Dad and I have for many years discussed the problem of Ivy on trees.
I see it as a part of Nature, and Dad sees it as a parasite, that kills trees, and spoils the winter tracery of the trees. This we disagree on.
However he has for some time been developing an interesting twist on this, and that is that there are two types of Ivy, one that is fairly harmless, and the other than does indeed live off trees as a paracite. His frustration is that he cannot get anyone to see this, and so if there are any botonists out there who might be interested in investigating this further, please drop me a line. I attach his latest letter to a notable countryman, as he is now 85, championing this beyond the written word is becoming more difficult:
I see you have joined the discussion on the highs and lows of the so-called “common” ivy. You may remember that I wrote to you a year or so back, regarding my experiences of cutting the main “trunks” of two apparently different types of ivy only to find that one(male?) died and within a year was blown off the tree. That ivy grew close to the tree trunk and so did not materially affect the tree trunk diameter. The other with flowers(female?), continued to grow despite not being connected to a ground root----perhaps a parasite or getting food from it’s outstretched leaves and branches?
At the time, as now, you simply extolled the virtues of ivy, particularly on walls, for it’s shelter for small mammals, insects and birds------which I have no quarrel with—but wouldn’t accept my facts of two ivy’s and the detrimental effect on the fine tracery of, especially, winter trees .If it’s not affecting the majority of all sizes of trees in the area where you live, do please come to Mid-Derbyshire and I’ll show you lots!!
My recent letter to The Telegraph was heavily “editored” by the removal of all the facts leaving it with just general agreement and a headline “Kill Ivy”! The editor simply ignored my complaint----I wonder what else he “edits” out without us knowing?
So to sum up. I have no problem with anyone growing ivy up a house or shed if they so wish Whether the female variety behaves the same way on walls as it does on a tree I have no idea.
To destroy the beautiful tracery of a new or fully grown tree with it’s branches of all sizes and making a one foot diameter trunk or branch become three feet diameter does not seem a good idea to me nor, I would think, to any true nature lover or countryman.
Why not try my experiment on two trees near you and write to me (again) in one or two year’s time?!!
I hope the evidence is clearer this time.
Thanks for answering my letter last time.
Sincerely,
I see it as a part of Nature, and Dad sees it as a parasite, that kills trees, and spoils the winter tracery of the trees. This we disagree on.
However he has for some time been developing an interesting twist on this, and that is that there are two types of Ivy, one that is fairly harmless, and the other than does indeed live off trees as a paracite. His frustration is that he cannot get anyone to see this, and so if there are any botonists out there who might be interested in investigating this further, please drop me a line. I attach his latest letter to a notable countryman, as he is now 85, championing this beyond the written word is becoming more difficult:
I see you have joined the discussion on the highs and lows of the so-called “common” ivy. You may remember that I wrote to you a year or so back, regarding my experiences of cutting the main “trunks” of two apparently different types of ivy only to find that one(male?) died and within a year was blown off the tree. That ivy grew close to the tree trunk and so did not materially affect the tree trunk diameter. The other with flowers(female?), continued to grow despite not being connected to a ground root----perhaps a parasite or getting food from it’s outstretched leaves and branches?
At the time, as now, you simply extolled the virtues of ivy, particularly on walls, for it’s shelter for small mammals, insects and birds------which I have no quarrel with—but wouldn’t accept my facts of two ivy’s and the detrimental effect on the fine tracery of, especially, winter trees .If it’s not affecting the majority of all sizes of trees in the area where you live, do please come to Mid-Derbyshire and I’ll show you lots!!
My recent letter to The Telegraph was heavily “editored” by the removal of all the facts leaving it with just general agreement and a headline “Kill Ivy”! The editor simply ignored my complaint----I wonder what else he “edits” out without us knowing?
So to sum up. I have no problem with anyone growing ivy up a house or shed if they so wish Whether the female variety behaves the same way on walls as it does on a tree I have no idea.
To destroy the beautiful tracery of a new or fully grown tree with it’s branches of all sizes and making a one foot diameter trunk or branch become three feet diameter does not seem a good idea to me nor, I would think, to any true nature lover or countryman.
Why not try my experiment on two trees near you and write to me (again) in one or two year’s time?!!
I hope the evidence is clearer this time.
Thanks for answering my letter last time.
Sincerely,
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