Vine thread

If you've ever seen your plants leafed out, search for
> Virginia Creeper > at
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& see if it looks familiar. [red leaves in > fall-- some black berries late summer.] > > The bittersweet has bright orange berries in the fall -- often seen in > fall bouquets in this part of the world. [northeast US]

I've never paid too much attention to the leaves but, I'll check once they start to grow back this season.

I certainly don't remember seeing any sorts of berries.

>What options do I have if they are the above? > > > Same thing as for the bittersweet vine, though with an uncooperative > neighbor, you're in for a life-long fight.

The property that the vines are coming from has just been sold, although we don't know if it's still being kept as a rental property, or, if the new owners are moving in to live there. With the latter situation, it would be much more likely we could get them to help clear out the vines.

I had it on 2 wooded sides of my 1 acre property. I used roundup > where it was mixed with poison ivy & have used a 6 foot mowed buffer & > frequent attacks at runners to keep it at bay on the rest of my > property line. In 16 years I have been able to keep it within > reason, but if I ignore it for 3-4 years my property would be solid > 'creeper'.

Just about the only _good_ thing about living on a property that's

60'x100' is that there's not much to maintaining it :). If I had an acre to try to recover, I think I'd let the vines have it!

So, I can spray it with Roundup? I bought a big container of that to kill the weeds growing in between the concrete sections of my driveway. Will that kill my lawn (I think the label said it would kill grass) too? I mean, if I spray it on the vines? I won't necessarily "mind" if it will kill patches of grass, I just want to be prepared.

And, "how" do I use it? Obviously, I spray it on the vines, but, can I still continue to pull them out? Someone else in the group said not to pull them, but, if I don't, then, I can't rake or mow (they catch both the rake tines and the mower blades). Should I maybe pull what I can and then spray Roundup on any bits that get left behind (to kill broken roots that might make new plants)? I know I can spray the vines that are wrapped around things (trees and fencing and stuff), but, I don't see how I can spray the vines that are just under the surface of the ground WITHOUT pulling them up.

Also, while I'm thinking of it, what if I bought _alot_ of Roundup and put it in a big power sprayer and (with the permission of the neighbors) went next door and sprayed the zones that the vines are coming from? Would that completely kill them in those areas, or, just the ones exposed on the surface? If I did that a few times during the season would it be likely to actually 'kill' them completely?

The areas the vines are coming from are quite literally "just" vines and sapling/small trees, with maybe some scraggy underbrush plants. If I could effectively kill them in the 'nest' it might make recovering my property bordes that much easier.

Gwen