HOW TO SAVE A TREE FROM INVASIVE WISTERIA VINE

MY METHOD FOR SAVING MY TREES FROM THE EVIL WISTERIA. PATIENCE IS KEY

[@THEOLDBYRDFARMVLOG]

An OBF FAQ- Farm Donations: www.paypal.com/paypalme/rwrightphotography eBay Shop: ebay.com/usr/sidestep-adventures-official Prints from the Old Byrd Farm: starlingmallard.smugmug.com/Walter-Mallard-Photography/TheByrdFarm/ Join The Official Sidestep Adventures Fan Group: facebook.com/groups/561758371276581/?ref=share_group_link MAIL: Sidestep Adventures PO Box 206 Waverly Hall, Georgia 31831

[@monac9459]

Hey Robert, how about a before and after picture show of the farm? I think that would really hit home to see what all has been done and how far you have come.

[@leapingkitties]

Just go look at the playlist Saving the Old Byrd Farm. It's pretty incredible.

[@monac9459]

@@leapingkitties I was thinking along the lines of new picture comparisons.

[@susanmcconnell-sink5443]

You've done such a wonderful thing for Georgia with this work. Did my heart good to hear that the bluebirds are returning ♡♡♡

[@sharonduvick1606]

I'm so proud of you, you didn't mention Napalm or dynamite even one time in your "How to kill Wisteria" chat! Good restraint.

[@teaberrywmn]

I have a 10 acre property in far northern California that was once a paradise. Guess what I found in the woods near my house - NOOOO! - a single wisteria vine that was easy to get rid of but what fun it had invading a big section of the area. Your patience and perseverance is admirable with regard to the wisteria iradication.

[@LitlPoot]

Your constant battle is paying off ... the farm looks fabulous and I know those trees are so very happy to be free of the strangling vine ... its amazing how quickly they will begin to fill out and thrive now they've been set free ... one thing, for your viewers who don't know - it's herbicide (for vegetation) not pesticide (for pests) - don't want someone asking or using the wrong chemical !!! Keep up the great work - and thank you for posting all your progress - it's absolutely an amazing journey, for sure !!!

[@arleeparker5036]

Well, wisteria is a pest 😉

[@JanTrewhitt]

A good explanation on how to get rid of those bad wisteria vines, especially in trees!

[@coralieg1947]

Robert, I can appreciate your wisteria battle. We live in the northeast and don't have as much a problem with that as we have the invasive bittersweet vines. They climb and tangle up in the trees. Even our oak trees have strangulation marks around the trunks. And they have these "beautiful" little yellow and red berries that blow around everywhere in the Autumn so we can enjoy even more vines the following year. We've had good luck with a chain saw or clippers and little salt on the stalk which is chemical free. As a child, we had a beautiful wisteria Vine in front of our house. One day I came home and it was gone. I asked my grandmother what happened to it. She said "that thing? We got rid of it. The whole damn thing"! Keep up the good fight. The farm looks terrific and thank you for sharing it with us.

[@katherineschelp520]

Kudos for doing regenerative agriculture. More people should have your caring nature.

[@rebeccatelgenhoff3540]

Robert, I am amazed how nice your big oak tree looks after you took ahold of the wisteria situation and gave it a new lease of life to live! Great work! 😊 I am seeing first hand what a wisteria is doing to a tree where I live in Michigan and it’s not good. I didn’t realize even in a far north climate that this plant can be this problematic. When I was younger I thought I wanted to grow this, thank goodness I didn’t.

[@marypettitt9150]

Robert, I can tell that wisteria does not like you. Your name is mud in all those wisteria sprouts. They will try to trip you up, so be careful walking around the old Byrd Farm. On the other hand, the trees are looking so much better. Congratulations on your work. You rock!

[@TS-bn7zt]

Hi Rob, good to see your still at it!! Rather be cutting wisteria than hog wire.👍

[@THEOLDBYRDFARMVLOG]

Ain’t that the truth!

[@tacocin]

The man with the plan! 👍👍👍

[@brendahogue5487]

May the Lord bless and protect you and the tree

[@alanatolstad4824]

Very informative. Thank-you for showing us why NO WALKING STICKS!

[@barbararollins4662]

I just noticed you have a Corvair! ❤️ My Daddy was known as the Corvair man in Raleigh as he owned a garage and worked on and sold Corvairs. BTW, I have that evil wisteria growing on my property and killing my trees. Being in my late 70s, I can't cut the vines myself. In addition, lots of bamboo!! Hate it.

[@denniskeith8725]

I bought some parts from your Dad in 1975 for my 1963 Corvair. He was a good man.

[@hollyhavlik7750]

I always wondered about the Wisteria and how you would get rid of it all! Thanks for doing this!

[@fleurjardin1012]

Thank you for the information about wisteria in the South. I live up North and have one puny wisteria plant that has been struggling to survive for years, so the troubles you have with wisteria was a surprise.

[@confusedguyl100]

It's a terrible problem in North Carolina. It's funny how when I lived in California, I couldn't get enough of them in public parks and would takes lots of wisterias pictures. Now I'm battling the monster in NC in my back yard lol.

[@mamiebobb4173]

THANK YOU for not using poisons! We've done enough harm to this poor earth without adding to it! Great good wishes to you and your battle against the big W!!!

[@carolleenkelmann4751]

Great update on the Wisteria, Robert. Very informative. I've learnt much more about the Wisteria Vine than just the ordinary garden variety information. How ever one treats it, patience is the virtue for successfull erradication, especially if it is done your way.

[@jq5609]

Well done Robert, your work ethics are amazing 👏 👌 🙌 👍

[@deborahmarion9038]

Good for you Robert, NO chemicals. Thank you! I agree with your method of killing the wisteria. Love Mother Earth 🌎 and her critters. Your farm is a safe place for the animals.

[@nancybennett9265]

I had three large wisteria vines to eradicate. Not near as much as you have, but nobody has killed more of the stuff as you! I took it all to the ground and then for five years it would send up runners. And I swear, the stuff has some sort of trickery in it's soul. To explain for a few years the runners were in plain sight and easy to pull or spray with brush killer however after those years it only would come up through a groundcover or bushes many feet away. We would think every year we had killed the menace only to find very large vines growing throughout the limbs of bushes. At that point I bought some sort of heavy duty herbicide that I applied to the cut end of the vine with a tiny paint brush. I would cut the vine at the tip, paint, then cover with saran wrap and twist tie it in place. And we could tell we were making headway every year. It took 5 years to deplete the carbohydrate stored in the roots and poison what I could reach. I am so pleased to see you fighting the good fight and winning the wysteria war.

[@nadinevalent4436]

Jerry the Turkey is looking good

[@debbiewedoe2564]

Great info. Glad you didn’t have to use chemicals ❤

[@catherinekeehn2773]

What a nightmare! I used to think wisteria was a wonderful mystical thing I read about in books. So glad you are making headway to freeing the trees.

[@lynnmacleod1879]

The tree thanks you Robert, and so do I!💚

[@ppurgett]

All pretty in purple, Wisteria is a deceiving plant, elegant flowing flowers but with slithering vines, the kind nightmare are made of 😱

[@kenhorne5650]

Hope can see your trees again in the spring having a beautiful canopy. I did the same with ivy growing up on trees and house too. Hoping the explanation and thank you very much. Give a kid a good pay to do nothing but cut off the wisteria

[@emmatonoose]

😂"Wisteria Emporium"😂 CMU!! Robert

[@debpate9405]

Your land looks great!

[@chrisnichols4962]

Wisteria Emporium, 🤣🤣🤣, gotta love that! 👍💯

[@ksbrook1430]

Hello Robert. Much respect from upstate NY. I am with you in avoiding chemicals (pesticides and herbicides) whenever possible. The old oak is a testament to your patience and perseverance.

[@Luv2Ski4500]

You’ve given me hope that I will be able to get rid of a section of my property invaded by wisteria. In upstate NY it can still be a huge problem.

[@nopriors]

Good news. Just moved to beautiful GA. The process has begun on my property. One thing I would add for the tree is to get all of the vines off the root flare of the tree. Give about 6 feet of clear soil around the base of the tree.

[@texas6060]

Robert just when you think your done clipping all that Wisteria from your Trees it come back to haunt you in others. 😀. Thank you for Sharing your Video.

[@kimk3253]

The front& side yards look great! 🙌🏼👏🌱🌱🌳🌳

[@normareed9007]

Keep on keeping on Robert. The place is looking so good. Can't wait for the porch to get done. The tractor has made such a difference to your life out there. So chuffed for you.

