What to climb with my ivy on trees??

Good morning fellow gardeners

I have a few trees in my garden which have ivy growing up them. Can I grow a flower up the trees with the ivy? Which flowers does anyone recommend? Do i need to trellis or will the flowers use the ivy to creep up the trees?

 

Sorry I can't answer your question about which flowers may go with the ivy but I am intrigued by the photo you have uploaded. I see the ivy on the tree trunk but is the plant above it with the white pom poms also ivy? I was literally about to ask what this plant is growing all over a shed? Is it ivy? Yes there is a shed under there! Hope I haven't hi-jacked your question x Couldn't believe that it was the same plant I was trying to just identify.

 

This is a somewhat sensitive matter. Firstly. To most gardeners and nature lovers, all plants are beautiful. YES. Ivies are attractive and there are several varieties.

May I please try and explain myself. As a horticulturist, the Ivies give great pleasure and delight. They provide so much decorativeness and are great at clambouring over unsightly things in the garden.

To walk in a woodland and see a mighty tree, draped in Ivy. Wow, that looks good. Perhaps now is a good moment to say. Not every picture tells a story.

Please may I approach this from two angles. One that I have just mentioned. Secondly and IMO most important, from my standpoint as a plant pathologist.
Most gardeners have gained some degree of understanding the basics of tree/plant development. The action of the suns rays etc and the process of photosynthesis etc, how this process activate within the plants cellular structure to produce vital sugars et for the benefit of growing etc etc.

So please join me in the garden. So here we are. Now this tree, for the purpose of this outing.Could be of any species. Now perhaps being a devotee of Ivy, I decide to plant, OK the common Ivy close to the tree. The tree is growing well, good foliage, miniscule damage by pests etc. So now. Ivy. Yes dear old Ivy has found a table to get her legs under.. Now Ivy is a very robust and. Talk about a lass with amb So she races awayition. Ye Gods. Once set in place, she will stop at nothing. So she races away, and soon covers her host. Often actually providing a super structure. This is an added asset, because whilth Ivy has bee climbing away. She has als been preventing natural elements from being absorbed by the tree. Need I say more.?

 

@mogcat22
Is there a shed under the Ivy? I'd check.
Yes it is Ivy with the white flowers, later followed by black berries followed by lots of little ivy plants all over the place.
The white flowers, coming late in the season are an important source of nectar for late flying pollinators. There is a bee, Ivy Bee, that was only recorded in 2001 that relies on Ivy flowers.
Ivy is a climber until it reaches good sunny conditions when it starts to behave more like a typical shrub, producing flowers and branching out rather than climbing.

 

Thanks NigelJ - I think not much of the shed remains! Nice to know what it is and that it's helpful to pollinators. Yes this ivy has a thick canopy of branches over the shed roof and I think birds nest in there too. I had no idea ivy could evolve into something so substantial.

 

For myself, I'm with Mike on ivy. Great in the wild, but it's a real problem in gardens.

For starters, as Mike says, it does harm the tree. Not massively and not immediately, but it's not good. Foresters routinely cut ivy trunks to keep trees healthy.

And for another thing it damages structures. If it climbs your house wall, you can expect damage to your brickwork within a few years. I can already see it's got up your fences, so it's going to break those down.

Basically, I'd be chopping it down and pulling it up, the same as I do for stray brambles, nettles, thistles, and anything else like that. For me it's just not a garden plant.

 

We've got a big clump of ivy in a dull corner of the garden where it clambers up an old washing line.
I've considered taking it out a few times, and replacing it with something more interesting like a viburnum or an escallonia.
Thing is though, the birds love it.
It harbours a lot of insect life and gives good food and cover for our birds.
But i must admit it's a total NO for anywhere near the house as it can really damage masonary.
I'd also be a bit concerned with it taking over a tree as it's sure to overwhelm it in time.

 

Mature Ivy is probably the single best action for wildlife in the garden (after a pond)- birds nest in it, bees and butterflies go mad when it flowers, and all kinds of creepycrawlies love it. This summer we have even started to see bats, I'm not sure if they might be roosting in the thicket or just visiting, but they are a welcome addition into such an urban area.

Regarding the companion climber, Lonicera Henryi enjoys similar conditions, is evergreen and flowers nicely. An old fashioned climbing or rambling Rose might be worth a try. No guarantee but if the spot is ok it might look wonderful.

The tree itself may not have extremely long life expectancy but as long as it is safe it's ok I think.

 

Thanks for the climber idea.. Something for me to think about