• Register  |
  • LoginLogin
Close
Login
 
 
Register
 Advanced search
  • Search
  • Register
  • Login
  • JOIN!
  • View unanswered posts
  • View active topics
  • Gardening
Gardening Forum   GARDENING ETCETERA  What Doesn't Fit Elsewhere

Does Poison Ivy Sometimes have 5 Leaves?




Post a new topic
Post a reply
4 posts • Page 1 of 1

Does Poison Ivy Sometimes have 5 Leaves?

Mon Jun 16, 2014 4:59 pm

I feel like I've become pretty good at identifying poison ivy. I can distinguish it from the 5 leaves of Virginia creeper, wild raspberry, and other 3 leaved plants (a friend freaked out because I touched a jack in the pulpit plant with 3 leaves... I know not all 3 leaved plants are PI). I know those mitten shaped leaves well and know they sometimes don't have mittens but other irregularities in shape. Overall I have felt pretty confident in being able to ID it.

However, some neighbors have informed me that poison ivy can have 5 leaves sometimes... I thought they must have been getting it confused with virginia creeper but they said no, that's why they are scared to pull VC, because PI sometimes has 5 leaves. I've never heard this before and couldn't find anything online to back that up, so figured I'd ask here. I've always looked for 3 leaves! Is it true that PI can have 5? This was coming from 3 different neighbors, one of which is a very well seasoned gardener.
USDA Zone 7a, Sunset Zone 32
"The earth laughs in flowers" -Ralph Waldo Emerson
User avatar
pinksand
Greener Thumb
 
Posts: 870
Joined: Aug 23 '12
Location: Columbia, MD
Top

Re: Does Poison Ivy Sometimes have 5 Leaves?

Mon Jun 16, 2014 6:14 pm

Hmm...I haven't seen that either.
What I HAVE seen is on mature Virginia creepers, some of the small new leaves can have three leaves that look just like poison ivy at same size. ...but if you follow the vine down to older leaves, they are regular Virginia creeper leaves.
Learning never ends because we can share what we've learned. And in sharing our collective experiences, we gain deeper understanding of what we learned.
User avatar
applestar
Mod
 
Posts: 27204
Joined: May 1 '08
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M
Top

Re: Does Poison Ivy Sometimes have 5 Leaves?

Mon Jun 16, 2014 6:46 pm

Yes, I've definitely seen that on Virginia creeper too! I've been yanking out some VC and suddenly was holding what looked like PI and threw the vine thinking it was a separate plant until I realized the leaves were growing on the same vine.

I've never heard it the other way around though until now. Everything I can find online says PI ALWAYS has 3 leaflets. They said it with such authority though that I started second guessing myself!
USDA Zone 7a, Sunset Zone 32
"The earth laughs in flowers" -Ralph Waldo Emerson
User avatar
pinksand
Greener Thumb
 
Posts: 870
Joined: Aug 23 '12
Location: Columbia, MD
Top

Re: Does Poison Ivy Sometimes have 5 Leaves?

Tue Jun 17, 2014 12:36 pm

PI always has three leaves "leaves of three let it be." Your friend almost definitely was confused between PI and Virginia creeper.
Twitter account I manage for local Sierra Club: https://twitter.com/CherokeeGroupSC Facebook page I manage for them: https://www.facebook.com/groups/65310596576/ Come and find me and lots of great information, inspiration
User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
 
Posts: 25281
Joined: Feb 15 '09
Location: TN/GA 7b
Top

Please Share. Thank you!

 
 
Top


Post a reply
4 posts • Page 1 of 1

 

 

  •   Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post
  • safely get rid of poison ivy
    in Organic Gardening Forum
    11
    1721
    by puzzlejunky View the latest post
  • Composting Poison Ivy Vine ???
    in Composting Forum
    8
    723
    by ButterflyLady29 View the latest post
  • Natural Remedies for Poison Ivy
    in What Doesn't Fit Elsewhere
    1
    404
    by applestar View the latest post
  • I wonder if this Compost Mulch has toxic poison in it? Attachment(s)
    in Composting Forum
    4
    600
    by imafan26 View the latest post
  • Your vegetables are poison, your destroying your soil.
    in What Doesn't Fit Elsewhere
    11
    734
    by Taiji View the latest post
  • Friendly neighborhood door-to-door poison merchants
    in Organic Insect and Plant Disease Control
    3
    394
    by webmaster View the latest post
Return to What Doesn't Fit Elsewhere
  • Delete all board cookies • All times are UTC
Privacy Policy | Contact Us
Copyright HelpfulGardener.com 2003-2018 all rights reserved.
All trademarks and copyrights held by respective owners.