Saving a tree from Japanese Honeysuckle vine

One of the worst #invasive #plants in the #Philadelphia area is Japanese Honeysuckle. It’s a climbing, vigorous #vine that is capable of strangling and shading out #native plants and trees, frequently preventing natural #forest regeneration. In this case, many vines were climbing up a Colorado Blue #Spruce and shading it out. Here’s how I took care of it before it got worse! I would recommend removing this plant from your property, especially if it’s climbing on native vegetation.
#japanesehoneysuckle #honeysuckle #invasivespecies #nativeplants #restoration #conservation #trees #tree #forests #nature #earth

[@feyasterling]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who randomly stops to save trees from vines. Sometimes I think all of PA will be covered in vines at some point. Thank you!

[@tracingtheblueridge]

Good looks. I am from the same region. We have our work cut out for us with all the Oriental Bittersweet, Japanese Honeysuckle, Porcelain Berry, Japanese & Chinese Wisteria vines. I am also planning a big hack-and-squirt run on all the Tree-of-Heaven and burning bush in my area.

[@Andrew_the_Arborist]

Great job! Thanks for tackling these super invasive plants. I enjoy doing the same - super fulfilling!

[@kevinthielmann9408]

@@Andrew_the_Arborist I’ve been planning to start a business based on doing this for private properties. Do you think such a business would be something profitable? (It’s a passion project, but I’d like to live off the income.) I’d love to hear any thoughts or advice you have

[@guacre2675]

​@kevinthielmann9408 I think there is incredible promise. For such a thing to work, there's one main important factor in why this isn't really a thing yet: information. People scarcely realize how many of their plants are non-native and/or invasive. Call it education, call it marketing, but this is something more people need to know about. I wish you the best of luck.

[@kevinthielmann9408]

@@guacre2675 Thank you, and I agree. Informing more people of the general danger of invasives is an important step towards pushing back on them. However after asking around a little more, I’ve found that it is a thing in some areas. Mostly in more rural areas where farming is more important though

[@kevinthielmann9408]

@@guacre2675 Also, thank you very much :)

[@botanicaltreasures2408]

🌲The tree said, “Thanks!”

[@marnoster]

Man, that’s so satisfying. Just a few snips and the tree will do the rest. Thanks for helping that tree, mate!

[@leaf2180]

I love honeysuckle. Smells good and tastes good. But the moment it starts growing up a tree, I cut it out. Not having that.

[@sqeakyloaf9332]

I hate it, our neighbor planted it in the past now it's growing all over the goddamn neighborhood and constantly into our yard and poisoning my chickens and other animals around the neighborhood and killing other plants, whole summer and springs spent hacking it off our fences and trees and bushes before it can grow and kill everything

[@lorrainegatanianhits8331]

@@sqeakyloaf9332 you're a racist.

[@lorrainegatanianhits8331]

@@sqeakyloaf9332 the concept of exotic plant "warfare" has its origin in Nazi Germany. Modern invasion biology rhetoric has all the attributes of human to human racism from Nazi Germany or from the Slave Trade or whatever. I can provide you with a list of the similarities if you're interested (but I doubt that).

[@threeriversforge1997]

@@lorrainegatanianhits8331 Wow, that's literally the dumbest possible thing I could have imagined reading on the internet today. And you actually posted that for all the world to see?!? Amazing. FYI - the damage done by invasive plants is not only well documented, but happens all over the world when plants that aren't supposed to be in that ecosystem are brought in by people. The cost to society is huge, but the cost in terms of ecosystem function is really immeasurable.

[@cacogenicist]

​@@lorrainegatanianhits8331- I would love to show you fields of Himalayan blackberry monoculture in western Oregon and Washington. Sure, the ecosystem will adjust eventually -- something will evolve to eat them or otherwise control them -- but we're talking a very long time. Meanwhile, they destroy habitat other organism require to exist. Your comment about Nazism reminds me of a conversation I was having one time, about whether someone's golden retriever could function as a livestock guardian dog. I insisted that they do not have the mental or physical attributes for the job, and will get killed rather readily if jumped by a few coyotes. Plus they would lose interest in guarding sheep or whatever. My interlocutor was persuaded ... but then a 3rd individual jumped in the conversation and called us both racists, insisting that any difference between *_DOG_* breeds was because humans treated them differently. Lol.

[@MightyFineMan]

Thank you for your service

[@crumdoggy]

Japenese honeysuckle and similar invasive are devastating the urban forest in the DC area. Areas that were once beautiful wooded areas are being suffocated by japenese honeysuckle, English ivy and other invasive. It is very frustrating as no one seems aware because they see the vines on the trees and still believe the forest is alive. Only when the trees die and fall, leaving a massive space of ugly vines do they realize the damage that has been done.

