Poison Ivy growing up walnut tree. Should I remove it?

It’s native, and not anywhere I might accidentally get into it. Could it hurt the tree if left alone?

Eventually it could cover the tree. Before that though, I’m sure it will send runners out and sprout more vines.
How to remove it?
Carefully!
I recommend digging the roots out as well as pulling off the tree.

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Will do.

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Job done. :+1:

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I don’t think I’ve ever seen Eastern Poison Ivy kill a tree, although I’ve seen lots of big old vines on trees.

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They don’t actively kill the tree, but the weight can help weaken beaches over time, I believe.
Regardless of that, I cannot think of a good enough reason to keep a spreading poisonous vine in the home space.

I’d remove poison ivy if it were in my home, too, but not if it were growing up a tree on my land. Black walnut trees can be allelopathic to other plants nearby; would that also count as poisonous for your purposes, or are you only thinking of poisonous to humans?

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Just poisonous to humans. I have too many family members and friends that are ridiculously over sensitive to it. I, so far, have no reaction to it. Actually, when I find it, my first reaction is always " oh, what a beautiful leaf!", before realizing what it is!

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Neither did my mother until late in life. Then she wrote to me and said, “Now I understand how awful it is.”

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It will also produce berries, which birds can (and will) eat and then helpfully transport seeds to other areas in your yard.
Yours looks too close for comfort, especially if there are kids around who may be chasing wayward balls, or budding naturalists looking for pretty plants.

When dealing with it I would make sure every inch of your skin is covered, including wearing safety glasses, and wear disposable gloves over your garden gloves, so they can be thrown away afterwards.
If you can’t get the roots out, you could probably keep it in check once the vines are gone by being vigilant about new shoots.
Good luck!

Yes. I’m much more careful than when I was young. IMO Any one, at any age, can develop an allergy to anything.

I didn’t know about the berries, but it’s gone now anyway. I don’t have any kids and it has some brush as a barrier around it anyway. I just wore gloves and pulled it out, didn’t get any on me.

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Count the leaflets. I think I see five, which would make it Virginia Creeper, and then you could just ignore it. I don’t think those vines usually get heavy enough to bother a tree much.

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I agree, the vine in the photo looks like Virginia creeper (5 leaflets) rather than poison ivy (3 leaflets). If it comes back, maybe let it grow :)

I guess I should have got up close and made an observation.

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