Counter attack aggressive creepers?

Hi all!

We are becoming desperate with the invasion of two aggressive creepers: araujia sericifera and galium triclorum. They grow as hell, in shadow, under cypress leaves or pine seeds, they climb over trees and kill them, and they are more every day

We spend a ridicoulous amount of time weeding them one by one, but there are more and more every day.

I thought that the best defense is a good attack and maybe I could seed some non aggressive species able to grow in shadowy/acid soils, I need a Mr Wolf to eliminate this plague.

Galium is very itchy, I just spent half an hour focused on eliminate it and well, my arms are red now.

Dont know if this is a good strategy, but I could give it a try, so this is what I need: resistant, happy with shadow and pines, fast grower (with fast I dont mean tall)

What do you think?

I am not familiar with araujia sericifera. Wikipedia says

Its common names include moth plant, white bladderflower, common moth vine, cruel vine and false choko.

Wikipedia says

Galium triflorum (also known as cudweed, sweet-scented bedstraw, and fragrant bedstraw)

This one I know really well.  The only way I have been able to get rid of it is to smother it for a long, long time.

Something that I have not tried is to keep it cut down before it goes to seed.  Maybe after a few years of doing this all the seed might to gone.  

agressive vines are an awful plague where I live. we have kudzu and another vine that looks exactly like grape but is not. it grows feet per day in summer and is very very difficult to control. some of the vines on my property are 4" thick and swallow up 100' tall trees.
I made an attempt every fall and winter to cut it off at the base where it comes out of the ground. in some places where I cut it back the trees it was covering died. im guessing there might be some sort of symbionic relationship. there are non native invasive spices.

My feeling is that I have to introduce some better species to occupy the soil. But I am completely lost

How about Glechoma hederacea, AKA creeping charlie? If it gets out of control, you can eat it! If you want to use it for tea, wait for the flowers... harvest about 4 inches of the tips, a bunch of them and brew it up. Yum. I think it does poorly as a tea without the flowers.

webpage

It does fine under Pinetrees. I don't know if cypress is friendly to it or not. I like it.

the problem is trying to eradicate the invasive species. the roots become entangled with roots of large mature trees. the ones I have that look just like grapes when I cut it back at the base 3 or 4 more grow back where the re was just 1 previously.
maybe some experts have some advice how to get rid of these problem vines.

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:How about Glechoma hederacea, AKA creeping charlie? If it gets out of control, you can eat it! If you want to use it for tea, wait for the flowers... harvest about 4 inches of the tips, a bunch of them and brew it up. Yum. I think it does poorly as a tea without the flowers.

webpage

It does fine under Pinetrees. I don't know if cypress is friendly to it or not. I like it.

I will look for it ASAP!

bruce Fine wrote:the problem is trying to eradicate the invasive species. the roots become entangled with roots of large mature trees. the ones I have that look just like grapes when I cut it back at the base 3 or 4 more grow back where the re was just 1 previously.
maybe some experts have some advice how to get rid of these problem vines.

Yes, the more I fight them, thw more they grow

I was able to completely eradicate bindweed from growing in large swaths of my yard by letting chickens have the run of the place.
Unfortunately every other annual was also wiped out as well.

Maybe goats could take down your vines without killing the trees.

We're in an endless battle with bindweed, but it's mostly a nuisance. Sounds like some of you folks are battling the spawn of Godzilla. Yikes.

BTW, reading the title of this thread, I thought it was about battling Internet trolls. Shows you where my brain is.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:We're in an endless battle with bindweed, but it's mostly a nuisance. Sounds like some of you folks are battling the spawn of Godzilla. Yikes.

BTW, reading the title of this thread, I thought it was about battling Internet trolls. Shows you where my brain is.

Yep, it is like Godzilla indeed! I've seen them kill a 20m Pine or an old Olive. It is terrible. And itchy!

Antonio,

I don't have your particular vining weed, but I do have Japanese Honeysuckle which is terribly invasive by me.  What has worked for me is to pull the vines out, roots and all, and keep pulling till I find the "center", or main taproot that sprouted out all the vines.  I don't know if you are in a position to so so, but for me, pulling just a few feet of JH was not enough.  I had to pull every single part of the weed to get it under control.  I had a similar issue with poison ivy.  Perhaps super-aggressive pulling in combination with some smothering shade could work for you?  Like I said, this has worked for my weeds, but mine are not yours and I can only hope this will be of some help.

Good luck and I hope you can get that stuff under control.

Eric

William Bronson wrote:I was able to completely eradicate bindweed from growing in large swaths of my yard by letting chickens have the run of the place.

The power of animals is amazing!! Today my rabbit got out of his run (it was sunny, and I have recently been working on it, I guess he doesn't like my "improvements". I keep a close eye on him, since I know he can get out if he wants to, though previously he has been happy just to dig and chill). Instead of attacking my kale and romaine lettuce in the garden, he headed to a shady corner and proceeded to eat all the jasmine vines and whatever else was growing there down to the ground!! I have been fighting a losing battle against the jasmine, it is growing in cracks in concrete and came up through rubble covered with a tarp and gravel. I am seriously thinking of making another second run that I can put in or just on top of places where the jasmine vines are growing. He can have as much of this crap as he wants.....

Eric Hanson wrote:Antonio,

I don't have your particular vining weed, but I do have Japanese Honeysuckle which is terribly invasive by me.  What has worked for me is to pull the vines out, roots and all, and keep pulling till I find the "center", or main taproot that sprouted out all the vines.  I don't know if you are in a position to so so, but for me, pulling just a few feet of JH was not enough.  I had to pull every single part of the weed to get it under control.  I had a similar issue with poison ivy.  Perhaps super-aggressive pulling in combination with some smothering shade could work for you?  Like I said, this has worked for my weeds, but mine are not yours and I can only hope this will be of some help.

Good luck and I hope you can get that stuff under control.

Eric

Yes, it helps, all ideas are good! I will have to try many to be succesful