Miller, James H.; Manning, Steven T.; Enloe, Stephen F. 2010. A management guide for invasive plants in southern forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–131. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 120 p.
English ivy (Hedera helix L.), Atlantic Ivy or Irish ivy [H. hibernica (G. Kirchn.) Bean], and colchis or Persian ivy [H. colchica (K. Koch)] are evergreen vines that climb to 90 feet (28 m) by clinging roots to encase trees and form dense ground cover. They have thick dark green leaves that are heart shaped with three to five pointed lobes when juvenile and later become lanceolate lacking lobes. Climbing mature plants have terminal flower clusters in summer that yield dark purple berries in winter and spring. Spread by bird-dispersed seeds, and colonize by trailing and climbing vines that root at nodes. English ivy rarely produces fertile seeds along the Gulf Coast. Still widely produced, sold, and planted as ornamentals.
Management strategies
- Do not plant. Remove prior plantings, and control sprouts and seedlings. Bag and dispose of plants and fruit in a dumpster or burn.
- Treat when new plants are young to prevent seed formation.
- Pull, cut, and treat when fruit are not present (take measures to avoid rashes that can develop from skin contact).
- Repeated cutting and mowing to groundline commonly recommended for control of young infestations.
Recommended control procedures
- Thoroughly wet all leaves (until runoff) with one of the following herbicides in water with a surfactant (July to October for successive years): Garlon 3A or Garlon 4 as a 3- to 5-percent solution (12 to 20 ounces per 3-gallon mix) or a glyphosate herbicide as a 4-percent solution (1 pint per 3-gallon mix). Use a string trimmer to reduce growth layers and injure leaves for improved herbicide uptake. Cut large vines and apply these herbicides to cut surfaces.
- Or apply basal sprays of Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution in a labeled basal oil product, vegetable oil, kerosene, or diesel fuel (where permitted) (5 pints per 3-gallon mix); or apply undiluted Pathfinder II to large vines, avoiding the bark of desirable trees.
Images
 |
 |
 |
 |
Download the publication as PDF
