Creepy Crawlers
Vining plants such as Western Honeysuckle and Poison Oak will climb your trees and deform or girdle them. Climbing plants usually start making their way up the tree when it is young, but once it has established itself on the tree, it will remain and can girdle young re-prod near the tops. This weakening is particularly harmful in the event of a severe weather such as the ice storm last winter. The tops are much more susceptible to breaking, but the girdling alone may kill the top.
Recently, I went to prune a 15 year old stand on our family tree farm and discovered there was a severe problem with these vining plants. Luckily, I discovered it in the nick of time. The trees in this particular stand are a little further apart than most people prefer. My thinking was the extra light would make a full, uniform stand. I speculate now that the extra light may have contributed to the vining problem, but don’t know for sure. I discovered heavy vines winding up my trees. Upon further examination, I realized that they were starting to cause damage closer to the tops where the bark was thinner. The vines were cutting into the trees and starting to girdle the tops.
If you cut the heavy vine at the base of your tree, the vine will usually rot away fast enough that it will prevent further damage to your tree. If it’s climbing up young or small re-pod you would need to pull it off fully and implement some kind of spray program. Check your trees often and make sure to keep an eye out for creepy crawly vines before they do permanent damage!
Dan Kintigh
from left to right:
Honeysuckle
Vines climbing tree
Broken top due to vine girdling
Click on images for an enlarged view.
