Photo: Fallen Sycamore, Betsy Martin
Betsy Martin
Today (March 1) is the last day of National Invasive Species Awareness Week!
Appropriately, this is the perfect time of year to remove certain invasive vines from your own yard. At this time of year, native plants have mostly died back for the winter, but evergreen invasive vines such as English ivy, Wintercreeper, Asiatic bittersweet, and Japanese honeysuckle are green and visible. They are busily growing up trees, which they will eventually overtop, shade out and kill.
Oriental Bittersweet and English Ivy on a tree, Margaret Fisher
The weight of these invasive vines can bring a tree down. In a storm, they act as a sail to uproot a tree, and the vines become even heavier with water trapped in the dense foliage. They trap moisture next to the tree’s trunk, causing disease. They create habitat conducive to rats, ticks, and the spread of Lyme disease and West Nile virus. They displace native plants, creating a food desert for birds—native insects cannot eat these exotic vines, and so birds cannot find caterpillars to feed their young in a forest smothered by exotic vines.
Why is this the perfect time to tackle these vines? No mosquitoes, for one thing. It’s cool and pleasant to work, not hot and humid. Any poison ivy vines are dormant. You still should be careful, though, because you can get poison ivy from its stems. Be sure to wear gloves and wash up frequently.
You can remove invasive vines from your trees in three easy steps.
First, use loppers or clippers to cut the stems growing up the tree trunk. Cut them near the ground. You may need a hand saw to cut very thick stems, but be careful not to damage the tree or its bark with the saw.
Second, cut the stems about three feet above the ground. Pull the vines off the tree between the two sets of cuts. An old screwdriver slipped behind the stems can help pry them off. Make sure you’ve cut all the stems—don’t leave any growing up between the ground and the second set of cuts you’ve made.
The third step is—wait. The vine will die, turn brown, and eventually fall from the tree. You do not need to try to pull the vines down—that is a lot of work and can be harmful to the tree and dangerous to you, especially if you’re dealing with a large mass of vine.
Eventually, you will want to pull the vines up by the roots in nearby areas, because they will grow back up your trees.
Excellent information about invasive plants and how to control them is provided by Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Areas, Field Guide, on the Plant NOVA Natives website, and in Blue Ridge PRISM fact sheets for Asiatic bittersweet and Japanese honeysuckle.