What to Do About English Ivy?

The Invasive of the Month for March is English Ivy, the ubiquitous landscaping plant that is taking over the forest.  Everyone loves English Ivy in their yards because it's fast growing,  crowds out weeds and adds green all year round.  Unforturnately these are the reasons that make it one of the most unloved plants in the Park and one of the most destructive invasives!   It forms a dense cover on the forest floor crowding out native plants including all our spring wildflowers.  Because it stays green all year, the perennial natives have no room to emerge in the spring.  If it is allowed to climb trees, it can damage the bark and the sheer weight of the ivy can break branches and topple trees in a storm.

Replace Your English Ivy with Native Ground Covers!

If allowed to grow in your garden, it can easily escape to nearby forest wreaking havoc to the local ecology.  You can help the park by using native ground covers.  You should always remove it from your trees both for your safety and the trees health.   

Replace your ivy with some of the following native ground covers:

A combination of Heuchera villosa 'Autumn Bride' and Christmas fern (Polystichum aristichoides) are nice in shade, and will tolerate some dryness.

Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pennsylvanica) or wild columbine are beautiful.

Other covers include Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), wild ginger (Asarum canadense) and foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia).

Local nurseries such as American Plant or Meadows Farms may carry these plants.  You just have to be very specific with them about the Latin names, so you know exactly what you are getting. The native plant sales are also good places to look for ground covers. Visit the Maryland Native Plant Society for a list of sales.

The National Park Service has an excellent list of natives that can be used as ground covers as well as a list of plants (like bush honey suckle) that should never be used in your gardens as they are so invasive and harmful to the environment.