Creeper on walnut tree

terencec · October 2016

Hi

I've recently bought a house with a walnut tree in the front garden and it has quite a dense creeper covering the trunk. From distant memory of school biology lessons, I seem to remember that creepers are bad for trees. Should I remove it or leave it alone?

Any help, much appreciated.

Last edited: 20 October 2016 09:36:39

Dovefromabove · October 2016

Don't believe everything you learnt in school biology

As with most things, it depends on context - we need to know more - what sort of creeper, what sort of soil, where are the creeper roots (how close) and what do you want from the walnut tree.

Can you post some photos please, showing the tree and some close ups of the creeper etc.

Dovefromabove · October 2016

Ah, the picture just appeared

It's ivy. Brilliant for wildlife. Unless you want the walnut to be very productive, I'd be tempted to leave the ivy there - just control it to keep it from taking over the tree canopy.

Ladybird4 · October 2016

Those little creamy knobbly bits are the ivy's flowers and are a great source of nectar for night flying moths as well as the daytime fliers.

Dovefromabove · October 2016

And they will be followed by black berries for the blackbirds and thrushes to feed on throughout the winter

And of course, ivy covered tree trunks are favourite places for robins and wrens to nest

Last edited: 20 October 2016 10:04:59

terencec · October 2016

Awesome. Thanks for the great responses. I was hoping not to have to remove it and judging by the amount of walnuts on the ground at the moment, it's certainly still productive enough.

Dovefromabove · October 2016

As I said, just keep an eye on it at the top - maybe get some longhandled loppers to stop it taking over the canopy and it'll be fine.

I used to have big trees and ivy when I lived in the countryside. Deeply envious here

Creeper on walnut tree

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