Oriental Bittersweet

[springer1]

Wondering if any other members volunteer to help clear these vines along the creeks - these are the heavy ones that are 1" - 5" in diameter and hang like loopy cables from trees and eventually kill them.

It would be great if some organization will eventually take on coordination of the efforts necessary to get these under control, some of the SEPA creeks have areas that are awful.

Anyways, I've found that the "Fiskars" brand lopers with the gears / cogs that provide mechanical advantage cut thru vines up to 2" like butter.

http://www2.fiskars.com/Products/Gardening-and-Yard-Care/Loppers/PowerGear-Lopper-32

Larger than that and a saw is needed.

 

[Mike]

It must depend upon which part of SE Pa you are in. Our big problem during wild trout stream surveys is multi-flora rose. The primary vines that get tangled in our electrofishing gear are wild grapes. but those vines are fairly infrequent unlike the roses. I have donated a lot of blood to the cause over the years. The nasty vines that are becoming much more common are hops and mile a minute weed. Hops will completely cover some trees.

 

[springer1]

oooops, sorry for communicating that the Bittersweet a larger problem than it really is. Thats good to know.

 

[redietz]

Mike wrote:
Our big problem during wild trout stream surveys is multi-flora rose. I have donated a lot of blood to the cause over the years.[ /quote]

Same here in Maryland. After a few fishing sessions, a new pair of waders leaks from dozens of pin-holes from the multi-flora rose and my arms and the backs of my hands look like I've been self harming. It doesn't make it any better to know that it was deliberately introduced because it might provide good cover for game birds.

 

[troutbert]

springer1 wrote:
Wondering if any other members volunteer to help clear these vines along the creeks - these are the heavy ones that are 1" - 5" in diameter and hang like loopy cables from trees and eventually kill them.

It would be great if some organization will eventually take on coordination of the efforts necessary to get these under control, some of the SEPA creeks have areas that are awful.

Anyways, I've found that the "Fiskars" brand lopers with the gears / cogs that provide mechanical advantage cut thru vines up to 2" like butter.

http://www2.fiskars.com/Products/Gardening-and-Yard-Care/Loppers/PowerGear-Lopper-32

Larger than that and a saw is needed.

Congratulations for working on this. And those are some cool loppers.

Do you carry any other tools for this kind of work?

There are some organizations doing volunteer riparian buffer maintenance including invasive plant control.

Such as: Trout Unlimited, conservancies, and watershed groups.

 

[springer1]

And those are some cool loppers. Do you carry any other tools for this kind of work?

Yes, these loppers can handle up to 2" with no sweat due to the gears' mechanical advantage, it's not tiring at all. I also carry a 14" hand saw for the heavier vines, 5" is about the max. Based on rings, every inch of vine diameter represents between 8 & 12 years of age.

What's encouraging is that N.Y. studies have shown that if the bittersweet vine when cut is at least 1" in diameter, their mortality (both sides of the cut) is almost equal to cutting followed by also applying herbicide on the cut.

I only work in cold weather when ticks are not active, I'm retired so it makes the winter go fast.

 

[Dave_W]

troutbert wrote:
Congratulations for working on this. And those are some cool loppers.

There are some organizations doing volunteer riparian buffer maintenance including invasive plant control.

Such as: Trout Unlimited, conservancies, and watershed groups.

Agree - that is a neat tool!

As for invasives, don't get me started on Japanese barberry - it's as bad if not worse in some places around my neck of the woods than multiflora rose, especially in the higher elevations and forested areas.

As far as invasive controls in riparian zones, CVTU has done some work trying to beat back Japanese knotweed but this stuff is so heavy along some of the more open riparian areas that our efforts have been focused on small spots.

 

[Mike]

Dave, I have noticed all of the barberry when hiking through some areas on the Tuscarora trail. Seems to be much more of a problem closer to the state's southern border in the eastern part of the state. I have not seen it nearly as much in other parts of the state that I have frequented.

As for knotweed, I don't like its prevalence, but in certain circumstances the glass is half full, as it does very well along streams with banks and riparian areas comprised primarily of mine spoils and coal silt. Those streams are often shaded by knotweed and have extremely limited aquatic macroinvertebrate pops. Knotweed apparently provides a substantial amount of terrestrial insects as a forage base for the streams' brook trout populations, based on stomachs full of caterpillars in summer and aphids in fall. Have you tried an aphid pattern yet?

As an aside, I was a grad student at Clarion when knotweed, then known as Japanese Fleeceflower, was being introduced and studied as a component of strip mine reclamation. It was one of the few herbaceous plants that would grow, it supported important fungi on its roots, and it collapsed each year, with the annual decomposition providing the first soil formation on these highly degraded lands. I later saw it spreading along railroad embankments in the east and wondered if seeds blowing off of hopper cars carrying coal was one of the reasons why the plant spread so rapidly.

As for bamboo, especially along streams, which then becomes bamboo tangles in streams...ugh!

 

[troutbert]

Along the limestone streams, shrub honeysuckles are a very common invasive plant. Along Spring Creek and its tributaries, the understory is dominated by these. They don't rip your flesh like multi-flora rose and barberry, but they take over the understory and prevent native plants from growing.

 

[FarmerDave]

springer1 wrote:

Anyways, I've found that the "Fiskars" brand lopers with the gears / cogs that provide mechanical advantage cut thru vines up to 2" like butter.

http://www2.fiskars.com/Products/Gardening-and-Yard-Care/Loppers/PowerGear-Lopper-32

Larger than that and a saw is needed.

I agree.

A couple years ago I bought 18" version of those. I have quite a few brush cutting tools, and that, and this are my favorites.

But for things like multi-flora rose, I use my gas powered pole saw, or my Stihl brush cutter so I can stand back a ways.;-)

 

[springer1]

Wow - that brush axe would be good for home defense too !!!!

 

[klingy]

Noticing a lot of multiflora around me is succumbing to rose rosette disease. Glad to see it go.

 

[shadspoon]

In Valley Creek the invasives are about the only thing holding the banks up. Willow shoots just can't cut it! The oriental bittersweet that is taking our canopy away should be cut. Pete

 

[ryansheehan]

redietz wrote:

Mike wrote:
Our big problem during wild trout stream surveys is multi-flora rose. I have donated a lot of blood to the cause over the years.[ /quote]

Same here in Maryland. After a few fishing sessions, a new pair of waders leaks from dozens of pin-holes from the multi-flora rose and my arms and the backs of my hands look like I've been self harming. It doesn't make it any better to know that it was deliberately introduced because it might provide good cover for game birds.

It's brutal, definitely have some battle wounds myself.