Battling Virginia Creeper.....

[twoblackdogs]

I HATE VIRGINIA CREEPER!

Can I say it any louder???

Anyhow - I have prime spot for a new hosta bed in my woods - we had a tree fall, and it's PERFECT! Direct late afternoon sun, indirect morning sun, and the rest of the time high dappled shade under black walnuts and tulip poplars.

Last time I cleared out a spot, I hand pulled all the evil vines. But this is a much larger area - 60 x 40.

In the past I used Brush Bgone, and that worked somewhat, but I was still pulling up some vines later.
Anybody have any other ideas or suggestions that have worked for them?

Oh - and if anybody wants any Creeper - (I know some people like it bc it is pretty in the fall) I would be glad to set you up for free. People are selling it on Ebay for as high as $50!!

Lela

[Chris_W]

Hi Lela,

Here I used a combination spray of roundup PLUS brush-b-gon, and that worked terrific on both the virginia creeper and the poison ivy (and the grass and other weeds).

If you are mixing from concentrate try to use soft water from the house (if you have it) instead of hard water from the outside faucet as hard water can reduce the effectiveness of herbicides.

Good luck!

Chris

(And would you believe I get people asking for this weed here once in a while too?)

[HostaDesigner]

...and here I am intentionally letting it grow up some tall trees in the back yard because I like the fall color...

[ViolaAnn]

Chris - I regularly see things in garden centres that I would classify only as a WEED. LOL

My original next door neighbour started bringing in Virginia Creeper from the cottage and letting it grow on the fence. The current owner is trying to eradicate it.

My other next door neighbour has it growing on the house.

I get seedlings all over the place, but have learned to recognize them with their first leaves. I just try to get them out EARLY.

Ann

[twoblackdogs]

Well, I took a before picture, so will post after I get things done.

And now I have a worse enemy - Groundhog! I looked out to see some of my cone flowers waving - not the wind - and there was Chuck. GRRR.... I told the black dogs that there would be a steak in their future if they could track him and get him, if DH doesn't get him first with the .22

[hostanquilts]

I've been fighting the VC ever since we moved here over 10 years ago. I'll think I have it eradicated and then I spot some. Like others have said, try to get it out while it's young. It's one of those weeks that keep coming back.

I read in a book that VC can kill a tree. We have a neighbor about 3/4 mile from us, who let it grow on one of their barns & it has limbs growing out near the top of the barn... it looks like it'll pull it down one of these days.

I too have seen VC being sold in some of the local box stores. Couldn't believe my eyes when a lady picked one up to buy. I told her if she wanted some, she could come to my house & dig all she wanted for free, but she didn't take me up on the offer.

Good luck in getting rid of it. If you are successful, let me know on how you did it.

[greenguy]

all i can think of is poison ivy whenever i see it

and i don't even get poison ivy

[JaneG]

AAACCKKK!!!!

I hate it too. It might look nice on one fencepost, but then before you know it it's covered the entire fence and then c-r-a-w-l-e-d very sneaky through the grass and pops up against a building, or tree, or anything else it decides to devour. If it were a little more controllable, I might consider letting a little of it grow. But NO, you can't trust it.

I just keep spraying it over and over with brush-b-gone, roundup, whatever is in the sprayer each time I'm out there spraying, and eventually it weakens and dies. But it will pop up 2 years later from the one that you thought was dead. Now I make sure I spray the very first leaves every time I see them.

[twoblackdogs]

It's been a month since the battle against the Creeper began. I've tried BrushBGone and the Roundup for PoisonIvy with mixed results. Hand pulling the stuff has of course been the most effective, but not the easiest.

One bit of learning - is for me, it can create a rash like poison ivy. I don't get poison ivy (I used to scare my brother who is wildy sensitive to it by waving fronds of it at him when we were young). BUT I did get a nasty yucky itchy rash from the creeper! I thought it strange until I searched the 'net and found that it actually can be worse than poison ivy. Benedryl seems to help reduce the itching. Lesson learned: need to make sure I'm washed up thoroughly after doing anything to it. Ouch

[SUEDIA]

Thanks for the update and your words of wisdom on the rash. I have it growing up the old oak tree that I started my first hosta bed under. I keep cutting and pulling it off the tree, but I try to be carefull because I first thought it was posion ivy . I will get more aggressive in my quest to slow it down. I will be very carefull and wash after touching it.
Take Care,
Sue
Chelsea

[hostanquilts]

Chris, When you combined the Round-up & Brush-B-gone, what strength did you use? How much Round-up & how much Brush-B-gone & amount of water? I have an area in the woods where the VC grows & wild gooseberries that don'g produce enough gooseberries to do anything with, so I'm going to try to get rid of both with the same application. The gooseberries are spreading almost as bad as the VC & they are getting near a couple of my hosta beds.

[Chris_W]

Hi Jan,

I actually mixed each according to their directions in the same tank, so I didn't change the overall concentration of either chemical. Sometimes I also add a splash of Weed-b-gon to the roundup in the 4 gallon tank, but that's only because it tends to make the weeds and grass brown slightly overnight, so I can see where I sprayed easier and then respray the parts I missed.

With really bad poison ivy I usually cut down the vines and then spray the cut really good, but the same could probably help with really bad vines. We have poison ivy really bad around here, and I often will be pulling virginia creeper only to find that a small piece of poison ivy was hiding in it, but I had never heard of Virginia creeper giving people an allergic reaction. That's a new one to me.

[Arlene]

Many years ago, a nursery owner told me that the most effective time to spray poison ivy is in the fall, when it's pulling nutrients down to the roots for winter dormancy. I battled PI at the lake house and sprayed it whenever I noticed it, but I always made sure to make a special trip around the yard in the fall to see if there were any vines that needed a winter squirt. I don't know if this is scientific or not, but it sounded logical -- Might be worth a try with the VC as well.

[jgh]

Poison Ivy is particularly good at shedding sprays that would kill a more normal plant - it has a really good wax cuticle on the leaf surfaces that lets the chemicals roll off without getting absorbed well. I think Chris' "cocktail" combining the brush killer chemical also probably added a "wetting agent" - brush products usually have that in them - which helps make it "stick" to the ivy.

We've tried to get Virginia Creeper to grow on our railroad tie fences - can't seem to get it where we want it. On the other hand, it grows very well in all the spots we DON'T want it