[@hankfacer7098]

Lesson 2478, always great to learn from your school of hard knocks

[@cindyengle374]

It is so exciting that wild life is returning amongst the wisteria leaving! Great job!!!

[@amilynnstapay796]

In your spare time-laughing right now-you should create a Witeria rap or song about all your Wisteria woes. Okay, I know that is completely ridiculous. I also know how hard you have battled the Wisteria hoards! I can say your hard work is paying off! Old Byrd is looking amazing!

[@craigwills1615]

I agree with your method, Robert, in get rid of wisteria from the Old Byrd Farm. Cutting it from its source, will kill off the vines. Beware of falling rotting vines during windy days though!

[@peggyharris3301]

I do believe the idea for The Borg had to come from the Evil Wisteria 🤣😂...attaboy Robert!!

[@neiljohnson6815]

Over here in Louisiana we have several types of climbing vines that literally attack trees. I use the same method. It works like a champ.

[@frankscarborough1428]

You're right of course about the chemicals. Thanks Robert enjoyed

[@phillipgroom9187]

I agree, no chemicals you have animals on the farm plus a dog and if any of them get into the chemicals it would not be good. Thanks for sharing the video! Have a good day !

[@Inkling777]

Like you, I don't use Round-up like chemicals near trees. But when I first took on the task of getting rid of these invasives, the wood next to me had shoots coming up all over. A bush hog was out. The land is too steep and I don't have one. So each spring I've treated the leaves with Round-up a couple of times. Each spring fewer come up. I used to have to spray hundreds. Now I spray a few dozen. The trees are now safe from wisteria, but English ivy remains a problem. With the ivy I cut it off at the base, rip in off as far up as I can, and tear it away from the base of the tree. Rather than wrap around the tree, ivy embeds in the bark, so it seems to hang in the tree longer. But deprived of water and nutrients, it eventually dies off.

[@evelyncrotts2893]

so glad to find this video , I have 16 acres in Arkansas and wisteria is taking over my 60 ' pines , I hate it , now I know what to do , so the work begins !!! ty again !!

[@daryllong7807]

I live in Westchester County, NY, just above NYC. The wisteria on my property are as bad or worse than what you shared in this video. It has pulled down a host of trees and is threatening many more. Some of it is inches in diameter. Thanks for sharing your approach to dealing with it.

[@gailatkinson1955]

Great wisteria lesson!

[@paulerickson1906]

I think your wise to minimize the amount of chemicals in fighting the wisteria. The natural cleansing action of the trees may be the best way to shake off the vines. Just be careful you don't get hit by falling wisteria.

[@TwonVonJon]

I've been digging up the roots of these vines the last few weeks and man it's like a 4-5 hour ordeal. It feels good though getting them out. I cut them out at the ground last year and they were all the way up the 2 trees in my front yard. I can confirm the dead vines just fall out in the wind and over time. My kids also climb the tree and pull the dead vines out. They were also wrapped around the crepe myrtles and have grown back this year, which is why I'm digging them up. Down in Florida by the way.

[@ScottyToaster]

Thank you so much for this valuable information. All of those Wisteria vines wrapped around trees that you showed, is exactly what I'm dealing with at some property I bought in northeast Georgia. There are probably thousands of miles of the small vines on the ground, and the larger vines wrapped around trees and growing literally through the siding of an old house on my property. I'm cutting as much of this stuff away as possible, but it's going to be a long term project.

[@debrafricano1486]

I don't use any chemicals in my garden! I like how you are doing it naturally.

[@aussie_granny]

You're doing a great job clearing the land.

[@shellydehart8217]

Robert, this was a eye opener. I’m so thrilled you shared this information. I think your doing a super job saving those trees. All in all saving the Old Byrd farm. ♥️😊👍🌟🌟🐶

[@cornelliacrum74]

So that's how you rid a tree of wisteria. I'll try that Robert!

[@deborahdanhauer8525]

Your trees look so happy now!❤️🤗🐝

[@brendaz9222]

Great job Robert! You will win the wisteria war! I have to say from watching your early videos when you bought your farm, I have never seen so much of it.

[@deweygill1973]

Nice tutorial on that invasive headache

[@jerridavis6462]

Fascinating! Great video!

[@VictoriaN72]

👍👍👍happy trees!

[@stevenmoomey2115]

I had a heavy duty Horse Hypodermic Needle. I put Brush Be-Gone in it Stuck the Vine with it. I had a Problem getting the Poison into the Vine. Put a Rubber Band Across the Plunger, then later on hooked up springs. Someone swiped my setup. Over the years need to remake this, as the Vines are coming back.

