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Should I remove this ivy from my hawthorn tree?

Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
in Problem solving
I've noticed this ivy climbing up the hawthorn tree trunks.
I think in the past it has been removed.
I was wondering should I be removing it, and how far down should I remove it?
I think it looks quite nice, but I've heard maybe ivy shouldn't be allowed to grow too much on the tree.
Thanks very much.

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Posts

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    If you like it, keep it
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    Thank you Fire, I will keep it then! I quite like how it looks.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Over time - decades - it will harm the tree.
    There's a green just outside my house with a dozen or more mature oaks.
    Over many years I have seen 2 or 3 die as the ivy has completely smothered them.
    The once glorious trees are dead and are now just a huge mass of ivy that will topple the trees in the next few years and block the road - again.
    Where I walk with my dog there are similar trees that have been smothered and fallen  due to ivy smothering the entire tree and the weight of the ivy eventually brings them down.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Very beneficial for wildlife.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • Balgay.HillBalgay.Hill Posts: 1,089
    If it was mine, i would let it grow, but remove the longer stems when they are getting near the tree canopy.
    Sunny Dundee
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Balgay.Hill said:
    If it was mine, i would let it grow, but remove the longer stems when they are getting near the tree canopy.
    I would do the same. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    It does look pretty. I think I would leave it for now, but be ready to remove ivy stems when they start to get thick and woody, at which stage they don't look so nice, and get heavy. Mature ivy is great for wildlife, but not so good for a relatively small garden tree.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Pink678Pink678 Posts: 498
    Thank you all! I will happily leave it for now then, but I will do as you suggest, and remove the ivy at the higher level as it grows more by cutting it and leaving the lower level.
    But then if it gets too mature - thick and woody - remove those stems completely.
    There are muntjac deer that wander around at night which I have sometimes been lucky enough to see, I hope it might be enjoyable for them.
  • RedwingRedwing Posts: 1,511
    I have a mature stand alone hawthorn that is covered in mature festooning ivy.  It is a wonderful wildlife friendly combination.  Right now it is full of hawthorn berries and there are lots of birds in it too, especially the thrushes every day.  They will eat them all and then in the winter months of January and February the ivy berries will provide winter food for the same thrushes. At blossom times for both species they are full of pollinators. I would not think of cutting either down.  I suppose there may come a time when I have to think about management....but....in the meantime I will do nothing.
    Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    A lot depends on how exposed you are.  Ivy can add a significant amount of wind resistance to a host tree and thus make it ore liable to fall in strong winds, especially when they follow in quick succession and bring lots of rain as we have had just recently.

    Hawthorn is already a great host for biodiversity so keep an eye on weather forecasts and see how it sways in high winds.   Don't risk sacrificing it for the ivy and be aware of any damage you may incur  to your, orneighbouring properties, if the tree did fall.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
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