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Unidentified invasive vine #803873

Asked July 31, 2022, 1:37 PM EDT

We've had an invasion of a vine I'm not familiar with this year. It seems very deep rooted and with a tough stem - doesn't pull out or break as easily as morning glory or even as simply as a grape vine. I don't know if it's a good plant or bad, but it's entwined in our forsythia and in the old big azaleas, and even holy bushes in our wooded back yard. Any suggestions for what it is, and how to get rid of it would be welcome. Right now I'm just cutting it as close to the ground as I can get, which sometimes isn't too close since in some places it's deep in the hedges.

Montgomery County Maryland

Expert Response

Hi,

This looks very much like a non-native wisteria vine, probably  Wisteria sinensis (twists clockwise) or W. floribunda (twists counterclockwise) that has escaped managed cultivation via seed dispersal.   It spreads via runners and sprouts everywhere, can climb 70 foot tall trees, girdling and pulling them down by its great weight as it matures into a thick, heavy vine. It can root wherever a stem touches the ground.  It has become a menace to our native ecosystems.

You have cut the vines off near the ground. They will re-sprout so you will have to keep this up to starve the plant by not allowing any leaf growth. The roots will continue to to try to send up renewal sprouts, so this is not a short term project.  Chemically-apply glyphosphate or triclopyr to the cut stems. Again, this is a repeat exercise since it is not "once and done"

Here is a useful publication regarding the wisteria problem:

https://www.invasive.org/weedcd/pdfs/wgw/exoticwisterias.pdf

Sue

An Ask Extension Expert Replied August 01, 2022, 10:44 AM EDT

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