Hedera helix

(English Ivy)

Hedera helix is one of the great survivors of the plant world, with many and varied survival strategies. Home gardeners who have tried to remove it will nod vigorously at that statement. It's one tough plant that is certainly hard to kill.

There are hundreds of cultivars available in Australia and all are invasive plants. In fact, the seedlings from cultivars will revert to the wild or near wild form.

It is still available in nurseries, even though it is a problem in all States and Territories (except the Northern Territory).

Commonly grown as a ground cover, it is also grown as a climber. In the natural environment, it smothers ground flora as well as tall trees. In fact, it not only smothers trees, but can have a negative effect on the long term health of eucalypts simply by impeding their annual shedding of bark.

Description

It probably doesn't need much introduction - its distinctive lobed leaves would be familiar to most, even non-gardeners. The images here provide the best description. It starts life with soft light green stems that soon become woody and can reach several centimetres in diameter.

Survival Strategies

Plants can live up to 400 years!

It can send down roots on all stems, and quite prolifically too. On the ground it produces roots at the nodes when they contact the soil. On climbing stems, adventitious rootlets are produced on the side of the stem away from light.

Stems re-shoot readily when cut.

It produces chemicals that kill other plants (allelopathic effect).

It can survive for considerable periods without roots connecting with the ground.

Its seed is spread far and wide by birds and even foxes, although the seed is short-lived.

It sprouts roots from even small pieces of stem.

Any roots left in the ground will resprout quickly.

Control

Seedlings and small rooting stem fragments can be hand-pulled or dug out, but to prevent regrowth all of it must be removed. Trailing stems can be cut back, working back to the main infestation. The exposed basal parts need to be treated with herbicide or dug out thoroughly.

Climbing parts on smooth-barked shrubs or trees can be cut at the base and left to dry out in the canopy. Apply herbicide to the cut basal parts, or dig it out.

Where it is growing on some plants such as tree ferns and rough barked plants, it may have produced roots along the stem, so the upper parts will probably not die. These stems need to be scraped and herbicide applied to the open wound.

Areas need to be monitored for regrowth for at least two years. Often herbicide treatments need to be repeated for up to four years before it is destroyed.

Other Effects

And if you need other good reasons to get rid of it, here are some more. All parts are poisonous if eaten, it can cause dermatitis in some people from contact, and the dust from the millions of hairs can be a problem for asthma sufferers, but at the very least can cause sneezing and eye problems.

Information sources

Blood, K., 2001, Environmental Weeds - A field guide for SE Australia, published by CH Jerram Science Publishers
Muyt, A., 2001, Bush Invaders, published by R.G. and F.J. Richardson
All images copyright SGA

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