Plant / Tree Identification - can you help?

[Alley01]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Really? That's not that bad a plant to have growing in your garden. It's not like kudzu. You sure he was right with his ID? I've not heard anyone complain about it being "invasive".

Actually Hydrangea Vines do get out of control and cause quite a bit of damage since they are climbing vines. I wouldn't really call them invasive like Kudzu or the wild variety of Wisteria. Those are both horrible! They aren't something that you want to grow up your house or near it as it will cause damage. But, if it has a nice support - even growing up a tree for example, it will do great. It doesn't kill the tree by taking it over. Otherwise, it needs a nice trellis and prepare to wait a while for it to develop. I don't really like the climbing hydrangea as it is a bit too plain, the most impressive thing about it is the leaves - especially the Moonlight Variety. Those leaves are fantastic.

[saganista]

Pretty much all wisterias are invasive in the sense of wanting to take over all nearby territory in as little time as possible. The above-ground runners can be easily enough contained with regular pruning, but like kudzu, there are the underground versions to contend with as well. We "removed" two wisterias as part of relocating the driveway six years ago, and we still have a dozen or so new plants pop up all season long in the general vicinity of where the old ones used to be. They just don't give up.

Kudzu itself is, of course, a not-to-be-tolerated killer. Unfortunately, the flowers are so distinctive that people who don't recognize it for what it is may tend to welcome and even encourage it. Once established, it will be a major five-year or better project to get rid of it, so it's good to be aware of kudzu and on the lookout for it, and to be absolutely ruthless if you should encounter it.

The biggest problem with hydrangea vines is their eventual weight. For a climber, they are very woody, stocky plants. A mature plant can easily put a couple of hundred pounds of weight onto whatever it is clinging to, and if not artificially supported, they are easily damaged by high winds. They are also slow to establish and a japanese beetle magnet. On the plus side, they are shade-tolerant and have long-lasting and beautiful blooms, so some folks are driven to planting and maintaining them and likely always will be.

The folks at Merrifield meanwhile are a very good source of free information about nearly anything yard- or garden-related. Some places will tell you almost anything just to get you to go away, but someone at Merrifield will actually know the answer to almost any question, and they will go out of their way to find whoever that is and get your answer for you. Or in the end, honestly say they don't know. Taking a cutting of something you don't recognize over there is typically a very good way of finding out what it is you've got.