Leaves of three, leave it be. Poison Ivy is not a plant any of us want to see growing in our gardens. Birds seems to spread the seeds, so I do end up with some young poison ivy plants each summer. Be sure to yank them out while small.

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Eastern Poison-Ivy is a common woody vine (liana) with a large range in eastern North America. It can be a groundcover vine, a low semi-bush, or it can be a climbing vine to 150 feet long up trees and structures. It climbs by aerial rootlets that form a hair-like mass along the stems, like Euonymus. It has alternate, compound leaves about 6 to 14 inches long of three leaflets. The foliage gets a fantastic red or orange fall color. From the tiny, inconspicuous flowers form small white fruits, rounded drupes about 1/5 inch in diameter that are eaten by birds and spread around a lot. All parts of the plant contain the irritant oil that causes red rashes on skin. One must immediately wash off that oil if exposed with soaps or Tecnu solution. I did not get hit by this plant every year and as much back in the Midwest versus the Mid-Atlantic Region. I have to watch out for small, young plants among the weeds or ornamental plants in my Pennsylvania yard, as my bird friends deposit the seeds each year. I usually get the rash on my forearms and the rash usually affects me for about 2 weeks.

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