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Invasive plant awareness

 
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mileaminute



Joined: 12 Aug 2014
Posts: 5
Location: Bear Mountain, NY

PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 4:28 pm    Post subject: Invasive plant awareness Reply with quote

Hi! My name is Becca Chambers, I'm the coordinator of the Mile-a-Minute Project of the Hudson Valley.

I was given permission to ask you all for a favor, knowing that your group consists largely of people actively involved in stewardship... would you help watch for the invasive Mile-a-Minute vine, while you're out on the trails? It has been found in Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, and Dutchess Counties. As its name suggests, mile-a-minute grows very quickly (six inches a day!) and smothers native plants, so it poses a huge threat to biodiversity.


(photo source: Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org... on the NY Invasive Species Info. page)

The identifying traits are: triangular leaves, prickles or thorns, round leaves encircling the stems, and light green berries that turn iridescent blue around midsummer (about now)! You can find more photos & info. on our website (The Mile-a-Minute Project is affiliated with the Palisades Interstate Park Commission & Trailside Zoo): http://www.trailsidezoo.org/mile-a-minute

If you find an infestation: You could either email me (please include coordinates and a description) or pull it up yourself, with gloves to avoid the prickles! You can leave the vines to dry out in the sun, but please be careful not to spread the berries. Smile The easiest time to pull is in June or July, before berries form. However, an easy way to kill the berries (/seeds) is to bag them up and leave the bag in the sun for a month. We'd like to map new observations on iMapInvasives.org - send me your sightings and I'll add them to the map!

We're also using biocontrol weevils to fight mile-a-minute... They eat the leaves, especially the tender new ones, causing the vines to produce fewer seeds. Please look out for them, before doing any pulling?! Smile They look like this:

(photo source: Phillip Alampi Beneficial Insect Rearing Laboratory... where our weevils come from!)

Please let me know if you have any questions! Thank you very much for keeping an eye out for it, when you can!!!
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Contact me or visit: http://www.trailsidezoo.org/mile-a-minute
to find out more about mile-a-minute vine and other invasives!
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cdub



Joined: 22 Oct 2012
Posts: 82
Location: Highland, NY

PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 12:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have been fighting a similar vine around the house all summer. Did not notice until too late what I was dealing with; now, blue/black berries litter the ground in some areas but some plants still have bright red berries on them.

Anything we can do to retard the spread of these or the MaM vine? This vine is choking all sorts of plants and trees in the yard but, luckily, is seems to be easy to kill by just severing the vines from the roots and pulling the roots up.
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mileaminute



Joined: 12 Aug 2014
Posts: 5
Location: Bear Mountain, NY

PostPosted: Wed Sep 03, 2014 5:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cdub wrote:
I have been fighting a similar vine around the house (...)

Anything we can do to retard the spread of these or the MaM vine? This vine is choking all sorts of plants and trees in the yard but, luckily, is seems to be easy to kill by just severing the vines from the roots and pulling the roots up.


Could you post a picture of the vine around your house? I'd love to help identify it and give recommendations based on the particular species!

Re: slowing the spread of MaM vine... It's pretty easy to kill too, but the seed bank lasts for 7 years, so it's important to be persistent and keep checking the area for regrowth. Weevils slow the spread. Planting native plants (especially deer resistant ones) is a good idea too - when you remove an invasive plant, restore the empty spot in your yard with a native alternative. Prevention is important too - avoid creating disturbances that leave openings for invasive plants.

It's not my first choice (since there are repercussions to other plants, wildlife, & people), but some people turn to herbicides, depending on what vine they're dealing with. Not usually for MaM though, since it's easy to pull...

I hope some of these tips are helpful! Smile
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Contact me or visit: http://www.trailsidezoo.org/mile-a-minute
to find out more about mile-a-minute vine and other invasives!
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cdub



Joined: 22 Oct 2012
Posts: 82
Location: Highland, NY

PostPosted: Sat Sep 06, 2014 2:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the tips. Since we have dogs that run the property and lot of wildlife we enjoy sharing the space with, herbicides are never an option. Something I have found effective on everything I want to eliminate has been salt+vinegar (1lb salt to 1gal vinegar) in a sprayer; adding isopropyl to the mix for the really stubborn varieties. It is easy to target just the plants I want by spraying the leaves, is safe to the wildlife, and has worked quickly on everything from crab grass, poison oak/ivy, to overzealous pachysandra. For thick poison ivy vines, I'll sometimes notch open the vine and put a salt patch on it (salt + water paste wrapped in cloth).

