New England Gardener

All the talk is of how this fall foliage season in as good as it gets here in New England. The cold wet summer of 2009 was torture for tomatoes and pumpkins, but good for a bounty of beauty in our hardwood Forest. This golden tree is always first to turn in our neighborhood. But not all trees are beautiful. Do you notice a red vine running up some trees around your home? The red vine may be pretty, but the tree it’s climbing may be doomed.

The red vine is one of the many invasive vines spreading throughout the northeast.

What’s wrong with this big barren tree in Norwell Massachusetts? Once thriving, I believe Birch, tree is now dead. The reason? Invasive vines choked it off.

Here in the NECN woodlands we have a nice looking hardwood near the southeast corner of our parking lot. This tree may be a birch too. from a distance it looks healthy.

But check out the trunk.. how many different vines can we identify? It appears maybe some clematis and perhaps honeysuckle? Any experts in the house?

My dilemma is.. Do I let the tree choke to death by the grip of the invading vine.. or do I dress in my landscape outfit (instead of weatherman suit) and get to pulling the roots out from around the base of the tree in effort to save it’s life?

The tree is not my problem, the land in not owned by me or even NECN. It is Commercial Real Estate. We have a beautiful office park here in Newton Massachusetts, but these trees fall between the cracks. As observer of the vine, it appears to be my responsibility to save the tree.. and the one next to it, and the one next to it. A nice spruce is also getting overtaken just a few yards away. I will let you know which way I go. (I have spent hours and hours doing this around my yard, now I may have to go on the road with my invasive vine termination effort, anyone want to join me )

On a related note: The New England Wildflower Society is hosting a discussion on ‘Invasive ID, Ecology and Control’ in Framingham MA on Sunday October 18, 2009, see detail here.