Killing russian vine

longylong · October 2018

Hi

I've been asked to kill some Russian Vine in a garden so am after some advice on effective methods please?

As you can see it has been left untreated for a very long time and is very established.

Thanks

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/e7/aolxme21muxl.jpg

Fairygirl · October 2018

A well aimed lit rag perhaps....

What tools do you have to work with? If you have a hedgetrimmer, you might be able to hack back a fair bit of it, just to see what you're really dealing with. Then you can make a judgement on whether you need something heftier to deal with it - a hedgtrimmer probably won't be adequate for the main trunks.
Once you know that, you can decide whether it's a chemical or non chemical route you take.
For chemicals - you'll need a bit of growth for it to work, and you'll need a few goes at it over the next year or so I'd reckon. You might not achieve much this year, as growth could be minimal after hacking back now that it's autumn. Better to hack back and then use the chemical attack in spring. Again, ordinary weedkiller possibly won't be enough.

For a non chemical approach, you'd need to hack it back regularly to the ankles, to deprive it of the light and water it needs to grow, but I think that may be a very long process, and it would need checked regularly for any signs of new growth. You're in it for the long haul doing that unfortunately, but you never know, it might turn up it's toes

longylong · October 2018

Fairygirl said:

A well aimed lit rag perhaps....
What tools do you have to work with? If you have a hedgetrimmer, you might be able to hack back a fair bit of it, just to see what you're really dealing with. Then you can make a judgement on whether you need something heftier to deal with it - a hedgtrimmer probably won't be adequate for the main trunks.
Once you know that, you can decide whether it's a chemical or non chemical route you take.
For chemicals - you'll need a bit of growth for it to work, and you'll need a few goes at it over the next year or so I'd reckon. You might not achieve much this year, as growth could be minimal after hacking back now that it's autumn. Better to hack back and then use the chemical attack in spring. Again, ordinary weedkiller possibly won't be enough.

For a non chemical approach, you'd need to hack it back regularly to the ankles, to deprive it of the light and water it needs to grow, but I think that may be a very long process, and it would need checked regularly for any signs of new growth. You're in it for the long haul doing that unfortunately, but you never know, it might turn up it's toes

Thanks for your reply. I don't have a licence for anything to powerful to be able to spray but could look at getting someone with a licence to come in and spray.

I was intending on hacking back as much as possible with combination of hedge trimmers, loppers and lastly digging out what I can by hand (if I can) then waiting for some new growth then spray it periodically until it gets the message. The client wants to use the area as a compost heap for grass cuttings asap but by the sounds of it they are years away from being able to do that without it getting covered over in vine again.

Fairygirl · October 2018

They can be a real headache once they get a grip. I think most people have a tough job trying to get rid of it.
You can buy Brushwood killer which might do the trick. Not used it myself, but there are others here who have. It's mainly for getting rid of woodier specimens like tree stumps, if it's hard to get in with a stump grinder for instance. It's available to members of the public, so that could help if it's really persistent and tough. You can get it online - SBK Brushwood Killer is what it's usually called.

I reckon you'd have to be really sure it's gone before using the area as a compost heap!

punkdoc · October 2018

Agent Orange would be perfect for that job.

Inglezinho · October 2018

I had a similar problem with a large Thunbergia recently. It was nearly as big as your Russian vine and had swamped a number of fine other plants. My solution was this, as I did not want to kill anything else. First I cut back and removed all the top growth. This was a major task and took the best part of day but unless you get back to the main stump, you stand no chance. I then waited until it resprouted as it inevitably will and PAINTED the new growth with Glyphosate to reduce the environmental impact. It took three successive paintings over a period of about a month, but it has finally gone!
Best of luck. Ian

Dovefromabove · October 2018

We got rid of one like that in a couple of years. Cut it all down.
Dig out what roots you can.
Treat new growth next year with Roundup or SBK.
Keep your eyes open over the next year of so and re-treat any new growth

Inglezinho · October 2018

What happens if to dig out the roots you have to destroy or damage a number of other prized plants?

Fairygirl · October 2018

Inglezinho - you'd eventually lose the prized plants anyway if the R.Vine is smothering them.
You have nothing to lose. At least the other plants have a chance if you can clear the RV

Dovefromabove · October 2018

Nothing else lives where a Russian Vine is rampant.

longylong · October 2018

Thanks for all the advice guys and girls.

To further my question is it possible to clear a space say 3 square metres and leave the rest to grow around it and control with the aim of putting compost in the space or would it be a case of it I don’t remove all of it then there’s no point in trying to remove a small portion of it?

Killing russian vine

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