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15_the_circle) wrote2007-04-30 10:53 pm
when hand tools just won't do
[OT from cottage renovations]
an ongoing project has been to work on freeing Town trees from the grip of English Ivy, one of the most invasive parasites around around. the results have been quite satisfying on several larger trees: the sycamore to the S of the ball field in Woodward Park and the oaks at the foot of 7th Avenue and at the SE corner of Center Street and Chestnut Road. these were all handled with clippers and, when necessary, a bow saw to cut the stems; a slip wrench to pull out the cut sections; and pickaxe and rake for digging out the roots. once all of the ivy stems have been cut, anything above that level and will fall off the tree by itself (I'm told that pulling down the long streamers, however tempting, endangers the bark; that it's better to let them come down on their own).
the worst case in the Grove, at least of which I have been aware, is a large Elm on private property in the 100 block of Grove Avenue. last fall the owner gave permission for an attempt at eradication. the approach and tools that had worked for the others wasn't really adequate to the task; I ended up having to take a hatchet to the mass of stems and even so didn't manage to expose bark all the way around the trunk.
not wanting to endanger the bark I allowed the winter to pass to see if anything might happen. it didn't.
so Sunday afternoon I went back with a chain saw. not the usual tool of choice for cutting ivy, but this was no ordinary ivy. many of the stems were several inches thick (Dick C. counted 21 tree rings in one of the sections that came out). after an extended bout of cautious cutting here's what the actual bark looked like:
(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)
Grove Avenue
ivy eradication
the patient, as seen from Woodward Park
the roots will still need to be dug out, a formidable and delicate task. but over the next few weeks and months the ivy above the cut should start to die off.
I can hardly wait.
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yes, that inner layer is the tree's bark, completely encased in ivy to a depth of several inches. it's a marvel that tree is still alive. I'm hoping the ivy removal is timely enough to keep it from succumbing to the parasite.
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