Battle of the Vines: Blackberry versus Ivy. Who Wins?

[Fiona_Greenlee]

I live in the Portland Oregon area and wild blackberry vines - seen here - are a horrible nuisance plant that will take over an entire yard, including shrubs and small trees, if not taken care of quickly.

On the other hand, you will see English Ivy used as ground cover. The ivy also grows quickly and seems to cover all available surfaces if not maintained.

This has led to a question - if the same area has both blackberry vines and ivy growing, which vine will end up victorious? I refuse to use my yard as a lab.

[Mangetout]

Neither wins really - the blackberry will send up arching stems that are too whippy and fast-growing for the ivy to climb and smother, and as ivy tolerates deep shade, it won't be completely out-competed by the brambles.

If left completely alone for years on end, it will form a dense combined thicket, but neither will necessarily prevail over the other.

[TruCelt]

I'm convinced that the combination of Kudzu and English Ivy could convert the Sahara to rain forest in a month. Well, maybe two months.

I've seen English Ivy take down a whole grove of trees, and the local vines which previously shared it with them. The stuff is incredibly hardy.

[SeldomSeen]

Originally Posted by Fiona_Greenlee

I live in the Portland Oregon area and wild blackberry vines - seen here - are a horrible nuisance plant that will take over an entire yard, including shrubs and small trees, if not taken care of quickly.

......But they make the most outlandishly good homemade wine.

It is not altogether a bad thing to have a bumper crop of wild blackberries in your back yard.
SS

[Arrendajo]

Originally Posted by SeldomSeen

......But they make the most outlandishly good homemade wine.

It is not altogether a bad thing to have a bumper crop of wild blackberries in your back yard.
SS

But have you seen Oregon blackberries? They make impenetrable thickets with vicious hooked thorns. You can't get close enough to the crop to pick the fruit.

[dracoi]

I'm also in the Pacific Northwest (just north of Seattle) and the greenbelt behind my house is a perfect testing ground for the OP's question. The blackberries dominate where there is more sun, and the ivy dominates when there is less.

I have obliterated the blackberries (it only took five years). While it is theoretically nice to have berries to eat, the reality is that birds get to them first, leaving me with a wicked tangle of thorns year-round.

I am slowly working on getting rid of the ivy, but I'm a little less motivated. As long as I keep the ivy from climbing and killing all the trees, it's actually kind of pretty. (I actually found a tree that was so dead, only the ivy was holding it up.)

[SeldomSeen]

Originally Posted by Arrendajo

But have you seen Oregon blackberries? They make impenetrable thickets with vicious hooked thorns. You can't get close enough to the crop to pick the fruit.

Oh yes, seen them, cussed at them, picked them, eaten them and brushed survey lines through them with a machete. Oh, and drunk the wine. They're certainly not user-friendly but they can be had.
SS