# Please tell me this isn't poison ivy



## silence882 (May 7, 2016)

Hi all,

Thanks to the removal of a big tree I inadvertently killed last year (I hated it anyway), I'm planting out my backyard. For the past several years I've let it grow semi-wild. A couple vines appeared and I thought 'cool, native vines - I'll let them grow.' Only now am I realizing that I really should've checked to make sure they're not poison ivy. I don't think they are but if anyone can confirm this I'd appreciate it.

Here's the one I'm concerned about:




The lower leaves are split into groups of 3:




The larger leaves merge into one big leaf:





Here's the other vine that appeared on its own that I'm not concerned about. I'm pretty sure it's a Virginia Creeper. It turns a beautiful red in the fall:







Thanks,
--Stephen


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## gonewild (May 7, 2016)

Picture #2 is suspicious.
The others are not.


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## Erythrone (May 7, 2016)

I see Parthenocissus tricuspidata and Parthenocissus quinquefolia


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## tim (May 7, 2016)

agreed - Boston-ivy and Virginia creeper


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## Erythrone (May 7, 2016)

tim said:


> agreed - Boston-ivy and Virginia creeper




oke:


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## silence882 (May 7, 2016)

Thanks! I can relax while working and don't have to go to my fall-back plan of testing it on the annoying neighbor child.

I'll let them keep growing, although I may be moving the Boston ivy as it's in the way of a planned fruit tree.


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## abax (May 7, 2016)

Oh heavens, keep the Virginia Creeper under control. It
spreads like wild fire and is very hard to kill once established. I've been trying for 17 years to keep it out
of my perennials with little success.


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## Migrant13 (May 7, 2016)

abax said:


> Oh heavens, keep the Virginia Creeper under control. It
> spreads like wild fire and is very hard to kill once established. I've been trying for 17 years to keep it out
> of my perennials with little success.



Yes...I would get rid of that VA Creeper all together.


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## Justin (May 8, 2016)

Here is poison ivy...nasty nasty stuff i hate it


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## abax (May 9, 2016)

O.k. Justin, you just gave me a case of poison ivy just by
eye sight alone! Bad Justin! I can see VA Creeper growing
right below the damned poison ivy. Round Up will kill the
poison ivy with repeated applications, but it seems to have little effect on the spread of creeper.


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## Justin (May 9, 2016)

Yep here the two like to grow together which can make the bad stuff more difficult to spot.


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## silence882 (May 9, 2016)

I like the Virginia Creeper leaf pattern so I'm gonna keep it. I promise not to say I wasn't warned.

I've got a pretty small yard (end-unit townhouse) so weeding the whole thing doesn't take very long. Also, the fence is old, weathered, and unadorned so I'd like it very much if it were covered in ivy.


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## Linus_Cello (May 9, 2016)

Reminds me of a story of a botanist friend here in DC who visited the home of an employee gardener of Kew gardens. The british gardener complained of a rash whenever he worked on a vine that had brilliant red foliage in the fall- non-native (to them) poison ivy.


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## abax (May 10, 2016)

Silence, keep pruners and shears handy and keep VA Creeper clipped and tie the runners where you want them
to grow. Pull up any wonderers immediately. They spread underground and can pop up all over the place.
Think kudzu and the pest it has become.


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## garysan (May 10, 2016)

silence882 said:


> Thanks! I can relax while working and don't have to go to my fall-back plan of testing it on the annoying neighbor child.



Someone with a similar moral-compass :evil:


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## silence882 (May 10, 2016)

abax said:


> Silence, keep pruners and shears handy and keep VA Creeper clipped and tie the runners where you want them
> to grow. Pull up any wonderers immediately. They spread underground and can pop up all over the place.
> Think kudzu and the pest it has become.



Thanks! It's only allowed on the fence and I've been ripping it up if it tries to wander away.



Linus_Cello said:


> Reminds me of a story of a botanist friend here in DC who visited the home of an employee gardener of Kew gardens. The british gardener complained of a rash whenever he worked on a vine that had brilliant red foliage in the fall- non-native (to them) poison ivy.



That is amazing.


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