ivy on Sycamore

I have a gorgeous 15m tall Common Sycamore tree. Ivy has been growing up the wall and on to the tree for years. I personally hate ivy but my DH thinks it looks lovely and hides the wall.It has come to my attention that a neighbour had a tree investigation survey (?) done because they are wanting to build 2 more houses in their garden and my sycamore is against the boundry way.

Anyway i got a copy of the details of my tree, and the preliminary recommendation is that the tree is in good condition, but that 'the owners should remove the ivy so that a more precise examination of the tree can be carried out. The basal area should also be cleared of all herbage to determine the condition of the base of the trunk.'

Its going to be a huge job to remove the ivy, It only effects the truck and crown - none of the branches. I like to think there is hundreds of insects and bugs in there- hence the area around the base of the tree has been left undisturbed (albeit untidy). Is it really necessary to remove the Ivy? Or can I leave it?

Many thanks
Tracy

 

Hi Tracy, Personally I prefer the ivy to the sycamore as it is a fantastic plant for all kinds of wildlife, but I suppose the sycamore will do as a host.
It would be a shame to have to remove the ivy, and as you say it will be a huge, and probably dangerous, job trying to cut it out of the canopy. I would make absolutely certain of your rights about this before agreeing to anything.

good luck

 

Have you been served with anything official?

Other than that ring your mortgage company, they will have a legal department, it might be free.

 

Well, the good news is that they won't be building next to our wall as they have a Root protection zone for my tree

I'm glad to hear that the Ivy is not a 'blight' as I've been lead to believe. All of the neighbours have been on at me to cut it down saying that it would strangle and kill the tree.I like the natural look, so I really don't want to disturb anything nesting in there.

Thanks for the reassurance, seeing as DH loves the Ivy too i think I'll leave it alone

 

No, nothing yet. I got a letter in the post to say that our neighbours had put in a planning application for 3 houses, so I went to see the plans this morning. We are separared by a very old wall (9ft or so) and the tree is against the wall. Initially i was worried that they would try to get me to cut it back because it over hangs their garden. Whilst I'm not totally against them knocking their home and building three new houses :( I would rather look over my tree and not their houses.

Anyway while checking out which of their trees they will be cutting down (some are very old and protected) I realised they were writing about my tree. I thought they would try to use the fact that it has ivy covering it against me (ie that it was dangerous) and try to get me to cut it (the whole tree) down so that they could build closer to the boundary.

I thought that as a last resort I would try to get a preservation order on it. However looking at the plans they are not building within the Root protection zone, so they can't touch my tree

 

Ivy won't strangle a heathy tree!.... all it does is use the tree as a climbing frame!

It is great for all sorts of wildlife: nesting birds, the flowers are a great source of nectar late in the year, the berries are good for the birds, they provide food for the caterpillars of the Holly blue butterfly, and all sorts of stuff finds shelter in the winter..... it's a veritable nature reserve!

 

So, wouldn`t you have a right to complain about their plans? This ivy thing sounds like a pre-emptive strike of some kind.

TPOs are a double edged sword, it protects a tree but it also stops you from doing work on it without council permission and if your neighbour is difficult you`d better believe he`d snitch.

I`m glad you like ivy, we should all stick together. It is beautiful-and another boon is that money spiders cast off from it-and they just love munching on aphids-better at it than ladybirds apparently.

 

Take the ivy off, it makes any future tree work difficult and adds weight also as the arb consultant said it makes assessments harder.

ill keep quiet as to my thoughts on sycamore trees though!!!

 

Having had my fill of cleaning up Sycamore leaves, I say. Get rid of the tree but keep the Ivy.:gnthb::lollol::lollol:

 

Hi Tracy,

Many people like ivy for the important micro-habitat that it provides and/or for the aesthetics. However, there are a few major bad points that ivy on trees has, which have come to the attention of the arb consultant that your neighbour had. For instance; ivy that covers the trunk and scaffold limbs of the tree hides any structural defects such as splits, cankers, decay, fungi etc. It's not easy to spot these things until either the ivy is removed or a branch falls off. Secondly, ivy cannot strangle a tree - it's physically impossible. What it does, however, is to block light to leaves and new buds, so reducing the tree's ability to carry out photosynthesis. On top of that ivy also absorbs water and nutrients from the ground that would otherwise be used by the tree.

Personally I hate ivy on trees for all the above reasons and that I think it looks ugly. Not only that but it makes climbing and working in the tree so much more difficult!

 

Given the choice of having a lovely wildlife filled ivy climbing up my trees....... or a arborist..........guess what I'd go for?:thumb:

 

Kind of depends on the arborist I reckon.

 

:lollol::lollol::lollol:
Not a great ivy lover
I love the autumn colour of the sycamore though, but the leaves are a pain in the a$$ (or so wifey says )
I have yet to see a tree covered in ivy that wasn't on its last legs ....... SO ... although the so called 'experts' claim that ivy does a tree no harm, I am inclined to support Treesurfer on his reasons for its assistance towards the death of the host

 

Blimey what a range of opinions Keep the Ivy & lose the sycamore, Keep the sycamore lose the ivy Or lose both the sycamore and the Ivy! LOL!

Just to explain the situation of the sycamore. Its against the wall next to the carpark/garages and driveway. So most of the leaves fall on to driveway so its easy to clear up. The sap falling on to our cars is not so easy to clean unfortunately. We live on a new estate where trees, flowers, plants are scarce. Everyone else chooses low maintaince lawns or worse -gravel gardens. My tree is one of only 3 fully grown specimens in the whole area. There are perhaps another 20 trees of not more than 4 metres in height. Consequently we don't get much in the way of birds coming around here, and the ones that do visit love the sycamore. Thats why, as much as the tree is messy, I put up with it.

Perhaps the solution would be to thin the Ivy. On second thoughts, I'll try to tack a photo of the 'old fella'.

 

" ill keep quiet as to my thoughts on sycamore trees though!!!"

I share them Pro! Sycamore is a weed in my book ... But as TP says it would be a pity to lose an established tree in an area where there aren't many. If money were no object (Ha!Ha!) it could be replaced with a mature tree, or even a semi-mature tree, and then the choice would be wide open of course.

I'll get my hat and coat then ...