Prolific English Ivy

Botanically, there is an “out of control” situation in Los Angeles County and environs. English Ivy (Hedera helix), which through the years has been prolifically planted as ground cover in yards, freeway embankments and byways, has become a menace in its avid propensity to climb trees, attaching its tendrils to the tree’s bark as it debilitates the life of the host, insidiously climbing skyward to the treetop, at which point the tree will die.

Los Angeles has become a mecca of beauty with thousands of tree plantings. It is critical that ivy be trimmed at the foot of the tree--no need, necessarily, to pull the ivy off, as it eventually will wither and slough off with storms and time. However, the base trim must be maintained. I feel rather like Paul Revere, proclaiming, “The British ivy is coming! One if by land, and two if by tree!”

PATRICIA EARL

Los Angeles