>
>I'd like to thank everyone for their input on ivy.  I am planning to train
>it up a tree trunk where I can contain it.  Ivy is often used in NY as a
>ground cover although this practice is not common.  It looks pretty on
>brick walls but I have always wondered about damage to the bricks from the
>roots.


Your plan may yet contain a flaw or two. English ivy has two growth forms, a
juvenile form and an adult  form.  The lobe-leafed ground cover is the
juvenile growth.  If the ivy grows up somthing, it will eventually produce
adult growth in the form of branches sticking out from the plant with
unlobed leaves.  It is this adult growth which produces flowers.
Unfortunately, that adult growth typically takes 15-20 years to form, so it
will be a long wait to get nectar from ivy.

Second, is that those flowers become berries, which birds eat and spread the
seeds far and wide.  In that sense, there is no containing ivy.

Just the same, having English ivy on the trees is rather common here,
especially in older neighborhoods, and I rather enjoy it.  It is an
entomological zoo when in bloom and the berries are a great favorite of the
robins on their migration north in late winter.

Good luck finding that perfect bee vine,

Keith Copi
Richmond, Virginia

_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE!
http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/

-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and  other info ---