What does it look like?
Akebia, native to China, Korea and Japan, is a twining woody vine and can be a vigorous groundcover. The leaves of the akebia vine alternate along the stem and
are usually divided into five equal parts that are generally oval in shape, 1.5-3" long. The flowers are chocolate-purple in color and are 1" across. The fruits are purple-violet, flattened sausage-like pods, 2.25-4" in length, that ripen in late September and early October. Flowers and fruits are uncommon.
How can it be controlled?
At a minimum, akebia should be cut back to the ground at the end of the summer. Akebia vines may also be dug up, removing as much of the roots as possible. To ensure its complete removal, regular monitoring and repeated cutting, digging, or pulling is necessary. For large infestations, foliar herbicide is recommended.
What does it look like?English ivy, native to Eurasia, is a woody vine with dark evergreen leaves. Juvenile leaves have lighter colored veins and three to five lobes. Mature leaves, which form when the plant reaches reproductive age at ten plus years, are oval in shape. The flowers are born in clusters at the tips of each stem in autumn. The fruit is dark blue to purplish in color. How can it be controlled?The best method of control is hand pulling. Pruners can be used to cut the vine followed by pulling the plant off trees and the forest floor. English ivy's waxy leaves are almost impervious to herbicide. Plant native species where the ivy has been removed to prevent undesirable plants from becoming established.
What does it look like?Garlic mustard, native to Europe, is a biennial herb, with basal leaves that are dark green and kidney shaped. Stem leaves are alternate, toothed and triangular. In the spring and early summer, leaves and stems produce a distinctive garlic odor when crushed. Flowers consist of four white petals that narrow abruptly at the base. Seeds, black and oblong, are contained within siliques, which are narrow, four-sided, linear capsules 1-4.5" long. Plants usually produce a single unbranched or few branched flower stalk, and can range in height from 5-46" tall. How can it be controlled?Successful control methods include hand pulling, cutting the plant close to ground level, and not allowing it to go to seed. Hand pulling followed by tamping the disturbed soil is recommended for light infestations. This method is recommended before seed is set. If seed has set, be careful to remove most/all of the viable seed from the area. Garlic mustard spreads only by seed. Because the seed bank is short lived (2-5 years), control methods should be considered for a maximum period of 5 years to deplete the seed bank.
What does it look like?Japanese honeysuckle, native to Eastern Asia, is a trailing or twining woody vine. Young stems are often pubescent; older stems are hollow with brownish exfoliating bark. The simple, opposite leaves are oval to oblong in shape and may persist on the vine year round, making honeysuckle a semi-evergreen vine. The white flowers are extremely fragrant and are produced throughout the summer. The fruit is a many-seeded, black, pulpy berry that matures in early autumn. How can it be controlled?Small populations can be controlled by careful hand pulling, grubbing with hoe or shovel and the removal of trailing vines. Over large areas such as old fields or roadsides, twice yearly mowing can slow vegetative spread; however, due to vigorous resprouting, stem density may increase. For large infestations foliar herbicide is recommended.
What does it look like?Japanese Knotweed, native to Japan, is a herbaceous perennial, which forms large clumps 3-9' high. It reproduces by seed and spreads by large rhizomes that can reach lengths of 15-18'. The stout stems are hollow and bamboo-like and persist into the winter. The flowers are greenish white and appear in summer. The fruiting calyx is wing-angled and the seeds are shiny black/brown. How can it be controlled?Once Japanese Knotweed is established, it is extremely difficult to eradicate. Control small patches by digging out the entire plant, including tiny pieces of rhizome, which can regrow. Control larger infestations with persistent cutting throughout the growing season. Allow to regrow at least waist high, then foliar herbicide. Herbicide is most effective in late August or early September when the leaves are conducting nutrients to the roots.
What does it look like?Kudzu, native to Asia, is a climbing, semi-woody, perennial vine. Deciduous leaves are alternate and compound, with three broad leaflets up to 4" across. Leaflets may be entirely or deeply 2-3 lobed with hairy margins. Individual flowers, about .5" long, are purple, highly fragrant and borne in long hanging clusters. Flowering occurs in late summer and is soon followed by production of brown, hairy, flattened seed pods, each of which contains 3-10 hard seeds. How can it be controlled?For successful long-term control of kudzu, the extensive root system must be destroyed. Any remaining root crowns can lead to reinfestation of an area. Mechanical methods involve cutting vines just above ground level and as high up on the vine as can be reached. The cuttings of the vines should then be bagged to prevent the resprouting of the vine. For large infestations the use of herbicide is recommended.