[@vickiebrannon5217]

Thank you for the information and update. Amazing transformation, and it's only going to get better! Great job!

[@SandyD2022]

I'm glad you said that about the walking sticks, I think of that every time I see the twisted ones.

[@jonathankennedy8000]

Thank you. I have about 1/3 acre of Chinese wisteria in a heavily wooded lot that I’m on my second year doing much of what you say here (loppers brush hog, pulling new growth this year no new flowers). Its a slow process but this makes me feel better that I’m on the right path (carolina Piedmont region)

[@robinm6662]

Very Interesting! Thank you!

[@michaeljovovich2723]

I just watched this video. I recently bought a property in Mississippi that is infested with Wisteria and I’m glad to see that the method you used to battle the vine is the same one I’ve been using. Unfortunately, some of the trees have been already choked out, but I am hoping to save what’s left of a stand of pines and oaks by severely cutting back the Wisteria.

[@todd8237]

You are doing what works. You are definitely an expert now:)

[@johnlaforte700]

Thanks for the info. You’ve done a fine job. 🎉

[@jeanburgin160]

Wow, this is a great way to get rid of the wisteria!!! Strong stuff.

[@BonnieJeanTlq]

Great info!❤

[@brendakayshelby8646]

Love how the farm is coming alive

[@hildamclawhorm6305]

It’s looking good Robert🎉

[@mawmaw1833]

Hey Robert,coming along

[@wandaminicka-wojturska1128]

I am very happy, that You can rescue the oak tree in Your farm. Good job and very interesting video. Greetings from Poland.

[@carolyncarlson3825]

Your doing a great job....hugs

[@darlenejordahl3187]

Very good info Robert. Answers questions many would ask…

[@cohort6099]

Excellent solution - too easy and so much better for the insects and animals and flora

[@rogercarroll2551]

Keep at it, Robert.

[@dorianmorton67]

It’s nice to know those ugly wisteria branches hanging from the trees die off naturally. I was one of those who wondered why you didn’t cut it up higher or pull it out. I’m glad it happens on its own.🇨🇦❤️

[@misty4782]

Very good video, Robert. Most informative. Thank you so much. God bless.

[@lizetteolsen3218]

Interesting video--helpful

[@lilianmcguigan9240]

I remember how ugly that old oak looked with the wisteria hanging on it, and wondered at your methods. Now, sure enuf, you were right.

[@windhorse4straveler647]

Yo, Jerry! Good to see you bud!

[@bricca3801]

Awesome information!! Thank you so much, looks like I have a few years of work.

[@mcwatersd]

Your method sure does seem to be working . Keep Safe ❤Keep Well❤

[@darter216]

Love your videos

[@gloriaa5060]

Wild grape vines can be just as bad as wisteria. Once the vine is cut at the trees. The vines in the trees will die off and fall off. THUMBS up to this video!!!!!!👍👍👍👍👍🎆

[@alanmoberly64]

I have no idea how you don’t have wisteria nightmares.

[@carrieann1640]

The old trees are wonderful.

[@scampbell3363]

Good work man

[@skorpian34]

I love the forest and land management aspects of your videos. I've wondered about using a roofing torch/flame weeder to selectively burn areas of heavy wisteria at the ground level. Would that help prevent growback or just risk fire travelling through the wisteria roots?

[@darleneroe3994]

cool, a learning experience!

[@wileycoyotesr8623]

Who doesn't love Bluebirds.

[@172turtla]

Hi great video. I’m having a similar problem in NE Georgia with wisteria and poison ivy. I’ve been doing the cutting this year. I might have killed a couple trees last year spraying herbicide. Bad move. Of course I am covered in poison ivy now from cutting the vines, I will be more careful as I proceed.

[@MarceloOliveira-hy5np]

It is definitely worth saving these gigantic trees.

[@hrhdianednum7203]

Robert your workers are bound and determined that they haven’t been on a video lately so they made a decision that they were going to be heard! Your friend/fan from Wisconsin!

[@THEOLDBYRDFARMVLOG]

That’s right 😅

[@JoanFonda]

What are wisteria plants and you are doing a great job of keeping your plants alive and well preserving your family farm

[@SouthamptonVicar]

Wysteria hysteria is well founded, good job.