Identification and Management of English Ivy & Irish Ivy

The Invasive Species Council of Metro Vancouver (ISCMV) provides tips on identification and demonstrates management of ivy.
LINKS:
English and Irish Ivies Best Management Practices: www.metrovancouver.org/service...

[@Sam-sl7df]

Very informative! Thanks for posting

[@PacificCrestTrail12]

Excellent and informative video.

[@adriennefloreen]

Thanks for mentioning using a microscope to look at the trichomes, we actually have one of those and I didn't know this fact about telling the species apart. It's coming in to my yard from a neighbor and also taking over a section of woods nearby

[@bobw3677]

Great video. Ignore the clowns who want to troll you with their misogynist comments.

[@anemone104]

Interesting. Introducing species to areas of the globe where they are not naturally present is always silly, not just because of what the species itself may do released from its natural checks and balances but also due to the pests and diseases that may come in with it. Alas introductions happen all too often and still happen today despite a huge list of damaging pathogens having been introduced to various places by nursery stock and many nursery/garden plants going crazy in the wild.
I'm from Dorset in the UK where ivy is a feature of woodland, scrub and some scree and grassy habitats and not a problem. In fact it is of high biodiversity worth. As ground cover it does cover large areas forming a local community dominant, but other forbs, grasses and tree seedlings can grow up through it. This cover is multi-layerd and harbours a rich invertebrate fauna and the species that feed upon it, secure from predation in sheltered cover: common lizards, slow worms and grass snakes plus vipers and amphibians. Small mammals also use ivy.
Once it matures (and it only seems to mature away from the ground) the flowers appear late in the season and flowering period is protracted, the abundant pollen benefitting late-flying species and generations. The berries also appear late in the autumn and through the winter ripening over long periods. Birds and small mammals use the berries when there is very little else around and they are rich in fats. Mature ivy can be excellent bird nesting habitat and bats may use it. Contact dermatitis in humans is a new one on me. Of itself over here ivy does not cause tree failure. It tends to remain suppressed by a healthy tree canopy - does a lot of its growing in winter (slowly) when canopy leaves are off. If it 'takes over' a tree, it only does so if the tree canopy declines for other reasons. It can act as a sail contributing to tree and branch fall in this circumstance. It does not strangle trees as some seem to think and is a commensal, not a parasite (another common misconception).

[@jrpacer6355]

I still will grow ivy it has a English look to them as long as u plant it in a right spot and have control over it

[@PacificCrestTrail12]

people did not and it took over my state

[@williaml8474]

Is the ivy flower nectar good for bees?

[@zestyfg]

I bought one and managed to kill it within a week.
So...mission accomplished?
(Still trying to propagate what's left, but the chances of success look slim.)

[@iscmv444]

It makes difference where you are whether a plant will be successful or not. Location also matters where you are when determining what might be considered invasive. English and Irish ivy are invasive to the Metro Vancouver region, and many other regions in BC.