I have an oak tree covered in a ivy vine(not sure what kind but its not poison ivy), but it has think supporting vines . (landscape, grow)

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by senecaman

So are you saying mulch will or wont help? What are you using to get it under control?

Mulch will control it, but it can spread. You just need to be vigilant by continuing to remove it.

Mine was/is on the ground (where yours will be after you disconnect it from the trees). I just started to aggressively cut it back, pull it out where I could and have gone chemical on it (that usually takes 2 or 3 treatments to kill it and the dying is long and protracted) in some areas.

I have only Mrs. NBP to blame. She brought it in to grow on the fence and it got away from me.

[senecaman]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

Mulch will control it, but it can spread. You just need to be vigilant by continuing to remove it.

Mine was/is on the ground (where yours will be after you disconnect it from the trees). I just started to aggressively cut it back, pull it out where I could and have gone chemical on it (that usually takes 2 or 3 treatments to kill it and the dying is long and protracted) in some areas.

I have only Mrs. NBP to blame. She brought it in to grow on the fence and it got away from me.

I have azaleas around this ivy . Will the poison kill them too? That's why I was thinking it would be best to avoid poison altogether.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by senecaman

I have azaleas around this ivy . Will the poison kill them too? That's why I was thinking it would be best to avoid poison altogether.

It might. Round Up, which I use, only kills what it contacts although there is some evidence of root transfer between plants.

In your case I'd tell you to start pulling it out from around the azaleas. It will fight you and you may have to do it more than once and it can be drudge work.

[Butterfly4u]

senecaman,
You don't have to use poison at all.
Just good old elbow grease, the saw pictured on this thread,
and persistence. Just cut it, and then cut it again.
Don't forget about it, keep up with it.
Eventually, it will burn itself out, stop growing, after being
constantly cut back. You want to "burn" it out. Keep cutting it.
It will grow back, and you will cut it again.
I wouldn't use poison on it, for the trees sake, and your bushes sake.
One mistake, and you could kill everything.

[senecaman]

Originally Posted by Butterfly4u

senecaman,
You don't have to use poison at all.
Just good old elbow grease, the saw pictured on this thread,
and persistence. Just cut it, and then cut it again.
Don't forget about it, keep up with it.
Eventually, it will burn itself out, stop growing, after being
constantly cut back. You want to "burn" it out. Keep cutting it.
It will grow back, and you will cut it again.
I wouldn't use poison on it, for the trees sake, and your bushes sake.
One mistake, and you could kill everything.

But what about the vines that have grown into ground cover? They have grown back up into the woods under the leaf cover as well. I was thinking maybe about using my tiller to till the ground and cut some of the roots under the soil.Its too big an area to completely cover with mulch. I was thinking about using the mulch to smother the ground a few feet around the trees and the azaleas to keep the vines from growing back up them again. The rest I would used the tiller on or the lawnmower and just keep at it every so often to keep killing new vines and roots.

And could I use poison like roundup on the hillside that has roots in it but its away from the tress and the plants? This weekend I used the lawnmower to cut back the vines on the hillside away from the trees but the roots are still there.Should I use poison to get to the roots or just keep mowing it or should I till as much of that ground as possible to kill more roots ?

[North Beach Person]

Just keep cutting it, it will eventually die off. Tilling it will bring more things to the surface you may not want to have to fight.

[fisheye]

After the wooden part of the vines are cut and removed; string weed whackers do a great job preventing more vines from growing. They will easily cut through new vine shoots; both close to the tree and farther away. Unless you hold the business end against the bark of the tree for very long times; you should not damage the bark of the tree. That does not go for young trees without aged bark - these tools will easily remove the bark or simply cut off the tree.

35 years ago, when we first bought our property, our big oaks had old grape vines in their canopies. Some of the vines were three, four inches thick. I went around our property with my chainsaw and pickup truck removing those vines. I simply cut the vines off and then chained them to my towing hitch and pulled. Most came out the trees easily or with just a few tugs. I did have one large vine; where I got a good running shot with the truck. It literally picked the backend of the truck off the ground and pulled the truck backwards. Perhaps I was the inventor of bungee truck jumping?

[North Beach Person]

I always let the vines die off for a couple weeks before I pull them down. English ivy especially, the rootlets on it can really grab hold of things like tree branches and walls.

Grape vines I've found can really take hold and will strip a branch. Again I let the vine die for awhile before I yank it.

[PAhippo]

Is all this true for old grape vines too?


Someone planted grapes here at some point. Made an arbor for them and everything. Since then they've been ignored and are growing up, over, into, through everything. I lopped some off last year but this is the year I really want to go after it.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by PAhippo

Is all this true for old grape vines too?


Someone planted grapes here at some point. Made an arbor for them and everything. Since then they've been ignored and are growing up, over, into, through everything. I lopped some off last year but this is the year I really want to go after it.

Pretty much.