Ambushed by Poison Ivy by David Johnson The Toronto Bonsai Society has invited club members to participate in a collecting workshop of apple trees in a farmer's field in the Kawartha Lakes region. The notice of the trip in The Journal mentions that the collection will occur before the cattle start to graze and the poison ivy starts to grow. Such a trip could provide newer members with an excellent opportunity to see how other members collect trees sculpted by Mother Nature and her herd of cows, and experience the trials of actually doing it. One of those trials can be not knowing what is growing below ground besides the tree you plan to collect. My own experience may better prepare members to avoid underground poison ivy. One spring several years ago I tried to ground layer a couple of beech trees at the edge of another farm field. I can't remember if I knew there was poison ivy in the area but in early spring it was definitely not growing above ground. I dug up the earth around the trees and then cut off about 2 inches of bark around the trunks. Then I scraped off the cambium layer and applied rooting hormone and Super Thrive-soaked sphagnum moss. The whole works was backfilled with soil and then rocks were placed on top to keep the animals from tearing everything apart. I think it was the next day that I noticed a rash on my hands and suspected poison ivy. Later that summer I went back to check on my ground layers on the beech trees. I found the area covered with poison ivy and that animals had dug up the rocks, soil and moss, ruining the project. I have subsequently checked my Peterson Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs by George A. Petrides. The author advises, DANGER: DO NOT TOUCH THIS PLANT...All parts of the plant contain a heavy nonvolatile oil that causes inflammation of the skin, with blisters and swelling, in susceptible persons. Mr. Petrides finishes by pointing out that over 60 species of birds eat the poison ivy fruit which pass undamaged through their digestive systems promoting a wider distribution of the plant...how nice. I discovered that as the roots of the beech trees became active so did the roots of the poison ivy. Collecting apple trees in the Kawarthas should not pose much of a problem as long as the proper precautions are taken. Wear rubber gloves, old clothes and boots that can be removed and bagged and then cleaned at home. Use plenty of water and yellow laundry soap to wash up. Keep an eye on what grows up with your collected tree because you don't want poison ivy to ambush you at home or in the field. And if you try ground layering, use more soil and bigger rocks than I did.