It depends imo, generally we remove climbers from trees but not always, english ivy can be a real problem but you also have to look at the enviroment its in.
Specimen trees in gardens and public areas we will remove invasive climbers, especially on veteran trees. Ivy can be a big problem as it can hide defects and allow plant material and other debris to collect in unions etc.
Maybe it can cause the bark and cambium damaged like in one of the pics in this thread although not a common occurance, at least I think so, the damaged could be caused by other factors? not 100% sure on that.
Sometimes though we leave climbers like ivy as its a natural habitat for birds and insect and is part of a natural ecosystem especially in woodland type enviroments. Ivy's are also one of the last flowering plants providing a valueble food resource for wildlife.
Ornamental vines/climbers are different, like I said with a specimen tree we will often reccomend removal, but in some situations the host tree is nothing more than a support for the climber. |