What will kill bittersweet

Eternal vigilance, though. This process has minimal impact on the environment. Those two pest plants laugh at the old vinegar and dish soap mixture. Tordon can be hard to find. Tractor Supply will ship-to-store at no charge. I will not use Round-Up. Click here to cancel reply. Name required. Email will not be published required.

Remember Me This setting should only be used on your home or work computer. Sign In Register Join Now. How to Control Invasive Bittersweet. Enter Your Log In Credentials. First step — to stop the larger heavy vines from growing any further, we cut the vines. The vines with the widest in diameter were the first vines cut. These were the heaviest and oldest of the vines. To cut the widest vines we used a folding Razor tooth pruning saw.

Smaller vines less than 1 inch were cut with a pair of loppers. Luckily, the vines can easily be cut. The woody vine is not a hardwood but a softer woody vine.

Bittersweet vines were cut so that they remained between 2 to 3 feet tall from the ground. Why cut the vines at that length? Two reasons. First, we wanted to easily locate the vines when we returned to the area.

The elimination of the vines using the chemical method was to be completed at a later date. Second, a fresh cut is needed to apply a chemical weed killer.

The vine will seal itself once a fresh cut is made. For the best results, the weed killer needs a freshly made cut to be effective. The vines were still green at this point. A metal rake, we found works best for removing some of the vines. However, if the trees were to remain it is best left with the entangled branches until they have dried out.

Especially when they are so far up above ground level. Attempting to pull entangled vines from a healthy tree is risky. Tree branches can break and cause injury to the tree. Or the vines can snap and whip you as you pull on them.

Generally, we allow the vines to remain on the tree until they dry out. The vines that you can reach can be removed with a metal rake.

Vines that you are unable to reach will drop to the ground overtime especially during a windstorm. Some of our maple tree branches still have a few old bittersweet vines that were cut down three years ago. As sections of the vine dry out, they eventually fall out of the trees. Within the next few days, the row of maple trees were taken down by a professional tree removal service team. After the tree removal was complete, we were ready to treat the vine root system.

Using the chemical approach below in step 2. Once the professional tree removal team finished, we returned to the area with vines in the ground. Using our loppers, we made a fresh cut as close to the ground level as possible. Cut the vine as close to the vine root systems as you can. Always wear disposable gloves for protection. Apply an herbicide containing Triclopyr to the fresh cut. Use a disposable foam brush to apply the herbicide. After each cut, immediately brush the exposed bittersweet vine stem with the herbicide.

In some instances, roots grew slightly below the ground level in a horizontal manner. To apply the herbicide to those roots, we made a notch on the root then applied the herbicide.

The Bittersweet root system absorbs the herbicide. Herbicide travels and infects the entire root system. Herbicide slowly kills the root system. Bittersweet roots turn completely black when they are dead.

Again, the herbicide is most effective on fresh cuts. Apply herbicide as close to the root system as possible.

Herbicide application is applied only during the growing season when the roots are active. Effects of the herbicide is to stunt the root growth. And eventually kill the vine from the inside of the root system.

For best results, apply herbicide to the vine root system on a dry day. Then the treated vine should remain dry for a minimum of 24 hours. Another consideration is the proximity of other garden plants. Herbicides will damage surrounding plants if accidentally applied to them. We noticed one vine root grew right next to a Maple tree root.

The Maple tree was a mature 50 foot tall tree. A tree we did not want to lose. Sometimes it is better to manually extract the roots rather than risk losing other garden plants. When using herbicides, protect the surrounding areas.

Lay a tarp or clear plastic to the garden areas. After several weeks, we removed the dead bittersweet roots in the ground. Most of the root system should easily be pulled up from the ground.

We found the vine root system to be quite extensive within our yard. Most of the backyard had several layers of roots growing below the soil surface. So incredibly invasive! We were careful to dispose of the bittersweet vines and root system. Both vines and roots were bagged. And placed with garbage for the landfill. None of the bittersweet made its way to our compost bin. You never want any seeds or partial root systems to take hold of the compost bin.

Terrain at Westport, Connecticut. Store display of Oriental Bittersweet Vines at their Westport location. So we started this project from a point of feeling overwhelmed. Did we arrive at complete eradication of oriental bittersweet?

