Can Poison Ivy Grow in a Flower Bed With Tulips?

Eradicate poison ivy before it spreads throughout your tulip garden.

Although poison ivy most often grows in woodland areas and fields, it can infiltrate a landscape and quickly become a nuisance, filling flowerbeds and twining among shrubs. Dealing with poison ivy in these situations is difficult because most effective herbicides will kill the desired plants as well as the poison ivy. Tulips flower in the spring, while poison ivy is still dormant, so you may not notice the poison ivy until after the bulbs have bloomed.

Methods of Spreading

Poison ivy spreads through underground rhizomes and seeds. Poison ivy may infiltrate your yard by spreading if your property faces a natural, open space. Birds and other animals spread the weed by eating the berries and dropping the seeds in excrement. If you notice poison ivy in your tulips, eradicate it immediately before it spreads.

Identification

Poison ivy emerges in mid-spring and grows as a small, woody shrub or a climbing vine. It has bright green leaves that form in groups of three leaflets. The leaflets may be lobed, toothed or smooth, depending on the poison ivy variety, as well as the plant's maturity. Be suspicious of any plant bearing leaflets of three growing amid your tulips, especially if you live in an area known to have poison ivy. Later poison ivy plants bear white berries.

Control

Snip the plants off at soil level as soon as they emerge from the ground throughout the growing season. In time, they'll dwindle and die. If you choose to treat the poison ivy with an herbicide, choose one containing glyphosate or triclopyr labeled for poison ivy. Dig up the bulbs before applying the herbicide because these chemicals will kill tulips as well as poison ivy.

Precautions

Place long plastic bags over your hands, such as those used to contain bread and newspapers, before digging up poison ivy from the tulip beds. Turn the bags inside out as you dispose of them. Wash clothing that comes in contact with poison ivy and wash your hands with soap and water. The irritating oils in poison ivy leaves can remain active as long as a year and may be present on shoes, garden tools or pets.

References

• Clemson University Cooperative Extension; Poison Ivy; Debbie Shaughnessy; 2010
• The Ohio State University Extension; Skin Irritation Caused by Plants; 2006

Resources

• Texas A & M University Extension; Poison Ivy in the Home Landscape; Cynthia W. Mueller; 2009
• Nova Scotia Museum: Poisonous Plants Tulips