Ivy is a common sight in UK gardens and landscapes – scrambling up walls, covering ground and climbing trees. There are two species of ivy native to Britain, Hedera helix (Common or English Ivy) and Hedera hibernica (Atlantic or Irish Ivy). The latter does not climb but sprawls along the ground. Both have myriad benefits to wildlife - providing food and shelter to all manner of creatures from butterflies to bats.
However, people searching online for ivy are usually coupling their hunt with the phrases ‘how to kill ivy’ and ‘how to get rid of ivy.’
In an upcoming episode of Talking Gardens, the Gardens Illustrated podcast, Katy Merrington, Cultural Gardener at The Hepworth Wakefield, says: “People are funny about ivy. I have a lot of friends and family when they move house, they’ll talk to me about their garden and they’ll say, the first thing we’ve got to do is this big load of ivy we need to chop down. Why do you need to chop it down? Unless it's actually making a wall structurally unsafe because it's entered into the mortar fully. I mean, why?”
She continued: “When you think about it ivy is one of the ultimate plants. It can live in sun or shade. I read on the RHS [website] that it supports more than 140 species of insects, 17 species of birds and countless others shelter in its evergreen structure. It’s probably Britain's only evergreen clinging climber in our flora, so I think it's beautiful. I think we need to love ivy. And so, I would encourage it.”
Make sure you don't miss Katy's episode on the Talking Gardens podcast.
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Why does ivy have such a bad reputation?
There is a widely held belief that self-clinging climbers like ivy have detrimental effects to walls and trees when they grow up them, and this seems to be one of the main reasons people look to remove this plant from their gardens.
When we asked our readers what they thought of ivy, many of them responded saying that it ruins brickwork, destroys walls and wrecks pointing with one person even saying: “I had to rebuild half a wall – it was growing through the mortar to the other side.”
People feel that it is hard to control and that once it gets going it is hard to keep on top of. Several of our followers said that it “damages buildings” and “destroys fences,” and one person commented that they believed it provides a hiding place for rats.
Others were concerned that it chokes and strangles trees as it climbs up them, damaging them and in some instances killing them.
Are these assumptions about ivy true?
We asked the experts about whether people’s assumptions and knowledge about ivy were accurate. Here’s what they said.
Does ivy damage buildings?
When it comes to whether ivy is damaging to buildings, the short answer is: it depends. “So much depends upon the building in question,” says Katy. “If you have a sturdy structure, then ivy attaches superficially to the surface and does no damage. However, if you’ve got any deterioration in the construction, then it is tempting for ivy to root into gaps, and this is what you want to avoid.”
Tijana Blanusa, RHS Principle Horticultural Scientist agrees, saying: “Ivy is unlikely to create damage to sound walls.” She went on to say: “Even when risks of damage are minimal, ivy, like any living thing, needs management such as annual pruning and inspection so that it is kept away from gutters and other openings which need to remain open.”
Find out more about whether English ivy damages walls.
Does ivy harm trees?
Similarly, ivy may not be as troublesome for trees as people might think. Katy told us: “Ivy will use a tree for scaffolding, but it’s not a parasite, as it cannot tap into the tree’s water or nutrients. On a healthy tree, ivy tends to dwell on the trunk, but if a tree is declining, then ivy may extend into its canopy, and this is something to keep an eye out for.”
Leigh Hunt, RHS Principle Horticultural Advisor, added: “Where trees are in poor health, and so have a sparse or light canopy, the ivy can reach the crown and may then compete with the tree. Where this happens the additional foliage in the canopy can make more of a sail in the wind, too, making it more prone to being blown over in storms. The message here, though, is healthy trees are fine.”
Is ivy invasive?
Lots of readers in the United States got in touch to let us know that ivy is invasive where they live. In the UK, however, English ivy is not classed as an invasive species. Leigh said: "Ivy isn’t classed under any legislation (a benchmark for invasive in the UK) as problematic. It can grow well and seeds a little, but it is simple to control by pruning and digging – sometimes that might be a big task on a big plant, but it’s extremely easy compared to true invasives such as Japanese knotweed."
Katy added: "I think it’s a question of ‘right plant, right place’. In the right spot, in a balanced ecosystem, ivy happily fulfils its niche amidst its neighbours. However, if grown in an ornamental flowerbed with less vigorous plants, or outside its native range, then it may well need reigning in."
Does ivy smother other plants?
Ivy can be a vigorous plant, and if grown among ornamental beds it could need careful management to keep it in check.
However, Katy says it still has its place in various garden spaces. "Sometimes a dense evergreen ground cover is exactly what you are looking for," she says. "Particularly for tricky spots of dry shade, under trees, or on steep banks. If you are worried about ivy spreading, a good time to prune it is in early spring, before the birds have begun their nesting season."
Leigh added to this, saying: "Ivy is slow growing. At best, you might see 30-45cm of growth from a mature plant each year (much less than something like wisteria that can grow 1.5-1.8m a year). A once a year trim is sufficient to keep it in bounds. Hedera Hibernica can make a good ground cover in gardens, growing in dry, shady positions that few other plants tolerate. When you see it growing in the countryside, it’s notable how it’s often part of a very wide range of species that grow on the woodland floor, including dog’s mercury and dead nettles. In the garden, if ivy appears to overrun other plants, it’s usually because the ivy is better adapted to the conditions – the plants less able to cope reduce or die out over time, but that’s not the fault of the ivy."
Why do people like ivy?
Although plenty of people got in touch to let us know that they don't like ivy, lots of our readers also told us why they do like it. Sixty two per cent of our followers on Instagram and X said that they like English ivy, with one person saying "it grows all over my garden and with gentle management is fab for the wildlife."
Another person said "birds love it for nesting and also for feeding on the berries," while others also mentioned that it was great for pollinators. A recent study published by Butterfly Conservation showed that having flowering ivy in the garden increased the numbers of some species of butterflies including Holly Blue, Red Admiral and Comma.
Bankside Open Spaces Trust also got involved in the discussion, telling us: "Ivy is a super wildlife plant! Provides food for insects and birds, especially in colder months when other plants aren't producing much. The nectar and pollen are vital for bees, hoverflies and wasps. It's also great shelter for a whole host of species, plus moth and butterfly larvae love it!"
Other readers commented on its evergreen nature bringing interest to the garden all year as well as mentioning its quality for masking ugly walls.
Katy agrees that ivy presents myriad benefits to wildlife, saying: "Ivy is amazing for birds, small mammals and invertebrates, providing year-round shelter that helps garden wildlife to nest and overwinter successfully. It’s also a vital provider of late season pollen and nectar, followed by nutritious berries. So, it’s a plant that supports life through the toughest seasons."
