Grapevines and Leylandii

I have some young leylandii pushing their way up but a nearby grapevine has taken a fancy to a couple of them and has latched onto them. As it would do, it's starting to spread over them. I rather like the addition of grapevine leaves to the leylandii branches, but I'm worried that the combination won't work out in the long run. Will the leylandii prove strong enough to grow normally in spite of the clinging vine, and take the vine up with them, or will the vine prove to be the stronger and stunt the growth of the leylandii? Can anyone advise me on this? If I have to, I'll simply cut the vine away from the trees.

Reply to
JB Conner
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I don't allow grape vines to grow over any of my bushes and trees. I've seen these vines grow to a few inches in diameter and hinder tree growth.

Reply to
Frank

As with most plants, your Leyland cypress grows from the branch ends, not from the base of the trunk. Thus, it will NEVER "take the vine up".

However, this is not a good situation. Grape vines are very vigorous. I have three, and their shoots grow several feet in a season. While the tree will not raise up the vine, shoots will grow out of your reach and possibly grow to the top of the tree. The large grape leaves will shade the cypress, eventually causing it to die.

To be productive, grape vines need severe annual pruning. Growing on and in a tree will make that quite difficult.

Grapes are not the only vine that can grow on a tree and kill it. I saw an Italian cypress with wisteria on it. The tree was struggling to survive. Fortunately, the owner recognized the problem and cut the wisteria at the ground. It was a few years before the tree recovered.

Reply to
David E. Ross

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