No, not exactly. My best guess is that we have some level of control of the bittersweet. Fruit and fall coloration. Oriental bittersweet reproduces by seed and vegetatively by sprouting from an extensive root system. Its conspicuous fruit is spread primarily by birds and persists from late summer through winter. A significant vector of this vine is its continued use as a component of decorative wreaths—its seeds remain viable even after drying and can germinate once the wreath is discarded.

Once an individual is established, it spreads by sending up sprouts from its roots. Following cutting, Oriental bittersweet resprouts vigorously from cut stems and roots. While Oriental bittersweet prefers full sun, it tolerates dense shade while young.

Sprouts growing in shade seek out full sun by climbing nearby vegetation and forming a blanket over the forest canopy. It thrives especially well in moist areas and areas with exposed mineral soil, such as disturbed sites, but it grows in many soil conditions, including sand dunes and bogs. Though attacking the root system is the only way to kill the vine, freeing surrounding trees and other vegetation from the weight of the aerial stems by cutting them at ground level is typically the first step in controlling the vine.

When mature, one root system may support dozens of stems, many of which may be very small or wrapped around desirable trees, making them impractical to treat with herbicides. Often, the most feasible approach is to cut the existing stems, forcing the roots and stumps to send up new shoots, and then treat the regrowth with foliar-applied herbicides. On well-developed vines, most of the leaf area is in the upper canopy of the host tree, out of reach for foliar herbicide applications.

Cutting the vines kills the aerial portion and forces the roots to generate new growth. Cutting can be done anytime of year. The "window-cut" method is recommended, where each vine is cut in two places, at the ground and again at eye level.

This ensures all vines are located and cut and clears the site at ground level to facilitate follow-up spraying. Do not pull the cut vines from trees; this can further damage host plants and pose safety risks. The dead vines will shed their leaves, dry, and decompose over time, so the weight will no longer be an issue.

Cutting alone is only effective at controlling the vines when resprouts are repeatedly cut until the root system is exhausted. This will take multiple cuttings annually over several growing seasons. Mowing has been shown to encourage root sprouting and may not control the plant even when repeated periodically. Missing even one cutting during this regimen is likely to give the vine a chance to recover and reestablish.

The most practical method to injure the root system of Oriental bittersweet is to treat the regrowth following cutting with a foliar herbicide application. Resprouts provide a smaller and more practical target for follow-up herbicide applications.

Ideally, this should be done after the regrowth has had at least eight weeks to sprout. If treated too soon, the new foliage will still be growing aggressively and the herbicide will not move into the root system. All herbicide treatments to vines should be made late in the growing season, no earlier than July 1, to enhance translocation to roots. Treating stumps after cutting will reduce the amount of regrowth but not eliminate all root sprouts in most instances.

Often, the best option is to simply cut all the vines and wait to foliar spray the regrowth. The challenge will be treating the new vines before they get a chance to intermingle with foliage of desirable plants.

When spraying foliage, use a mixture of glyphosate and water-based formulations of triclopyr with a surfactant added. This mixture will not only control vine regrowth but can also be used to treat other invasive plants encountered during the operation.

Directly treating all vines on a well-developed infestation with stem treatments e. Basal bark treatments are effective on stems under 6 inches in diameter. When making basal bark applications, use an oil-soluble triclopyr ester product and avoid getting spray solution on the bark of desirable trees and shrubs. Applying large amounts of concentrated triclopyr ester solutions to vines near the base of desirable trees poses a potential risk of injury if picked up through their roots and should also be avoided.

Stems at least 1 inch in diameter and larger that aren't tightly twined around desirable trees can be treated using the hack-and-squirt method. This method is a highly targeted approach that uses a minimal amount of herbicide. A hatchet is used to make downward-angled cuts in the stem at a convenient height. Using a handheld sprayer, apply the water-based herbicide solution, saturating the cuts but avoiding runoff. To facilitate translocation to roots, space the cuts no more than 1 inch apart and do not girdle the stem.

Established root systems can be parent to many stems that can blanket trees with their rapid growth. Gaps created by broken limbs or downed trees open the canopy, releasing sunlight to the forest floor and providing favorable habitat for Oriental bittersweet to thrive.

As described in prescriptions to address other invasive plant invasions, the best approach to combat this habit is to "save the best.