Asked on May 27, 2013

Poison Ivy I Think?

Anna Ibarra
by Anna Ibarra
I am new to gardening, they military moved us around for over 20 years so I never picked up much of or any gardening tips, except for house plants, but never also had much of a yard or none at all.
I am just getting my really first yard after retirement and learning as I go, but saw this in my back yard and continues to come back even after I pull it. Is it Poison Ivy? Seems to be, the 3 leaf culprit. However, I just need to be sure and need some validation on it and how to get rid of it.
Poison Ivy 2013
seems to be coming from my neighbor's yard
:-(
  25 answers
  • Nancy Hand Nancy Hand on May 27, 2013
    Not poison ivy! :)
  • Anna Ibarra Anna Ibarra on May 27, 2013
    YEAH!!! I am so thrilled that I am wrong and thank you for educating me on this. I will read on that link you sent Gail. Nancy, I'm grateful for you quick reply!
  • Caley's Culinaries Caley's Culinaries on May 28, 2013
    Looks like passion flower leaves. Watch for fancy flowers. If it is passion flower, it will also make fruit.
  • Ponto Ponto on May 28, 2013
    round up will take it out so will vinegar and salt
  • Susannah Landis Susannah Landis on May 28, 2013
    What you have is not poison ivy. That's good.
  • Martha B Martha B on May 28, 2013
    Don't forget - there is a five leaf poison ivy which most people call Virginia Creeper. It is poisonous to some people. My husband used to kid me that I was the only person in the world allergic to the five leaf variety, but now I've met several others allergic to it too.
  • Lawn Pro Lawn Pro on May 28, 2013
    not poison ivey
  • BarbaraLlengell BarbaraLlengell on May 28, 2013
    doesn't pasion have pointe leaves...at least in FL they do. with a blue purple flower
  • P P on May 28, 2013
    Definitely NOT Poison Ivy. Poison Ivy has 3 separate leaves. It also turns red in the fall. There is Poison Oak that has 5 leaves and this does not look like that either. Sorry I can't really help you with it's true identity, but definitely not poison ivy or poison oak.
  • Patricia Brining Patricia Brining on May 28, 2013
    it is an Ivy not poison!
  • Tammy@Deja Vue Designs Tammy@Deja Vue Designs on May 29, 2013
    Remember the saying...when it comes to poison ivy and oak. Leaves of three...let them be.
  • Beth swindler Beth swindler on May 29, 2013
    looks like good old fashion ivy to me, but take a piece of it to your local extension office. Someone there should be able to identify it for you. Wear gloves just to be safe.
  • Beth swindler Beth swindler on May 29, 2013
    it could be Passion flower though.. If so put it in a place where it can grow. It gets big! The flowers are fantastic and will give you fruit, but you have to look hard for them. They like to hide under the foliage.
  • Jeri Turner Jeri Turner on May 29, 2013
    that is what we call English Ivy. Excellent ground cover and runs up anything. (I'm from Texas)
  • Amy Wieden Amy Wieden on May 29, 2013
    @Martha B Virginia Creeper is actually related to grapes, and isn't poisonous to the touch (unless you happen to be allergic to it, although I've never met or heard of anyone who was, but it could happen, same as some people are allergic to roses.) I've got it growing all over my house and haven't had one bit of problem with it in 30+ years ;) Birds love the berries it produces in the fall, however those berries are toxic to humans, so I wouldn't make any wine out of them ;) Anyway, it's a nice ornamental plant when kept controlled. @Anna Ibarra what it looks like you've got there is a White Passion Flower, Passiflora subpeltata. Congratulations! It will put on some truly lovely and unique flowers and eventually edible fruit. Like the Virginia Creeper I was talking about above, it's a nice ornamental plant when kept controlled. ;)
  • Martha B Martha B on May 29, 2013
    I always hesitate to help anyone on these sites because there's always someone who want to start an argument. Look it up - Virginia Creeper is a cousin to poison ivy. Just be glad you're not allergic to it! I'm gone; won't be back if people want to argue when all I wanted to do was help.
  • Lorraine Edwards Lorraine Edwards on May 29, 2013
    Poison ivy notoriously has shiny leaves and are three leaves attached to one stem-leaves are pointier than your pic too. Now this is poison ivy! It grows on trees alot, but it can lurk under brush and is very sneaky--and treacherous-and it makes me NOT want to ever garden as I am so susceptible.
  • Anna Ibarra Anna Ibarra on May 29, 2013
    Thank you all, and not familiar with any except the english ivy, which I did think it was, I live in a neighborhood where I called wild Ivy, grows everywhere, many homes have them as grown cover, up our Oaks, etc, it does grow under brush and the base gravel that I laid down where I wanted to get rid of grass. It seems to be coming mainly from my neighbors, and sweet as they are they neglect their yard to include our fall into" Spring " season when our leaves fall the most. So I can't find the origin of it. I always use gloves when I am in the yard and have tons of trees so I try to be careful as I can. I will give the vinegar a try, think I also have Roundup. Again, grateful for all and any feedback for my beginner skills, I think I will also consider taking to someone for help, not sure what the "extension office " is and what it is? Will look up some sites.
