Email Archives
Subject: RE: BCA Environment Committee: Invasive Vines On Trees
Date Sent: March 5, 2013
I am forwarding the letter below from our Bannockburn Citizens Asssocation (BCA) Environment Committe concerning vines on some neighborhood trees. Best wishes,
Ted Garrett
BCA President
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Dear Neighbor,
The BCA Environment Committee wants to help save mature trees in our neighborhood. Trees not only are an important part of our environment but they contribute to the dollar value of our property and the entire neighborhood. Unfortunately, many of our trees are threatened by invasive vines that will eventually destroy them we have determined that approximately 1 in 3 properties in the BCA community have trees with English Ivy growing on them.
Most people do not realize it but common English Ivy is one such invasive vine. English Ivy grows up the tree trunk preventing light from reaching branches and eventually kills the tree. Additionally it overloads the tree so it is much more prone to falling down in a storm or during the winter. If every homeowner were to remove the invasive vines growing on the trees in his/her lot, it would be a big contribution to the community at large. We have sent you this letter in the hope that you will inspect your property to see if you have English Ivy on your trees, and if you do, to try to remove them.
The easiest way to control English Ivy is to simply cut all climbing stems as low to the ground as possible with a saw or some type of garden shears. It is then a good idea to make an additional cut several feet higher and remove the isolated cut segments either by pulling it off by hand or, if necessary, by wedging it off the bark with a screwdriver or other implement. Learn the description of this and other ways to remove English Ivy.
Before beginning, make sure there is no Poison Ivy mixed in with the English Ivy. Although Poison Ivy is easily identified by its cluster of 3 notched leaves and its hairy attachment of the vine to the tree bark, to be on the safe side, it is a good idea to go to Google Images and put in Poison Ivy. If Poison Ivy is present, then you might want to consider using chemical means to remove English Ivy as described in the above website.
Should you have any questions about this, or are concerned about a different type of vine please contact me by email at sethrgoldstein@verizon.net. I have been volunteering for years removing invasive species from public lands and can share my experience.
If your neighbor has Ivy, please show them this letter they may not have received this since we do not have everyones email address. Also ask them to register on the BCA website so that they will receive future communications.
Thanks for your attention.
Seth Goldstein
Chairman, BCA Environment Committee.