Here's a section of vine, partially dead:


Some dying vine on a tree it was taking over:


New vine I just found that is jumping from bush to a new victim tree:


Turns out the berries are part of another plant that tends to grow in the same places and also uses other plants/trees/bushes for climbing:
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mileaminute



Joined: 12 Aug 2014
Posts: 5
Location: Bear Mountain, NY

PostPosted: Mon Sep 08, 2014 1:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The good news: your vine is not on the "priority list" of invasive species of highest concern in the state of NY! (you can read about those here: http://nyis.info/ )

The bad news: I'm not sure what it is. I'm thinking maybe honeyvine or morning glory, based on those big heart-shaped leaves. I'll check with people around my office though. Seed pods or flowers would help us know for sure!

However, I think the shrub with the red berries is Amur honeysuckle (Lonicara maackii). More info. on the NY Invasive Species page: http://nyis.info/index.php?action=invasive_detail&id=44
You've got Japanese stiltgrass there by the honeysuckle too.

There's a great identification guide, that's especially helpful when there's an invasive that looks a lot like a native plant (as is the case with honeysuckle), called Mistaken Identity, that you can download here: http://www.nybg.org/files/scientists/rnaczi/Mistaken_Identity_Final.pdf

Thanks for your spray recipe! That sounds like a good solution. Smile
_________________
Contact me or visit: http://www.trailsidezoo.org/mile-a-minute
to find out more about mile-a-minute vine and other invasives!
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mileaminute



Joined: 12 Aug 2014
Posts: 5
Location: Bear Mountain, NY

PostPosted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Our office plant expert wasn't sure either... she recommended taking a sample of the plant to your local Cornell Cooperative Extension. You're in Ulster Co., right? http://cce.cornell.edu/ulster

For others who might stumble upon this thread, you can find contact info. for your local CCE here: http://cce.cornell.edu/learnabout/pages/local_offices.aspx
_________________
Contact me or visit: http://www.trailsidezoo.org/mile-a-minute
to find out more about mile-a-minute vine and other invasives!
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cdub



Joined: 22 Oct 2012
Posts: 82
Location: Highland, NY

PostPosted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 8:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great info!

I think I figured out what the one vine is (with the red berries): Solanum dulcamara. It fits the description pretty well and looks just like the published photos:



The other vine has spade shaped leaves and reminds me of something similar to honeysuckle or a grape vine in some aspects. It twists on itself a lot, grows fast, and jumps from plant to plant easily. If I figure anything out I will update.

Has anyone reported MaM vine along 299 between New Paltz and Rt. 9? Only saw it in a few places while passing quickly in a car but some sections looked to be getting overrun by some sort of vine. When I have a moment, I will pull over and check it out.
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mileaminute



Joined: 12 Aug 2014
Posts: 5
Location: Bear Mountain, NY

PostPosted: Mon Sep 15, 2014 2:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cdub wrote:
I think I figured out what the one vine is (with the red berries): Solanum dulcamara.


I think you're right, great job on the ID! Very Happy

cdub wrote:
The other vine has spade shaped leaves and reminds me of something similar to honeysuckle or a grape vine in some aspects. It twists on itself a lot, grows fast, and jumps from plant to plant easily. If I figure anything out I will update.


It doesn't have the same shaped leaves, but porcelain berry sure does fit that description (like a grape vine, grows fast, etc)... Kudzu has made its way up here too, but the leaves aren't the right shape either.

cdub wrote:
Has anyone reported MaM vine along 299 between New Paltz and Rt. 9?


NOOOOOOO! On http://imapinvasives.org/ it has not been reported anywhere on the west side of the Hudson much north of Newburgh (i.e. not in Ulster Co. at all). And only a few sightings around Poughkeepsie. So, that's quite worrisome. Crying or Very sad
_________________
Contact me or visit: http://www.trailsidezoo.org/mile-a-minute
to find out more about mile-a-minute vine and other invasives!
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