To scrounge some small Hickory hung up in a Shortleaf Pine. It must have been hanging a while, because it was rock hard. I did it on the one sunny day we had in January. Pouring rain again today, so all I can do is look at pictures of wood scores. This is on an early 20th century estate in the city. On a nearby property are some of the biggest Hickory’s I’ve ever seen.
I've been known to climb after hickory scraps like that on occasion I'm trying to learn something here. Is this tree covered in wintercreeper? I've been battling what I believe to be wintercreeper at home. Stuff climbs right up high tree trunks and sprawls out all over my stone boundary wall. While attached to the tree, it sends out woody branches that radiate outwards to capture the sunlight. Leaves stay green year-round.
Possibly. There’s a vine on some of the trees that I don’t know the id, but it’s dormant. I’m thinking that’s English Ivy covering the tree in the pic. There’s English and Poison ivy, Wisteria and the vine I don’t know. Maybe 2 vines I don’t know. One is light in color and another is darker. If I had a rope with me I would have dragged all the Hickory out. It’s not going anywhere in the meantime.
Can you cut the vines at the base of the tree so it stops their progress? I'm sure this would be an endless fight but it would keep it from strangling the trees..
Yes sir. Me and my handy Stihl 161t were hard at work slashing brush and vines when I found the Hickory. The neighbors were complaining about the appearance of the forest and you don’t want neighbors judging you for your lack of forest maintenance.
That's what I did last year. Cut them at ground level, then pulled down what I could. As the vines still attached dry out, they become brittle and eventually fall down on their own. They're vigorous growers though, so repeated cutting is necessary.
There is a management method that you can use herbicide to paint the cut base of the vines with a product to kill the roots. I imagine you could also use a machine and a grapple to try to pull the roots out. It’s a never ending battle for sure. I have used your method in the past. Cut them, let them dry out and drop naturally.
I read somewhere that triclopyr is effective. I'll be battling this stuff for years to come I'm sure. A lot of the invasives end up encroaching into my yard from my neighbor's property. His largely unmanaged backyard is a safe haven for Oriental bittersweet, multiflora rose, Japanese knotweed, burning bush, Norway maple, etc.
Wintercreeper or english ivy. English ivy is evergreen. I threw an ivy house plant out near my garage and it grew out of the pot and up a stone garage wall and nearby tree. I battle wisteria here. Never ending try to pull the plants out/ dig with shovels and even a backhoe. I believe the roots and broken off roots can lay dormant for a while as well as the seeds in the seed pods. Herbicides help a little bit, too, but wisteria is rather persistent. Especially well established roots.
