Bittersweet eradication

[capetrees]

Does anyone know any solutions to not just removing but eradicating bittersweet on properties? This stuff has gone out of control all over the area and it seems the more I cut or pull, the more it grows back. I've sprayed for some of it but it just comes back somewhere else. I have a pesticide license and would like to know if anyone has had success with the complete eradication of bittersweet.

 

[Mad Professor]

I try to pull up as much as I can by the roots. Then I have to spray the resprouts a few times until they don't come back. I've used glyphosate/roundup

If you've got large climbing vines, cut them before the seed matures, and pull up roots and spray resprouts.

Some of what's coming up might be from seed, the birds also eat the seed then crap them out wherever they go.

 

[farmer steve]

2,4D mixed with roundup will do a number on it. The more you can kill before going to seed the better. On another note, craft people/florists pay decent money for the vines with the berries on it.

 

[capetrees]

2,4D mixed with roundup will do a number on it. The more you can kill before going to seed the better. On another note, craft people/florists pay decent money for the vines with the berries on it.

That's also how we got in trouble with it. people would buy the buy the wreaths made of the vines and berries and then toss it into the compost pile. It grows from the seeds in the wreath, the birds eat the seeds and off to the races!!

 

[pdqdl]

Summary: cut the vines, and stump treat. Unfortunately, this informative video fails to mention what herbicide works. I'd put my money on Tordon RTU as the best stump treatment. Be careful not to go crazy with the stuff, because too much applied in an area can kill the trees & plants you are attempting to save.

Unlike roundup, Tordon RTU will not injure turf or other grasses. Herbicides with Triclopyr in them are also likely to work quite well. If I was broadcast spraying an area beneath a tree to kill seedlings, I'd go with triclopyr formulations.

Sadly, I cannot say for sure what works on this invasive, as they don't seem to be in my area. Honeysuckle seems about the same, and Tordon works great on that vine.

 

[pdqdl]

And then there is this: https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/invasive-species/OrientalBittersweetBCP.pdf.
It includes specific recommendations for foliar, basal bark, injected, and cut stump treatments, but remains kinda light on herbicide recommendations. Get some Tordon RTU, and have at it on the stump treatment.

" Because its leaves persist much later than many native species, fall treatment may minimize damage to desirable broadleaf plants."​

 

[epicklein22]

PDQDL has the right idea, treat the stump with tordon. It works really well and easy to control/apply.

 

[Del_]

PDQDL has the right idea, treat the stump with tordon. It works really well and easy to control/apply.

I have a lot of large poison ivy around an old post oak and I'm afraid that Tordon will end up in the soil and kill my 100 old oak.

Is it likely to happen?

The P.I. vines are almost two inches thick.

Thanks.


.

 

[Mad Professor]

Here is a couple of references I used when writing a forest management plan.

 

[ATH]

I have a lot of large poison ivy around an old post oak and I'm afraid that Tordon will end up in the soil and kill my 100 old oak.

Is it likely to happen?

The P.I. vines are almost two inches thick.

Thanks.


.

Not likely. Just get a little bit on the vines...not onto the bark of the tree. Where we see problems with Tordon is when there are a lot of stumps to treat all around the tree. Like 100+ per acre. I wouldn't worry about treating a couple vines on a tree.

 

[Mad Professor]

And then there is this: https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/invasive-species/OrientalBittersweetBCP.pdf.
It includes specific recommendations for foliar, basal bark, injected, and cut stump treatments, but remains kinda light on herbicide recommendations. Get some Tordon RTU, and have at it on the stump treatment.

" Because its leaves persist much later than many native species, fall treatment may minimize damage to desirable broadleaf plants."​

That's one of the references I've used

Not likely. Just get a little bit on the vines...not onto the bark of the tree. Where we see problems with Tordon is when there are a lot of stumps to treat all around the tree. Like 100+ per acre. I wouldn't worry about treating a couple vines on a tree.

