What kind of vines?????

[Shipper50]

I have bought 2 pieces of wooded land in my time and both have had a type of vine that grows as big as a mans forearm and grows up into the top of the trees eventually killing the tree off.

Does anyone know what they are and other than cutting at the ground level what can a guy do to stop them?:help:

Thanks
Shipper

 

[PA Plumber]

Are they really fuzzy/hairy? Or, Do they look a little like Shagbark hickory bark?

 

[Shipper50]

Are they really fuzzy/hairy? Or, Do they look a little like Shagbark hickory bark?

They are dark brown and more furrowed than anything. Not fuzzy like poison ivy. Not really like shag bark either. They seem to be common in Indiana as both of my properties are or were there.

Thanks
Shipper

 

[PA Plumber]

Our two most popular are the Fuzzy-Poison Ivy and Not Fuzzy-Wild Grape. Wild grape vines will get as big as what you're describing (we have a lot of big ones), but it takes about 20 to 25 years of undisturbed growth in good soil.

I would rule out poison sumac because it is found fairly far south of both of our states.

I guess you could try a Yahoo search for Indiana Woodland Vines and see what happens.

 

[Dixie1]

what about trumpet vine, Campsis radicans? It is very woody and can become quite large and take over a tree. Also chinese wisteria can do this as well.

 

[ericjeeper]

sounds like Kudzoo

to me. does the foliage take over everything in sight?

 

[Dixie1]

post a picture, it could be lots of things

 

[Kate Butler]

or, if you can't post a picture

Describe what it looks like when it flowers.

 

[Cam501]

to me. does the foliage take over everything in sight?

i didn't think kudzu was found that far north. we didn't have it when i lived in ohio.

 

[kevinj]

Almost sounds to me like wild grape. w/o seeing any pics.
Does it climb straight up the tree ?
Are there any fallen leaves nearby that you could describe ?
( that may have came from it? )
Wisteria, if I'm not mistaking, will have purple elongated flowers.
There is the chinese wisteria, and the japanese wisteria.
However, I can't tell them apart.

 

[ropensaddle]

vine

sounds like muscudine not real sure of this spelling but ihave seen it over one
foot in dia and overtaking a small forest

 

[ehgauss]

Wild Grape Vines

I have numerous wild grape vines in my woodlot in upstate NY, a climate not too different from Indiana. Their effect is exactly as you describe. The bark is dark brown and falls free from the vine in thin strips. I've had them as much as 4" in diameter, and stretched out to 60 or more feet long after I've pulled them loose from a tree with a tractor. I've had them kill trees and cause the upper crowns to break off. I try to cut as many as I can as I find them. Gene Gauss

 

[Mtnman4ever]

Cold be wild grape or a invasive specis bitersweet vines they aredamn naer indesrtuctable dig up what you think is all of it and a section of root you missed will sprout up and they growfast . I have a client that has this vine and i get a mini excavator and dig up as much as possble . It seems imunne to herbacides most are chemically so close to agent Orange that it takes a top notch chmist to tell hem apart . ! yikes .
the grapes area PITA but ca n be dealt with i have used a dead tree to creat a grape vine tree. by traing the vines and educating theclient . it looks ok now abnd porduces grapes along with a place for thir kids to plat I cut offall the widowmakersand reduces it in height . it has some bats living in ittoo! good for mosqiutioe control l

 

[Shipper50]

Thanks for all the replies. I will try and take a picture of it as soon as I can. The best I can describe is, it doesn't really have a flower from what I have seen. Its more a climbing vine that has roots next to the host tree. It grows around or out from the tree and keeps growing till it gets to the host trees crown.

Its so strong that I can pull my body weight off the ground by pulling on it and I weigh over 250.

So I will try and take some pics tomorrow and we can all find out.

Thanks
Shipper

 

[PA Plumber]

Wild grape is very strong. It will snap off healthy trees when wrapped around the front of my track loader bucket. Wild grape good tensil strength as well as break strength.

 

[Dixie1]

it is sounding more like grape. if it was poison ivy, it would have exceptional fall color, have you noticed if it does? also, usually poison ivy starts out very snugly at the base of the tree and as the grape can be very squirrely trying to grow up the tree. poison ivy literally attaches itself to the tree with "sticky" aerial rootlets while the grape just grabs and wraps itself around whatever it can reach.

 

[PA Plumber]

it is sounding more like grape. if it was poison ivy, it would have exceptional fall color, have you noticed if it does? also, usually poison ivy starts out very snugly at the base of the tree and as the grape can be very squirrely trying to grow up the tree. poison ivy literally attaches itself to the tree with "sticky" aerial rootlets while the grape just grabs and wraps itself around whatever it can reach.

I concur. We refer to Poison Ivy vines as being "Fuzzy".

There is a good poison ivy thread in the archives. There are a lot of us that have issues with the stuff.

I am definitely not an aborist, although it seems Indiana would be too cold for a lot of the invasive vines found in the southern states.

 

[michael j]

I cut an elm with the fuzzies growin' up it Sunday. Some of the vines were big enough to be all nighters. Now I'm itchin'.

Mike

 

[PA Plumber]

I cut an elm with the fuzzies growin' up it Sunday. Some of the vines were big enough to be all nighters. Now I'm itchin'.

Mike

You should consider washing with Tecnu. It will help remove the oil.

It is sold under the Oak-N-Ivy Brand and you can get it at drugstores/walmart.

Oak-N-Ivy also has a product called CalaGel. It helps with the itching.

I use the above products and they keep me out of trouble.

 

[ropensaddle]

vines

musqudine or wild grape as yaall been callin it gets bigger down south, but
its almost certainly the vine every ones talking about
I cut one and got a call from power company i was working for asking what i sprayed the forest with,the vine was 16 inch in dia ,the leaves died from it and every one in town thought i killed the trees ;my boss asked why i cut this vine i said it made clearing the powerline a nitemare so i was just helping the next poor feller that had to trim, he said they make wine out of them grapes around here and you better hope your out of the area before spring,
well i was but that was 15 years ago and probably the biggest vine ive ever laid eyes on 16 dia not radious:yoyo: :yoyo: :yoyo: