30+ years established ivy killing trees

Discussion in 'Pests, Diseases and Cures' started by Dave Brocklebank, Sep 25, 2020.

  1. Dave Brocklebank

    Dave Brocklebank Apprentice Gardener

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    Hi,

    I am look for some advice about a couple of trees that appear to be dying on our land. We have only noticed this recently as the trees are in an inaccessible corner of the land.

    The trees have almost no leaves now in August, so I guessing that the trees have been suffocated by the ivy which has been growing on it for over 30 years… possibly much longer.

    [​IMG]


    Those thick creepers coming up the trunk are ivy.

    [​IMG]

    A few months ago we cut the ivy growing up the tree. Some of the ivy creepers were between 2 and 3 inches in diameter. We cut off a section of approx. 2 feet of ivy from all the ivy creepers.

    Does this tree look like it is beyond saving, or could it recover and grow leaves again?

    Is there anything else we can do to help this tree to recover?

    The ground is limestone… so possibly does not have a lot of soil around the roots. But the tree must be quite old and must have been well established before it became suffocated.

    Any advice appreciated.


    Thanks in advance,
    Dave
     
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    • weedaway

      weedaway Gardener

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      Hi Dave

      No pictures !
       
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      • Dave Brocklebank

        Dave Brocklebank Apprentice Gardener

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        Hi 'weedaway'
        added the photos in my post. I don't know why they were removed.

        Maybe there is some special way to add photos?

        I tried to include URLs to the photos but receive this error message

        "Sorry, you were not able to save since the content contained a link

        For this Forum, before you can create content with links, you must first meet the minimum requirements

        Minimum Requirements
        The number of posts you have created must exceed: 2 (Yours: 1)
        The number of Likes you've received must exceed: 1 (Yours: 0)
        The Like:Post Ratio must exceed: 0% (Yours: 0%)
        The number of days you have been registered must exceed: 1 (Yours: 0) "


        Maybe someone could 'like' my profile so I can do this?

        Can someone advise how I can post a photo?

        Best Wishes,
        Dave
         
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        • Dave Brocklebank

          Dave Brocklebank Apprentice Gardener

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          Maybe this will work with the photos?
           

          Attached Files:

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          • weedaway

            weedaway Gardener

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            There you are Dave, 2 likes from me, I'm sure there will be more. :smile:

            We can see the pictures now. :blue thumb:

            Pictures can be loaded up by clicking onto 'Upload a File', the next blue button from the 'Post Reply' button.

            It gets easer as you go along, from my experience this is one of the best and easiest forums to navigate I have ever posted on.

            Trish
             
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            • Dave Brocklebank

              Dave Brocklebank Apprentice Gardener

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              Thanks a lot Trish! Great you can see the photos now and thanks for the 'likes'.

              I am hoping that one of the readers will be able to offer advice on how to save this tree ;-)

              Best Wishes,
              Dave
               
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              • Victoria

                Victoria Lover of Exotic Flora

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                Hi Dave and welcome to the forum.

                I know Ivy strangles and can kill trees as do many climbers ... here it is Morning Glory! :whistle: I would think you need to eradicate the Ivy entirely. I would also pollard the tree to see if anything is alive in there. However, I am no expert on this and someone will come along to advise you.
                 
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                • NigelJ

                  NigelJ Total Gardener

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                  @Dave Brocklebank What type of tree are they?
                  I think with trees that sort of size that may come down and cause damage I would get professional advice from a tree surgeon.
                   
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                  • pete

                    pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                    I'm just wondering if the trees are shutting down for autumn.
                    Not sure where you are but up till now its been a dry, and at times, hot summer, some trees around here are not looking great and are losing leaves early.

                    Were they growing well back in june?
                     
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                    • JR

                      JR Chilled Gardener

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                      I agree with that... This forum is great to navigate.
                      Plus there's good knowledge on here.. I learn a lot from others questions and the replies.
                      As Pete says the trees will be hard to judge until the spring.
                      If they do produce buds then like Victoria says I'd get all that ivy off.
                      A tree surgeon would be good but they don't come cheap.
                       
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                        Last edited: Sep 25, 2020
                      • ARMANDII

                        ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                        One way is to cut the Ivy at the base, (I've seen a Cottage Gable end wall that was completely covered in Ivy treated successfully this way) and the bare cuts on the stems leading to the roots coated with Brushwood Killer gel. The Ivy above the cut takes a while to show signs of dying but can't survive without the root base. The root base just needs two or three Brushwood Killer to make sure the Ivy base is killed off.
                         
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                        • weedaway

                          weedaway Gardener

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                          You might try some strong professional Glyphosate weed killer, I put some of this on my ivy and its all gone, so has everything else I put it on.
                           
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