Need Help! What is this vine?

I have a few of these little guys popping up in my yard and have no idea what it is and if I should just leave it in the naturalized area or pull it.

 

Looks like it could be honeysuckle. I have some that grows under a River Birch and while it's pretty, I have to keep pulling it out or it will take over the tree and the rest of the bed.

 

It looks like honeysuckle. If I were you I would pull every last plant I could find UNLESS you want to grow it and contain it. It grows vigorously, is non-native and takes over other "well meaning" plants

 

It's in an area I planned to let naturalize. I have had that area landscaped and put in a cryptomeria, red twig dogwoods, ilex verticulata, and there is a maple and a pin oak back there. It's sort of my 'nature corner'. I think I have some virginia creeper back there that just showed up and I don't plan to pull that either. Will it try to take over lawn to, or will it stop there? Will it grow up the fence? Up the trees? Can it take over a bush as large as a red or yellow twig dogwood?

I also have my bird feeder and baths back there.

 

In my experience it won't go into the lawn but it will take over tree and bush. It's fairly easy to pull out of the ground when it's wet out. You might have to untangle it from some branches, but you could let it grow a while and see what you think. In my opinion, I think it'll take over too much.

 

Is it something I can chop back every year and keep manageable? Let it spread and become ground cover but chop back when it gets obnoxious?

 

I don't see why you couldn't try that. I would think you'd notice if it was becoming too aggressive. It might take longer to get it out once it's more established, but not impossible.

 

If it is Honeysuckle, next spring you will have a sweet smelling set of small white flowers that are filled with a necter. We used to pluck them and suck out the necter when I was a kid.

Nice to look at and smell, but they will spread vigorously.

 

I am an ecological consultant that does a lot of exotic invasive plant work.

That looks to be a small bush honeysuckle (Lonicera mackii or tatarica), it is definitely not the more common woody vine Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). This will grow into a pretty massive shrub with time - density will depend on how much light it gets in that location. I would urge you to get rid of it now - they pull out very easily. Keep an eye on the area for some time as it may re-sprout from broken off roots, or additional seeds may germinate. Bush honeysuckles have similar flowers, but nothing compared to the attractiveness or fragrance of Japanese honeysuckle (I also recommend you kill that one as well, if you have it, for the greater good).

This plant and other like (Russian olive is a good example) were often given out by state agencies to enhance "wildlife habitat". While their fruits may have some value (hence their dispersal by birds), they are very aggressive to the detriment of native shrubs.

 

jeffwolinski, as a consultant, have you had any experience working with the county extension regarding invasive plants in wetland areas?

The woodland area behind our backyard lawn is full of the woody vine that wraps around everything in its path. It was wrapped around several young trees and caused them to grow deformed rather than upright. Last spring I removed enough vines to fill several lawn bags and eventually came upon the mother root but I didn't uproot it because I was told never to uproot any plant contained within the wetland area.

The area is also overrun by japanese honeysuckle and some kind of ivy behind my neighbor's yard that has climbed about 40 feet up a tree.

Do you know if the county extension would grant permission to remove some of these plants?

Any other advice?

Thank you.

 

County Extension has no regulatory authority - there may be some restrictions through your HOA. Any regulatory agency I have worked with is generally OK with taking out invasive exotics. I can see no one having a legitimate complaint to you doing so.

Take a photo of the problematic woody vine if you can. Well, there may not be any leaves right now, but you could also check online for photos to match up with your problem plant. If I had to guess what you're dealing with, it sounds like Oriental Bitterwseet (Celastrus orbiculatus) which I often refer to as Kudzu of the North. It is very aggressive and particularly damaging to young trees. Definitely pop out the main root if you can. If not, use a strong herbicide as a cut surface treatment, painting it on the cut surface, particularly the edges where the sonductive tissues are. This is often the only way to really get rid of this plant - the roots can be near impossible to remove once they grow beyond a couple inches in diameter. RoundUp will work, although stronger woody herbicides are better.

I am sympathetic about over-use of herbicides, but a minimal amount applied in a targeted fashion will not be overly problematic in the grand scheme of things. There is no way we can effectively combat the incredible density and diversity of exotic invasive plants without the judicious use of herbicides in my opinion.

 

OK... I'll pull it. I'm convinced!

 

jeffwolinski, I'm not sure this vine is the Oriental Bittersweet you refer to. It's not showy and I haven't seen any berries. Yet it produces dark green leafy foliage and turns yellow orange in the fall. This winter one of the vines, one that managed to climb up 50 feet or so, shedded it's bark - if it can be called bark. I will have to see the leaf shape again this spring to research it.

Another problem plant that grows like crazy is the thorny wild rose bush. The vines I removed last spring were intertwined with this shrub, which also climbs trees and looks like barbed wire without its leaf cover.

Whatever the vine is, it's aggressive and seems to grow multiple feet year round. I cannot keep up with it!

I'll post what I find out.

Thank you.

 

It could possibly be a wisteria vine, which can be very problematic when escaped into the wild. Wisteria has a compound leaf and is deciduous. Japanese honeysuckle is another possibility, but it is usually evergreen in this area. Both of these woody vines develop exfoliating bark as they age.

The problematic wild rose is most likely multiflora rose, another Asian invader that was intentionally introduced. They are relatively easy to pull out when young.