About This Episode
Grumpy helps a reader deal with wild vines. Plus, the tip of the week.
Question Of The Week
“Is there anything that will control Virginia creeper and wild grape vines? I have tried sprays to no avail. The Virginia Creeper has inundated my whole neighborhood, climbing deep into rose bushes, blueberries, and camellias. The wild grape vines so tightly wrapped around the trunks of my bushes that I fear killing the bushes if I spray the vines. Thanks for any help you can offer.” – Ruth Ann
Grumpy Gardener: Well, so much for the theory that native plants are better behaved and less trouble. I know where you’re coming from, Ruth Ann. When I moved to my new house, there was a woodland in the backyard and I wanted to make it a garden, but there was nothing back there, but Virginia reeper and wild grape. And of the two Virginia creeper is worse because it spreads by roots and runners and seeds. And it took me a whole growing season to get things under control.
So what you need to do first, Ruth Ann, is you need to pull off the Virginia creeper off of any bushes it’s covering up and pull it out from underneath it, underneath them, and then treat them according to label directions with bio advance brush color. This is a systemic herbicide, and the weedy, Virginia creeper will take, the chemical down to the roots and kill them roots and all. Now if it’s climbing trees, cut the Virginia creeper off near the base, and spray any new growth that follows. As for the grape vines, cut them down near the ground and treat the cuts with brush color. This is not a one-time deal. This will be an ongoing campaign. So prepare yourself, Ruth Ann, and good hunting.
Tip of the Week
I hear a lot of people say we need to shrink the size of our lawns and plant something easier to maintain, like ground covers. Well, let me tell you, a lawn is a ground cover and it’s the easiest ground cover to maintain. All you have to do is mow it and it looks perfect. No weeds and no erosion. That is not the case with vining ground covers like ivy and star jasmine or with shrubby spreaders like juniper and cotoneaster. For one thing, the vining ones often climb trees and houses.
For another ground covers don’t grow thick enough to keep seedlings of perennial vines, trees, and shrubs from coming up through them. And if you don’t remove them promptly, you’ll find them nearly impossible to eliminate, and your lawn will eventually look abandoned. So now, I’m not saying don’t plant ground covers. I’m just saying don’t plant them if you hate pulling weeds.
About Ask Grumpy
Ask Grumpy is a podcast featuring Steve Bender, also known as Southern Living’s Grumpy Gardener. For more than 20 years, Grumpy has been sharing advice on what to grow, when to plant, and how to manage just about anything in your garden. Tune in for short episodes every Wednesday and Saturday as Grumpy answers reader questions, solves seasonal conundrums, and provides need-to-know advice for gardeners with his very Grumpy sense of humor. Be sure to follow Ask Grumpy on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you don’t miss an episode.
Editor’s Note: Please be mindful that this transcript does not go through our standard editorial process and may contain inaccuracies and grammatical errors.