I would like to plant some Ivy around the bottom of my trees and train it up around the trunks. A friend has told me this will kill the trees. Is this true?

Close to my neighbourhood, there is a very tall tree that someone planted Clematis to trail up on it. It's the most spectatuar sight!

I go to this street every year to witness this beauty! I bring visitors to see it because it's so magnificent.

The tree and the Clematis are still standing for all to be in awe of. I can't see this being any different than ivy.

The jury seems divided on the issue of ivy vs. trees:

Ivy - Friend or Foe

Why Is Ivy Despised?

I would think that as long as it's enough ivy to be ornamental and doesn't get out of control, it would be a beautiful accent to your tree.

Thank you for your help. I think I will try just planting the ivy on one of the trees that doesn't seem as healthy as the rest, and then decide about the others after seeing how that works.

Ivy is growing wild on hundreds of trees round here and it doesn't seem to be doing them any harm!

Ivy is wrongly accused. It does not kill or hurt trees. How could it? It does not feed off the tree. Its roots are adapted to cling to the surface, that's all, and the amount of moisture it takes through its ground roots is minute compared to the tree's. It is never going to deprive the tree of water. However there is a kind of reverse thinking here. A dead or dying tree is readily covered because its canopy dies back and the ivy gets more light plus the ivy is less likely to suffer drought from the tree. And the bits of dead wood fall away still with the ivy attached so it may look as though it is the cause of the damage ;so people conclude that luxuriant ivy killed the tree. The same reasoning is applied concerning walls. Ivy will not hurt a sound wall,either. If anything it helps keep it dry.