I hate Poison Ivy. No matter how much I try to get rid of it, the toxic plant always comes back with vengeance. In the past, the ivy rendered my vegetable garden inedible. Now, the notorious vine threatens my bee and butterfly habitats.
As satisfying as it is to pull up my gloves and tear vine after vine from the ground, I’m one of those people who knew just one thing about ivy in the past: Three leaves – let it be.
Of course there are many other plants with three leaves that you should never rip out, and there are a multitude of berry plants that are doppelgangers for poison ivy.
So I created a simple, graphic 11″ x1 7″ poster that you can download that helps identify the nasty creeper so you know how to spot it more quickly and easily.
If you can’t print 11 x 17″ paper, you can choose to print the design as a poster, and have one-half on two separate pages, then just tape them together.
I left two spots blank on the poster where someone should carefully (with gloves, protection, etc) tape or paste (or both) two examples of local ivy variations to really help viewers see the unique features of the menace.
Of course you’ll want to make sure no one touches it. I’d recommend printing on either foam-board or heavy matte paper. Then you can cut off the zipper part of a sandwich bag, cut the two sides apart, and take the cut bag over the ivy to ensure no one touches it. A clear divider page or any other clear cover would work, too. If you print on foam board, you can use tacks to hold up the protective layer and the leaves themselves.
Or, they can test their tolerance for the plant. Make sure they report back to you so you can enjoy the “I told you so.”
Click here to download and print the PDF version of the poster (shown in png format below)
Rebekah Jones 