Cut the vines and paint the cuts with concentrate

 

[epicklein22]

I have a lot of large poison ivy around an old post oak and I'm afraid that Tordon will end up in the soil and kill my 100 old oak.

Is it likely to happen?

The P.I. vines are almost two inches thick.

Thanks.


.

I’ve never seen it infiltrate ancillary trees/shrubs. I use it for invasive species, vines, small saplings and even large trees. One landowner was trying to eradicate locust trees in a section of her property according to a forestry plan, I used Tordon on the stumps after removing all the locust and it’s been a huge success. The existing maples and white pines have been doing well and have had no sprouts off the locust stumps yet.

 

[pdqdl]

I have a lot of large poison ivy around an old post oak and I'm afraid that Tordon will end up in the soil and kill my 100 old oak.

Is it likely to happen?

The P.I. vines are almost two inches thick.

Thanks.


.

Very unlikely. I had an entire apartment complex that I treated for poison ivy. Not just a few places treated were where the poison ivy foliage was swarming all over some large oaks. I hosed 'em down and the trees were fine.

Now you should understand that isn't the approved technique, but I wasn't generating the kind of income it would take to do the job right. Quite frankly, it was an experiment that I didn't advise my customer of. They ended up owing me over $200,000 for well over a year, and almost put me out of business with the enormous bill that finally got paid. When I was treating the poison ivy, most areas were on their perimeter fence, and I wasn't feeling too benevolent about the large balance.

Stump treatment is quite a bit more conservative with the application of the herbicide. If you are concerned about hurting your oak, I would suggest that you do stump treatment with triclopyr instead of picloram. Triclopyr is the main ingredient in Turflon-D, a popular broadleaf weed treatment for lawns. It is clearly safe for application in the root zone of oak trees, unless of course, you put down far too much.

 

[pdqdl]

An additional note: once you get cut and treated all of the bittersweet vines within an area, you should make an application of a long term pre-emergent herbicide in the area. Those vines will have thrown many seeds, and they will be back. I have done no study on the subject, and it would depend upon the exact situation you are treating but I suspect that Specticle might work very well.
https://www.environmentalscience.ba...golf-course-management/products/specticle-flo
You will wish to read the label for yourself, but this stuff is so good it is often used with Roundup or other contact herbicides for year long soil sterilization purposes.

 

[Del_]

Thanks to all of you!

I've had the Tordon for a year or more now.

Is this heat wave a good time to apply.

Open to suggestions.

Sorry Cape for the derail but we basically have the same question so I jumped in.

.

 

[pdqdl]

So far as I am aware, Tordon works any time of year, but far less effective when the plants are dormant (think winter). When doing a foliar spray, I prefer autumn before leaf drop. That way I don't have giant dead zones with brown leaves in a field of green. I can't say for sure, but I think summer is fine for stump treatment.

Tordon when sprayed (22k) is a rather slow acting herbicide. I wouldn't count on getting great results except with the stump treatment at this time of year. By the way: the RTU part of Tordon RTU stands for Ready To Use. I routinely make my own mixture with Tordon-22K and a little bit of 2,4-D and some marker dye. It's cheaper that way. The 22K formulation is a restricted use pesticide, and isn't commonly available. Most of the herbicide dealers don't even keep the 22K in inventory. The RTU formula is commonly sold at the farm stores to the general public, however.

 

[MRCLYDE]

I had an USDA/NRCS grant to do it on our farm, the prescribed method was to cut the vines then paint or spay the stump/stub with Tryclopyr.

As far as ignorant people selling or buying wreaths they need to be educated. It is the scourge of New England. People that have had to deal with the infestation are not likely to use it as an ornament.

I always cut it at shoulder hieght and at ground level so it so young sprouts don't climb the cut vine. It chokes a lot of nice trees if it's left to grow for very long.

If you do cut it when the vines have any size to them, don't try to pull them from the tree until they dry out. It takes some time but they break off fairly easily when they're dry.

If you try to pull them right after you cut them, you'll do more damage than good.