Grapevines: Good, bad or both?

Forests in the eastern United States often contain a complex mixture of many species and species of trees, shrubs, vines and other small plants. One vine can create some problems for landowners who want to plant trees for the production of wood as grapes.

Heavy cover of forest vines covered and shrubs at the edge of the forest. This type of growth may provide vital and comprehensive food for wildlife.

There are many native grape varieties that can be found in the Eastern Forest, sometimes in very high numbers. Wild grapes can grow into the very peaks of some of the tallest forest trees, often growing with trees and spreading through the crown over time. Wild grapes can damage trees by covering the leaves of trees with their own, reducing tree growth rates or even causing death. The weight of grapes can divide branches or cause the entire tree to topple under the weight of ice or snow. 

Wild grapes have alternating leaves on the stems and resemble large maple leaves or figs. The trunks of wild grapes hang free of tree trunks, unlike poison ivy and virginia ivy that cling to the bark. Large vines (diameter 2 to 12 inches) It has a brown or rusty crust.  It fastens the branches with thin strands that curl and catch the stems.

Wild grapes need full sunlight to continue growing, so they tend to climb into the light. This can create real problems in tree gardens and small forest areas, where sunlight is available at the surface. Seeds carrying grapes are spread by birds in new areas.

Many wild grapes climb into young hardwood trees, potentially reducing growth, breaking out branches, or deforming trees.

Seeking control

Woodland owners manage their property for the production of good quality wood, need to control the grapes.  Control of grapes, combined on trees more than 20 feet tall, requires a heavy shaded understory formation and/or cut grapes a few inches above the ground, as well as any grape loops that emerge and re-enter the soil.

For forests or small gardens with trees less than 20 feet tall, herbicides must control regeneration. Without herbicide treatment, vines can quickly grow back into tree crowns. Cut the vines as described earlier and use herbicides containing dicamba, picloram + 2-4-D, or triclopyr for best results.

This method is effective from early summer to early winter. In late winter and spring, the flow of water from the cutting rod will wash off any herbicides applied to the cutting. How to introduce a base bark application Ester triclopyr herbicides are mixed with commercially available base oils, kerosene, or diesel at a ratio of 15% to 20% herbicide and 80% to 85% oil and sprayed on the shell of origin from the ground up to 15-18 inches above ground. The oil carries a herbicide into the vine to kill it without cutting. This method can be used all year round, but is generally more expensive than cutting the stem treatment. More details about controlling wild grapes with herbicides can be found in the Forest Update Guide.

If you are interested in attracting wild animals, especially birds, to your property does not kill all your wild grapes. The birds and some other relish wild grapes and use vine bowers for cover and nests. Some birds use bark for building nests, collect wild grapes on the edge of your forest or along streams or other water sources for wildlife habitat.

Wild grapes may not be good, or both, depending on our property management goals and where it grows.