Q: As a Seattle Adopt-A-Park volunteer, I have spent many Saturdays over the past six years working to eradicate ivy and other invasive non-native plants from local parks. I understand that campus gardeners are diligently cleaning out ivy from some portions of campus but it is still being planted in others, like near the new parking garage on the Southwest Campus. Why can’t non-invasive ground covers be planted instead?

A: Ivy is only one of many ground covers used in landscape plantings here at the University of Washington . A tour of the campus will quickly reveal a multitude of ground covers planted in many different locations.

Ivy is very much a legitimate ground cover that can and is used in landscapes here at the University and in many other landscape plantings in the Northwest. It is important to remember that there are many varieties of ivy, each of which has specific good and bad characteristics, color, texture and growth patterns. In each case they have growth habits that need to be maintained according to the intent of the landscape design. The Grounds Maintenance Department does have an opportunity to review new planting plans and often will comment on their concern for excessive labor to maintain such plantings.

A number of years ago to try and improve the diversity of the campus plant materials, the Campus Landscape Advisory Committee developed the Plant Association Master Plan. This plan divides the campus into 10 geographic zones, each with specific requirements for plant material. Any new or remodeled landscape plantings need to have a high percentage of the plants meet the requirements of that specific plant association zone.

The Grounds Maintenance Department has been diligently working at having the plant material in each zone match this plan. This is the main reason ivy has been removed from some areas, yet planted in others. The English Ivy in the area around the Archery Range has been removed beacause it is not a plant associated with the China/Korea/Japan plant association zone. The Algerian Ivy planted by the new West Campus Garage was specified for this area because it does match the Mediterranean Sub Tropical Zone. In some cases, ivy has been planted to match existing landscapes.

It is always our intent to create a campus landscape full of diverse plant material, color and texture. Keeping maintenance costs down with non-invasive ground covers is only one element in the plant selection decision-making process. ¶

Jon C. Hooper, manager, Upper Campus Physical Plant Maintenance and Alterations