Saving a Tree from Invasive Oriental Bittersweet Vine!

Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) is an invasive, woody vine found in the Eastern US. Native to Asia, Oriental Bittersweet was brought over to the US in the late 1800s for garden aesthetics. The plant is very invasive and destructive to disturbed areas and trees.
At my local park, I found a ~16 year old Bittersweet vine that was shading out and suffocating a mature Spruce tree. Using hand pruners and a hand saw, I cut the vine to save the tree. If left undisturbed, Bittersweet vine will shade out and eventually kill a tree. I will paint the remaining stumps with an herbicide to kill the roots and prevent it from re-sprouting.
In some areas, American Bittersweet occurs in sympatry with the invasive Oriental Bittersweet. American Bittersweet is also considered endangered in some areas, so it is imperative to positively ID the plant before you remove it. In the Philadelphia area, American Bittersweet is considerably rare, and it's safe to assume that any wild bittersweet vine one comes across is the invasive Oriental Bittersweet.
Generally speaking, a mature tree is much more valuable to an ecosystem than a native or non-native vine. I usually cut vines off of native mature trees to improve their growth and allow them to serve the ecosystem to their full potential. Sometimes it may be worth it to leave native vines like Grape vines (Vitis) and Honeysuckle. Always remove invasive / non-native vines, if possible.

[@nicolechristinep5932]

That’s a big vine! I moved to a wooded property in SE Pa and I’ll be tackling invasives this year. Between the bittersweet and poison ivy I have my work cut out.

[@Andrew_the_Arborist]

I'm glad you're removing some invasives - good job! SE PA is certainly full of them, unfortunately!

[@JillKnapp]

Whoa, I thought this was being filmed in my parents' backyard; they have this exact tree with the same vine situation. Gonna head up there next weekend and do just this. Question though: Can it hurt the tree if we try pulling off some of those vines, or is it not worth it to bother?

[@ArbitraryLifestyle]

You could break some branches off for sure, especially when the vine is still green. Waiting until it dies can help, but the vine is likely going to break when you pull on it. If you can grab the vine and walk out away from the tree to pull it, that may have better success removing more before the vine breaks.

[@TwoTall1988]

I wish you would have showed how sap just POURS out of these vines when you cut them. I was cutting back a black cherry tree branch that was a casualty from this past winter's snow and was getting rained on as I was cutting the branch free of the vines.

[@jamesmason2228]

Keep up the good fight! If I may suggest - cut that vine both at the base and again around head-high. It can save you trouble later because when you (or another bittersweet warrior) revisit the space? You can more quickly know that a stem has already been cut. I really liked the before and after too. I don't usually get to see that kind of comparison - and people may not know.

[@Andrew_the_Arborist]

Good point! Thank you! I usually cut as low to the ground and as high up as possible. That also prevents any resprouts from using the old vine to climb back up! From a fellow "bittersweet warrior", thanks for your great work!

[@jamesmason2228]

@@Andrew_the_Arborist Exactly! Everything is a scaffold for bittersweet. And leaving a cut stem next to something that may well sprout? That's just asking for trouble.

[@jamesmason2228]

@@Andrew_the_Arborist I'm an amateur working a few hundred acres of a boys summer camp in Tuftonboro, NH. The boys do try to pay attention in the summer, but they're 8/16 or so and they don't walk all the forest land. If they learn what the enemy looks like I'm calling that a win. My goal - in some of the camp buffer forest (between camp and it's abutters) is to keep knocking it off any trees I see and keep it out of the canopy. In hopes that I'm serving as the biological control that will allow the native species to out-compete it. I've begun to wonder if its even worth using herbicide since there's no real hope of wiping it out entirely and there's some research from NY State that suggests that the shock of cutting a big stem seems to be fatal to the plant within a couple years. Do you have an opinion?

[@Andrew_the_Arborist]

@@jamesmason2228 That's interesting! I don't have much personal data with cutting large stems and having them die. Usually, I will paint stems that are greater than 2 inches in diameter with triclopyr and they usually die quite quickly. But even if you cut a huge stem and don't treat it, it's tremendously beneficial to just cut it off the tree. Since the vine likes sun, it may not have nearly as much sun when it resprouts at the base, and it may die that way too!

[@BillxSand]

This is so satisfying!

[@deidrescott1446]

Thanks for your videos. I have some invasive non-native Wisteria that I need to do this to.

[@Khaoz]

Nice tree

[@vanessaclemente5516]

Thank You!

[@CT_Yankee]

Question: Will cutting, then chipping actually result in those remnants sprouting new vines? Same question for machine mulching of the understory growth. These damned vines can grow a few feet overnight (so it seems).

[@ilostsomethingonce]

I have this on all the trees in my backyard. My condo association won't fix it, and I'm worried one day the very tall trees are going to fall right on the house during a hurricane 😬I think it's more than just an eyesore, it can be dangerous. Maybe I'm just paranoid idk

[@Lou_Mansfield]

I have some in my backyard that i cut.. wasn't sure what it's called but it looks like this. Thanks man

[@Andrew_the_Arborist]

Awesome! Thanks for cutting it.

[@TheSUPERHAPPY1]

Amazing!

[@Slim_Gaffigan]

Is it called Oriental Bittersweet for it's flavor?

[@Andrew_the_Arborist]

The plant is toxic to people and pets, so I don't think so. I found this on the wiki page regarding the name -- "In North America, they are known as bittersweet, presumably a result of confusion with the unrelated bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara) by early colonists." Interesting!

[@Thecastofthelast]

Hey Conboy!Great to see you making another video!I Actually just posted my first CoD MWR Wii video in over 1 year :) RobCobBob Vintage CoD

[@Andrew_the_Arborist]

Great to hear from you man! Hope you’re doing well

[@sandrah6426]

the vines looked better the the treei would have kept the vines

[@LashnZachAdventure]

The tree would have died eventually, and the tree will recover once the vines are removed. Plus bittersweet spreads like wildfire, so soon everything will be covered it in.

[@LashnZachAdventure]

Why don't you put herbicide on the stumps of this vine? And, I know usually doing that method in the fall usually the most effective. Might also be good to showcase the native bittersweet we have. This is a great resources that i personally use: www.watershedconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/WCRC-Invasive-Species-Guide-7_14_21_fnl_rev.pdf

[@VictorNewman201]

Most are likely carcinogenic.

[@LashnZachAdventure]

@@VictorNewman201 true, you can greatly minimize risk by using proper equipment like a buckthorn blaster for stump cut applications. It's basically a sponge with the herbicide so it only applies on the cut and doesn't have over spray like with your normal foliage sprayers. Of course always wear your proper PPE as well.