  • Laurie Laurie on May 30, 2013
    Because you are new to gardening I would add this: Take care allowing vines to grow. They tend to take over. Don't let them grow against your house they can cause damage as well as draw bugs. http://askville.amazon.com/ivy-growing-house-building-damage/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=18929599 Another problem is damage to trees. I have seen vines allowed to climb trees eventually killing the tree. http://www.ecoterralandscape.com/cgi-bin/ViewTopic.pl?Topic=01-040110aa Vines can be beautiful on a property but be prepared to keep it under control with pruning.
  • Amy Wieden Amy Wieden on May 30, 2013
    @Martha B I'm not starting an argument with you, I'm sorry that you assumed I am. I'm just correcting the misinformation you posted - I made the mistake of assuming you'd prefer to have the facts, for which I apologize. You were trying to help, so was I. Virgina Creeper, (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is not related to poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), they are not even in the same family. I've got a degree in horticulture and over 30 years experience as a greenhouse grower with some experience in landscaping too. So trust me when I say, Virginia Creeper isn't going to cause an allergic reaction like Poison Ivy. But you do not have to take my word for it, you can EASILY search Google and find out this information for yourself ;)
  • Linda B Linda B on May 30, 2013
    As an Extension Master Gardener, I answer scads of questions like these about vines and other plants. I just want to second the warning to keep ivy OFF your tree trunks. It will climb as high as possible, and it can seriously damage, if not kill, a strong, healthy tree if left untrimmed. Our neighbor has tall pines, and he's let the ivy grow wild up the trunks. It now has trailed out the lowest branches, reached the end of those branches, and drooped almost to ground level again. It's a simple matter to use a sharp knife and carefully cut the vines at the very base of the tree. The part of the plant growing up the trunk will very slowly die off. And although ivy isn't officially "poisonous," some people ARE very sensitive to it. It would be smart to wear gloves when handling it, just in case. My poor mother used to break out in a rash almost identical to poison ivy every time she trimmed her English ivy.
  • Anna Ibarra Anna Ibarra on May 30, 2013
    Thank you Linda, well I did start itching like crazy - bad- went to an allergist. Anyway, thank you for telling me about the ivy and off tree trunks, I had no idea and I just love the look, my neighbor's ivy has covered her Oak tree trunk and it's a huge tree, but many here in my neighborhood have trailing ivy's as grown cover or climbing. Mine keep dying by the time winter kicks in and so it never gets far. This is all valuable info. Thank you for your tips.
  • Laurie Laurie on May 31, 2013
    Thanks for seconding the motion Linda B. I've had people argue the vine problem with me but I lived next to a man that let vines grow over his trees. What once was a park like setting turned into a lot of dead trees overgrown with hanging vines. The trees eventually started breaking branches and crashing to the ground.
  • Lorraine Edwards Lorraine Edwards on Jun 01, 2013
    Hi ladies-i'm envisioning many out there now attempting to cut the ivy at the base to kill the vines that have traveled upward on their large trees! I wonder: would a weed whacker work to do this job? I was thinking hedge trimmer, but I know that wouldn't do it without damaging the tree bark. We have extensive English ivy around our house and I walk around periodically with boots on and stomp it at the base, eliminating any vines growing on our (house). Yes, I like the look too, but I won't allow ivy to cover any part of my house. Partic. if your house is painted, the ivy ruins the paint and when you pull off a vine, you have the remnants of the ivy still stuck to the house. Don't let it happen, even if you love the romantic notion of an ivy covered cottage (as I do!).
    • Colleen Knight Colleen Knight on Jul 11, 2014
      @Lorraine Edwards I used a weed whacker with very thick string and a hedge trimmer and lawn mower and a tiller to get rid of the English ivy on a hill and fence that was planted probably 30+ years ago. The hill is 76 feet wide and 5- 6 foot up with a 4 ft high chain link fence at the top, lol. I FINALLY got 90% of it gone! It was taking over when we bought this house. I covered all of the hill and adjoining areas with thick black plastic through the entire winter till the hottest part of spring, The other 10% that I kinda just got tired of cutting trimming, tilling and mowing I sprayed with poison ivy/brush killer and now it is all almost dead. Now I have grass growing on the hill, ahhh! Took an entire summer (last summer) to get rid of and kill. Also I know some don't like using poison ivy killers like round up, but mine is all dead poison ivy and english ivy, but did you know that even a dead plant can give you a rash for up to 2 years, the oils stay in a dead plant for 2 years after it is killed, even the ones that are all brown and look dried out! I am very allergic to it, seems that all the wind has to do is blow the right direction and BOOM, I am coated in a rash!