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Ivy (Hedera species)

SWCD Branded Separator

Species include:

  • English Ivy (Hedera helix) also called common ivy
  • Irish Ivy (Hedera hibernica) also called Atlantic ivy

Ivy is a plant that many people seem to love. But it’s really a plant that people should think twice about planting. It is grown as an ornamental groundcover. But its ability to escape home gardens and overtake habitats makes it a problem in parks, natural areas, and forests. English and Irish ivy are described together and controlled in the same manner. 

For a more detailed description, download the Ivy Best Management Practices factsheet.

Description:

Life Cycle:Perennial (life cycle lasts more than one year)
Early Detection and Rapid Response species:No
Height:This climbing vine can reach the canopy of mature trees, nearly 100 feet (30 meters) in the air.
Leaf Description:The leaves come in two forms: juvenile and mature. Both leaves are evergreen, leathery and alternate along the vines.

Juvenile leaves are lobed while mature leaves are larger and pointed with no lobes.
Fruit & Flower Description:When light and nutrients allow, small, greenish white flowers form.

It produces purple-black berries mature in the spring.
Bloom Time:Fall

How it spreads:

  • Creeping stems crawl across the ground and roots cling to walls and trees.
  • Birds feed on its berries and disperse seeds to new locations.
  • Stem and root fragments readily regrow.

Habitat:

  • It prefers moist soils in areas with summer shade and winter sunlight.
  • It grows in a variety of landscapes including riparian areasRiparian Areas Areas of land that occur along the edges of rivers, streams, lakes, and other bodies of water., forests, and urban areas.

Impact:

  • It quickly outcompetes native plants for light, nutrients, soil, and space creating “ivy deserts.”
  • Its shallow roots increase the chance of erosion.
  • Trees covered in ivy are at risk of being toppled, due to the immense weight of the vines.
  • Consuming large amounts of leaves and fruits can be mildly toxic to people, pets, horses, and cattle.

What you can do about it:

  • Manual: Manual treatment is labor intensive, but if done correctly, can prove effective and fulfilling.
  • Plants are easier to pull out of the ground when the soil is damp from rain. In Washington County, fall through spring is a great time to remove it.
  • To control ground ivy, pull vines from one end and begin rolling it into a ball. Make sure to place the vines onto a tarp to dry out completely and prevent re-rooting. Vines will not be able to re-establish once they are dry.
  • In the case of climbing ivy, cut its stems at chest height down to the base of the tree, creating a gap on the tree trunk. It will take some time, but the remaining stems will slowly die and fall off. Do not pull the remaining vines from the tree as this can dislodge branches and damage bark.

Look-Alikes:

Old man's beard leaves and white flowers.
Old man’s beard.

Another weed, old man’s beard (Clematis vitalba) is often confused with ivy. Old man’s beard has very different leaves and flowers. Old man’s beard’s flowers are larger and white, whereas ivy’s flowers are green.

Noxious Weed Listing:

State of Oregon:Class B
State of Washington:Class C

More Resources: