Is There A Bully In Your Yard?
It started out innocently... In the 1970's, neighbors on 1st Avenue planted English ivy in the yard. It looked great, but over the years it was allowed to escape its intended borders. Left alone English ivy can be a big time bully, and over time things ended up badly...
English ivy made its way from 1st Avenue to the backyards of neighbors on 4th Avenue and 40 years later its climbed up and nearly covered their beautiful trees.
If nothing's done, in just a few more years the 90 foot ivy infested trees will be completely covered in English ivy and will die because the leaves will be unable to get sunlight. In their weaken condition and with up to a ton of additional weight from the ivy the trees are in danger of falling and now pose a serious threat to the people and property around them. The cost to have just one of these huge trees that will eventually be covered in ivy removed will be over $1,000. That adds up. Hopefully the trees won't fall on the house or worse on someone, otherwise the cost will be so much more.
Soon this gorgeous landscape will look more like this
and much of the curb appeal that added to the property's value will be lost. (To calculate actual dollar amount trees add to a property see treebenefits.com/calculator)
In the mean time, the English ivy that started on 1st Avenue spread down to the neighbors trees on 10th Avenue, to the park next door, and along the highway, continues on the move. How did this possibly happen? And why does it matter to all of us here in Atlanta, the city built within a landscape and known for its trees? Because ivy is an invasive bully that establishes easily, spreads aggressively, has no natural enemies to control it, and can be detrimental to other plants it covers, the environment, and possibly the economy.
But there're steps that can be taken to beat back the bully English ivy and get control of your yard again... You can beat the bully if you do it right.