Question for those with plant / soil knowledge

[NWADawg]

I have been battling some vines growing up around my trees for a few years. I've tried to remove them but can never kill them all the way or get all of the roots out so the next year, they are back again. I recently saw one of those home remedy things that said 2 cups of salt in white vinegar would kill everything. I guess the vinegar kills short term but multiple applications of the salt will make the soil unsuitable for any growth. First question, will this actually work. Second, if I spray this around the base of established trees, will it hurt the tree. I would think not since the tree roots go out into good soil but don't want tot kill 50-100 year old trees.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

I would recommend not using vinegar and salt. Vines are tough to kill just because their root system is so extensive but you’re going to have issues with spraying them and not hurting the trees.

 

[horshack.sixpack]

I've had some success killing tough things by cutting it near the ground, drill a small hole into the top of the cut part sticking out of the ground, pour a little of the roundup concentrate in the hole. These vines may not be that large, but just a thought.

 

[mcdawg22]

Is it thorny vines? If so I had a Smilax problem in my yard because I back up to wetlands. Smilax can be distributed by animals and a tuber buried 6-24 inches underground can shoot to other tubers and now you have a maze under your yard. I had a little luck with digging them up as they popped up but this was a pain in the ***. A better alternative was cutting them back and painting the stems with Total Vegetation Control. After a couple of applications the original sprouts died off. This year I started trying Sunday lawn service and I bought their product called Weed Warrior. It knocks that stuff silly, I don’t know if it has killed the whole tuber yet but I don’t have vines popping up in the original locations. Here is the picture of the ingredients if some of the smarter agro guys want to chime in. View attachment 16142

 

[PapaDawg]

I have had success doing a modified version of this. I cut the vine off at the ground and spray Roundup on the exposed area of the vine going into the ground. Seems to work almost all the time on hard to kill vines. I have never had to use the concentrate.

 

[maddawg00]

If you can get a section of the vine to lay on the ground, you might try putting a few of the leaves in a bowl partially filled with a roundup mixture. Place them in it and let sit a day or two. Thataway you don’t have to get the mix on anything else.

 

[My Bru]

Chop them off at the base, leaving enough room to grab and pull. Pull them out as much as possible (with gloves if poison ivy), then chop again if needed. Hit the leaves with roundup as they come out each spring. In a few years they are gone. That simple.

You might want to rake/blow some leaves (or mulch/pine straw/whatever) around the tree bases. Gives it a nice clean circle look and protects the roots from your spray, I guess.

 

[NWADawg]

Is it thorny vines? /QUOTE]


I took a picture of one but can't figure out how to attach it here.

 

[mcdawg22]

Is it thorny vines? /QUOTE]


I took a picture of one but can't figure out how to attach it here.

View attachment 16144This is what my variety of Smilax looks like. It can look different but typically has thorns and heart shaped leaves.

 

[blacklistedbully]

 

[blacklistedbully]

I have read many people recommend cutting each branch of the vine and sticking the end into a cup of Roundup or other brand (some bury the cup into the ground to make it easy to bind the vine into it), and leave it there for a week or more. Apparently the vine sucks up the weed killer as moisture and distributes it down the line to the rest of the "chain". This would also keep you from killing plants you want to keep.

Whatever you do, you will probably have to battle it every year for at least 3 years.

 

[NWADawg]

View attachment 16144This is what my variety of Smilax looks like. It can look different but typically has thorns and heart shaped leaves.

I think this is what I have growing. These are internet images but look like what I'm dealing with. Winter Creeper Euonymus.

 

[NWADawg]

Now that I've found the name of the vine, I used the old google to look them up. They are native to China. That bunch is crapping on the national and world economies, got me working from home, and now I find out they are jacking with my trees. They just moved up one notch on my list of mortal enemies. **sorta.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

Spray them and let it settle for about a week, then cut them. And by cut I mean machete this **** out of them. I whack them up and the base like I’m tilling the ground.

 

[blacklistedbully]

Check out the 48 second mark:

 

[mcdawg22]

I think the suggestion of cutting them back and laying them in cups or soaking the stems with glyphosate as others have mentioned are the best options.