What's happening to our trees?

[HamsterStyle]

I don't know what they are. They look like they are being over run by another plant.

 

[bulletsmith]

Are those by any chance crab apple trees?

 

[indyjohn]

I think it's River Birch. Cut it down, cut it down now!

 

[bwframe]

Looks like wild grapevine?

I'm no tree guy, but I've lived in the woods for a few years. I just cut them off near the ground. Let them overwinter and they fairly readily fall/pull out of the tree.

Folks make wreaths and baskets out of them:

 

[oldpink]

Agreed about them being wild grape.
As suggested, carefully chop clear through all of them at ground level, then let them die and pull them off by hand.
I don't know how likely the severed stalks are to regenerate, but it might be useful to take an old sock and a bottle of Tordon woody plant herbicide so you you can dampen the sock with the Tordon, then judiciously dab it on the newly chopped stalks without harming your tree.
I used Tordon in just this way only last summer to totally obliterate a honeysuckle that had overwhelmed my lilac bush.
That stuff is amazing, and well worth the ~$15 for a quart bottle from Rural King here - Dow Tordon RTU Ready to Use Specialty Herbicide : Rural King

 

[HamsterStyle]

Are those by any chance crab apple trees?

I didn't pay close enough attention, but they may be. Further up the hill are a couple crabapple trees. I will Try and get better identifying pictures this evening.

 

[Hkindiana]

Definitely not wild grapes, as the leaf pattern is totally wrong.

 

[spec4]

Cut them and pull them off. Otherwise tree will die.

 

[pjcalla]

If the leaf pattern is the same as the host tree, they are "suckers." Cut them off at ground level.

 

[Fishersjohn48]

I can't see the leaves well enough to determine varieties of plants but I can tell you some information. You have 3 different issues going on.
1) There are numerous root suckers coming up from the roots of the tree that look like long straight tree branches that grow very fast and straight up.
2) You have water sprouts coming off the main trunk of the trees that are similar to suckers.
3) You have some type of vine growing up the trunks of the trees. These can be identified by the aerial rootlets that you see coming off the vine. It is hard to tell what this vine is as I can't see the leaves but it could be poison ivy/oak.

In all three cases the answer is to cut them off flush to the ground/trunk. If indeed that is poison ivy, than you will want to be careful cutting by wearing rubber gloves and avoiding contact with the sawdust. Treat the fresh cut stumps of the vine with Tordon to prevent regrowth. DO NOT put Tordon on the root suckers or the water sprouts as it will kill the trees.

 

[nate77]

In the second picture, you can see the 3 leaves, and berries; it is definitely poison ivy.

 

[AGarbers]

In the second picture, you can see the 3 leaves, and berries; it is definitely poison ivy.

This is correct... Go ahead and make a wreath with it. Post photos a few days later.

 

[Nightsniper]

Grampa had some Vining Wisteria that was just beautiful and had a very refreshing fragrance . So one spring I dug up some starts and planted a few around a English Walnut that never had bore any nuts and planted a few next to a Gazebo for a natural roof.

Big Mistake!! in three years it had reached the top of the EW and had killed the tree and was moving over to a Tulip Tree and Chocked the top out. Oh and the bunch at the Gazebo, well it reached over to the house and went under the siding pulling it of the house . Took me five or more years to finally kill all of it.

 

[Zoub]

Most of the people in this thread don't make dolmades. If they did, they would know those are not wild grape vines.

Carefully cut a section from each vine and spend the rest of the year doing that to all of them. Pull the vines off next February or March. Dead vines pull out easier and do less damage to the tree bark. Next year you can assess how much damage was done to the tree. Don't touch them while you are doing this or when removing all the tree sucker growth.

Do not make underwear from the vine cuttings.

Reminds me of a time about 10 years ago clearing some old fence rows and some was just covered in wild grape vines so thick we hit them with chainsaws. My buddy was pulling one, trying to remove it from the crown of the tree and my Lab ran up and grabbed the end behind him and started pulling with him. After I took some pics and stopped laughing, we went and got the tractor to yank it out.

 

[dusty88]

I can't see the leaves well enough to determine varieties of plants but I can tell you some information. You have 3 different issues going on.
1) There are numerous root suckers coming up from the roots of the tree that look like long straight tree branches that grow very fast and straight up.
2) You have water sprouts coming off the main trunk of the trees that are similar to suckers.
3) You have some type of vine growing up the trunks of the trees. These can be identified by the aerial rootlets that you see coming off the vine. It is hard to tell what this vine is as I can't see the leaves but it could be poison ivy/oak.

In all three cases the answer is to cut them off flush to the ground/trunk. If indeed that is poison ivy, than you will want to be careful cutting by wearing rubber gloves and avoiding contact with the sawdust. Treat the fresh cut stumps of the vine with Tordon to prevent regrowth. DO NOT put Tordon on the root suckers or the water sprouts as it will kill the trees.

My answer is somewhat similar to this except that I can see at least 1 pic of poison ivy. That doesn't mean that's what they all are, though. We sometimes have poison ivy, grapevines, creeping charlie and Kudzu (sp?) all in the same area. (there isn't much poison oak in Indiana)

Whether or not you need to cut these depends on the overall situation and goals on your land. If this is your yard that you will be walking through frequently and you really want these trees then yes, cut the vines. But you will have ongoing maintenance. Grapes, and even poison ivy berries, are also important wildlife foods.

If this is a wooded area, these vines serve a purpose. For example, in a reforesting area, certain trees grow rapidly but then other slow-growing trees are starting at the same time. The vines serve the purpose of weakening and eventually downing the thin, tall trees, to let things like oaks move in.

I only cut down the poison ivy when it's in an area that we expect to contact a lot . I let the grapevines grow. I guess I wouldn't let them grow in our main yard but then they wouldn't get a chance there anyway because we are mowing/weeding there.


By the way, if you are getting rid of poison ivy wear long pants, long-sleeve shirt, and gloves. I used to NOT be sensitive to it and made the mistake of being careless. (or more specifically I grabbed a hold of the vines while wacking them down, thinking I wouldn't be bothered). Now I'm as sensitized as anyone and get a significant reaction if I even bump against it.

 

[bulletsmith]

The reason I ask if they were crab apple trees is that they are one of those trees that often sprout suckers from their roots as mentioned above. I don't know about the vines, but the suckers that sprout straight out of the ground should be cut off at ground level, again as stated above.

 

[HamsterStyle]

I believe there is a crabapple tree and a couple mulberry trees. There are definitely a ton of suckered and at least a little bit of poison ivy. The trees are in our yard so I will be carefully trying to clean them up a bit. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[dusty88]

I believe there is a crabapple tree and a couple mulberry trees. There are definitely a ton of suckered and at least a little bit of poison ivy. The trees are in our yard so I will be carefully trying to clean them up a bit. Thanks for all the help guys.

Mulberry trees are sort of a "pioneer" plant. Meaning they move in readily, establish roots and hold nitrogen, and grow rapidly. I'd be inclined to let the vines do their job (at least grape vines, but perhaps cut poison ivy vines at the base to reduce your chance of contacting it). The mulberries will start to split after a few years anyway, so the vines will assist in their demise so you can allow (or intentionally add) some other desirable trees.

Mulberries sometimes are good to eat; it seems to vary with the tree. They are a pain though because in order to make pie or jam you have to pull a little stem off of each berry. Or you can put a blanket on the ground, shake the tree, and get a moderate harvest. The best use I have for them is for my poultry. I shake them and then let the chickens and ducks eat the berries.

 

[HamsterStyle]

I think we have decided that when the time comes, we will cull the trees. I am thinking about having somebody come in and do it so we don't risk the poison ivy. Haven't decided 100% yet but we are leaning that way.