What does it look like?
Mile-a-minute, native to Asia, is an herbaceous, annual, trailing vine in the buckwheat family. It has a reddish stem that is armed with downward pointing hooks or barbs that are also present on the underside of the leaf blades. The leaves of this weed are shaped like triangles and alternate along the stem. The flowers are small, white and the fruits of Mile-a-minute are metallic blue and segmented with black or reddish-black seeds.
How can it be controlled?
Hand pulling of seedlings is best done before the curved barbs on the stem and leaves harden. Removal of vines by hand may be conducted throughout the summer, if tough gloves and protective clothing are worn to avoid the skin shredding ability of the curved hooks. Repeated mowing or trimming of Mile-a-minute plants will prevent the plants from flowering thus reducing the production of fruits and seeds. For large infestations foliar herbicide is recommended.
What does it look like?
Multiflora rose, native to Japan, is a shrub with compound leaves. The flowers are white to pinkish-white, .5-4" in diameter, with numerous stamens. The pistils are long, forming a column protruding from the center of the flower. The fruit, rose hips, are bright red globular and fleshy. The stems of a typical plant are 3-5' long with a drooping form.
How can it be controlled?
Regular mowing inhibits establishment in grassy areas. Medium to large shrubs can be removed with a weed pulling tool or dug out by hand after the thorny tops have been cut away. In areas of easy access, the shrubs can be pulled out with a truck and chain.
What does it look like?
Norway maple, native to Eurasia, closely resembles its native relative, the sugar maple, with a hand-shaped leaf. Norway maples can be distinguished from the sugar maple by their milky sap that oozes from the petiole when a leaf is broken off. The dark green leaf underside is smooth and turns a brownish-yellow in the fall, whereas the native sugar maple has a beautiful yellow orange to deep red fall color. The bark is regularly grooved, and the flowers appear in upright green clusters.
How can it be controlled?
Seedlings and saplings can be dug out. Root sprouts quickly appear unless all of the roots are removed. Girdling of the trunk followed by a painting of an herbicide, in the girdle, proves effective on large trees in settings where its fall will not create a hazard.
Otherwise, cutting down the tree at the base is effective.
What does it look like?Oriental bittersweet, native to Japan, is a deciduous, twining, woody vine with abundant bright yellow and red fruits that appear all along the stem in clusters of three to seven. Vines can grow to over 5" in diameter and 60' long. The leaves are oval to nearly round in shape, occur singly at different heights and on different sides of the stem, and have a yellow fall color. The roots of the plant are bright orange in color. How can it be controlled?Cutting at ground level and as high up on the vine as possible can control the spread of this vine. Regular mowing will control bittersweet. Herbicides have proven effective both as foliar sprays and when applied on cut stumps. Several cuttings followed by a foliar herbicide after a period of regrowth is effective.
What does it look like?
Purple loosestrife, native to Europe, is a perennial best known for its long showy spikes of purple flowers that dominate infested wetlands during the mid to late summer. The plant can grow 6-10' tall with 30-50 squared stems. The leaves are lance-shaped and grow opposite each other on the stem or in whorls of three.
How can it be controlled?
Small infestations of purple loosestrife plants may be pulled by hand, preferably before seed set. The plant material should then be bagged to prevent further sprouting and seed dispersal.
What does it look like?Ailanthus is a native to central China, and is a deciduous tree, often 15-90' tall, with smooth gray bark. The leaves are 1-3' long and are divided into 12-30 long leaflets per leaf. Leaflets are entire, having 2-4 teeth near the base of each leaflet. Leaves have a disagreeable odor when bruised. How can it be controlled?Ailanthus is best controlled by manual removal of young seedlings. Seedlings are best pulled after a rain when the soil is loose. It is important to remove as much of the root system as possible because it can resprout from roots left in the ground. If the plant has developed a taproot, this method may be difficult.
What does it look like?
Grape vine is a climbing, woody vine. The leaves of this vine alternate and are simple, rounded and often three-lobed with toothed margins. Wild grapes climb by means of forked tendrils that are opposite the leaves. The stems are brown with bark that may shred off in strips. The flowers produce in late spring, early summer, and yield purplish-black berries.
How can it be controlled?
Cutting at ground level and as high up on the vine as possible can control the spread of this vine. Regular mowing will eradicate grape vine. Herbicides have proven effective both as foliar sprays and when applied on cut stumps.
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