ivy can be very aggressive. Just my opinion, a tree trunk covered with ivy is not good landscaping.
Unless you want the council to come along and fell the tree, keep this this info to yourself.
If its bothering you why not go and cut the ivy stems near the ground? Why wait for the council
I did just that last year on a couple of tree in council owned land next to my garden. I was fed up with the ivy overshadowing and spilling over into my garden.
Mike
How would you like someone slinking onto your property hacking down your plants? It would behoove to get permission from the property owner, in writing... nowadays with cameras everywhere one could find themselves entangled in a lawsuit for trespass and property damage.
Windage is a possible problem but assuming the tree is healthy, probably not a huge danger. I wouldn't encourage those who will seek any excuse to get rid of a tree - with or without ivy. Trees like that are also a valuable resource for wildlife in terms of food and shelter - do we really want to tidy all wildlife out of our lives? I certainly don't. In any case we should be expected to look out for ourselves to a certain extent and who's going to be standing downwind of that tree in the graveyard during a heavy blow in the unlikely event that it did fall without warnig.
Rod
I am inclined to think looking at the amount of ivy on that particular tree that it is *not* in the best of health. A decent tree canopy in midsummer will prevent the ivy getting quite that far up. So if there are partially rotten or dead branches I'd say all bets were off.
Horse chestnuts along the roads in Belgium have succumbed to the nasty fungal disease and brittle limbs would drop onto passing motorists from time to time when it was windy. There were some fatalities.
A chunk of tree is more likely to fall, but do not underestimate how much damage a 4" diameter bough falling 30' can do.
Regards, Martin Brown
There are two issues with ivy growing on trees.
Sometimes, the ivy can become heavy enough to cause limbs to break or even the whole tree to topple. If the tree variety tends to have deep roots and if this particular tree is otherwise healthy, then this is not a problem. However, if the tree variety tends to have shallow roots or if this particular tree is diseased, the load of ivy shown in the photo is a major problem.
The other issue involves whether the variety of the tree thrives best with the bark exposed to the sun or with the bark shaded. For the former, the ivy must definitely be removed. For the latter, the ivy should merely be thinned.
In any case, if the tree is otherwise still healthy, just cut the ivy near the ground. Remove about a one-foot length of ivy all the way around the tree. Above the cut, the ivy will die and eventually fall away from the tree. Depending on the two issues discussed above, either allow new ivy shoots to climb the tree or else keep cutting until the ivy completely dies.
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