[@VentusOfficiall]

Here before this goes viral.

[@stevenjacobs2750]

We're still here!

[@zamexnox]

Lol, In 10 Years Maybe

[@falloutb4088]

Cringe

[@sgg17003]

This is needed along the Eastbound of the Schuylkill Expressway.

[@cacogenicist]

If folks out there are going to plant western _Picea_ species, maybe try _Picea breweriana._ Very small native range in rhe Klamath mountains of southern Oregon and northern California -- and I'm not sure there are all _that_ many in cultivation (although, IIRC they are somewhat popular in gardens in the UK).

[@Thecastofthelast]

Nice work! Very nice looking Picea pungens (if my memory serves me correctly)

[@JonSteitzer]

Andrew I'm in your area, outside philly, and need some arborist services, how do I track down your company?

[@aum0aumgood]

Yes Japan is West of America! who brought Japanese HoneySuckle vines to America? is it sold commercially? And why is it still ? Nature first. Forest health essential . Thank you for sharing your time knowledge and good heart .

[@MarceloOliveira-hy5np]

Great initiative. Trees need help

[@estealmaikel]

Nice work! if I lived near you I would offer my help to remove the dead material to better help the tree and assure the plant doesn't come back

[@nomusicrc]

I love you Did you remove the dead vines I love doing this kind of work I have poison ivy from helping a friend do yard work

[@TheSUPERHAPPY1]

New series: Save a Tree!

[@Maryjoowanna]

I hate those jasmine ugh so invasive

[@xiezicong]

Hit me up next time and I'll help

[@MrDonteallen]

🤝🫡

[@bennis9837]

Thank you. I wished we'd live in a world where millions would watch such useful videos and take it as an example instead of all the rubbish. Humanity is so fucked.

[@Dervitox]

Like you have done something to help tree after seing this video

[@Leto_0]

"Humanity's fucked." _continues scrolling mindlessly_

[@lorrainegatanianhits8331]

A respectful critique: You're not saving anything by removing that honeysuckle. Blue spruce is so unsuitable to that location. Atmospheric pollution from the highway, compacted, (likely) eutrophic soils and more. Of course it's not going to do well there, of course L. japonica is going to dominate it (while it wouldn't dominate P. pungens in a more suitable location). The remaining roots of L. japonica will resprout. Unless for continuous intervention that tree will be taken over by L. japonica. "Ecosystem services"? L. japonica probably provides more of those than P. pungens in that location.

[@Leto_0]

Lol I think you're forgetting the part where the tree dies if he doesn't cut the vine... are you just making things up?

[@lorrainegatanianhits8331]

@@Leto_0 the tree dies yes, but it's not a very good tree to be there. That's why it dies. That's how evolution works. There's no reason to interfere with it.

[@sgg17003]

​@@lorrainegatanianhits8331Stupid. That tree will not just wither and die because it not in the optimal location. The blue spruce does fine around Philly. It obviously looked like it does fine without the vines.

[@jamaly77]

@@lorrainegatanianhits8331 You're talking about a different kind of evolution as for billions of years, no plant species could move that far in such a short amount of time. Plenty of non-native pests are able to kill perfectly healthy native plants. The is no denying that fact or you would be making a fool out of yourself.

[@threeriversforge1997]

Respectful critique: He never claimed to be saving the tree, and even acknowledged that the honeysuckle would grow back since he didn't apply herbicide. What he did do, however, was buy the tree a little more time, and set the invasive plant back significantly. It's not just a matter of saving the tree, either, because cutting the honeysuckle will also slow it's spread elsewhere. Fewer stems mean fewer flowers which means fewer fruits/seeds to get distributed. It's not logical to say the spruce wasn't suitable to that location when we can see that it was doing quite well on its own. It was living, growing, showing no signs of duress due to soil and air quality, etc. The L.japonica didn't dominate it because the tree was weakened by some outside force, but because that's the nature of the L.japonica. We can see the same pattern everywhere we find L.japonica. Dr. Doug Tallamy's research into the benefits of non-native species is pretty clear in terms of the "ecosystem services" they provide. Namely, none. I know that's hard to believe because we see bees flitting about the place, but we have to remember that most pollinator insects are specialists who require a very specific plant for either food or shelter. Seeing a non-native honey bee enjoying the nectar of the honeysuckle doesn't mean that the ecosystem is benefiting from having the honeysuckle there. The native Spruce might also not be doing much for the pollinators since it's not specifically native to that area, but it's a far cry better than the invasive honeysuckle if only because the spruce isn't invasive and doesn't spread like wildfire, killing everything it covers. If both of them are a net zero in terms of benefits to the local ecosystem, we can at least say that the honeysuckle is orders of magnitude more damaging to the local ecosystem. And it's the damage that we should be seeking to stop.