Katie Says: Give your yard a spring cleaning!

This past weekend, I watched many of my neighbors taking advantage of the beautiful weather. Children rode bikes, the smell of barbecue grills was in the air and my next door neighbor spent the morning preparing his garden for planting by pulling out remnants of last year’s flowers and unsightly weeds. Many of us tend to our gardens in this way, yet leave one of the biggest threats to our yard untouched: English ivy.

English ivy is considered an exotic invasive plant. Plants like these are not from Pennsylvania and have a negative impact on native plant and/or animal species. In English ivy’s case, it was brought to the United States from its native Europe, western Asia and northern Africa because it was considered an attractive ornamental plant. However, as English ivy climbs a tree or other plant, it covers the tree’s leaves and prevents it from obtaining the sunlight that it needs for photosynthesis. As a result, any branches covered in ivy eventually die and in the case of smaller trees or shrubs, the entire plant may die. When I removed ivy from the hedges in my yard this fall, I was amazed to find large sections of the hedge had completely rotted beneath its ivy blanket. English ivy also serves as a reservoir for Bacterial Leaf Scorch, a plant disease that is harmful to elms, oaks, maples and other native plants.

What can you do if you want to reclaim your yard from English ivy? To remove ivy from trees, cut the vines near the ground and again at shoulder height. Eventually the vines growing up the tree will die. The base of the vines will continue to re-sprout, so be sure to either pull up the remainder of the vine or keep it trimmed back. If the ivy in your yard has only just begun to spread, try using a deep layer of mulch. This will cover the ivy’s leaves and kill it in the same way it kills other plants! For other ways to control ivy in your yard, visit the Plant Conservation Alliance’s website. Good luck in your battle against the evil English ivy! Your yard will thank you by springing back to life!

Have a question or a story of your own to share? Email me at kfisk[at symbol]briarbush.org!