Deadly climbing plants| Avoid Deciduous trees and shrubs around garden ponds
I remember reading an article that went through the climbers and plants that should be avoided around ponds. I am in the process of finishing my pergola and was looking for some help in identifying which climbers to use (preferably evergreen). Can I use ivy?
Answer
All deciduous climbers should be avoided. This will rule out some the most poisonous species climbing of plants. From the evergreen climbers, there is still a tendency to drop leaves at some point in the year. Then there are the flowers themselves that will drop petals. They are not poisonous in themselves, but unless you have a skimmer system they could clog up a pre-filter to a pump. In this respect Ivy is good because it only flowers once it has reached a certain height or age and the resultant seed is poisonous in excess. A small leaved or variegated variety is easy to keep in hand and can be prevented from flowering by keeping it cut back to the surface up which it grows.
The dust from the glue and the anchor roots are an irritant to some people and animals. An attractive alternative evergreen and variegated climber, not often considered as such, is the Euonymus fortunei 'Silver Queen'. I have seen it clamber up twelve foot of wall with no problem and it hardly flowers at all. If it does produce the occasional flower it is best pruned out because the resultant seed is a strong purgative not necessarily appreciated by fish.