another photo

That would take a LOT of chemical. I think the amount needed to kill all of that would keep anything else from ever growing there again.

The cleanest, most organic, and practical (if you want to grow nice things that you love there) is to physically chop away the greenery and then grind the stumps. Next, get some kind of rototiller (heavy duty) to grind into the soil removing rocks along the way. Lastly, till in compost for later plantings.

That's just like my opinion though, man:-)

Hope this helps.

p.s. Even if you use chemical to kill, you're still going to have to remove all of that stuff yourself or hire someone. Why not just remove it physically and start clean?

Keep in mind that removing vegetation from a slope without replacing it can lead to erosion. What you can do is to cut off the woody vegetation at almost ground level and apply herbicide. That would leave the roots in place for a little while to hold the ground. It does look like you have some native sumac in there but perhaps also some non-native mimosa trees.

Pine trees can be cut and not treated. Most will not sprout back (white pine being an exception).

I cleared the rear of my property by cutting each plant at ground level and applying Green Light Cut Vine & Stump Killer. It is extremely effective. You apply a tiny amount to just cover the new cut. I used loppers, hand pruners and a small curved hand saw.

Are you leaving the pine trees? Just clearing the underbrush mess?

The reviews say that some of the big boxes no longer carry it. I'd check though before ordering online. Thinking that this inexpensive product wasn't making them any money, since such a small amount is required. It costs about $7.

Hope this helps. And hope you'll post pics when cleared.

Why not plant the crossvine above the ties, let it grow down the wall?

Here is a link that might be useful: Green Light Cut Vine & Stump Killer

Underbrush: Cut it down to the base, drill anything with a stump with a few holes about an inch deep. Fill with Rosie's greenlight killer as directed, cover with some tin foil so the wildlife doesn't drink from the stump. Sometimes the tree of heaven takes a few go-arounds. You can do more drilling and filling in a month or so, or even the end of august to be sure it's gone. The mimosa is pretty easy to take care of. Pull what you can if you can do it without damaging the ties or the vegetation you want to keep. The key is to use as little weed killer as possible to get the job done. No use in overdoing it, it really just wastes your $$$.
I like Fertilome's total kill too as a vegetation killer only when necessary. I use these on kudzu, some kind of weedy cherry, hackberry (I think that's what it is), wisteria, tree of heaven, privit and mulberry stumps and they do quite well with very little product needed.

tcason, you still out there? Have you done anything yet?

We went and started another small project for our home, but we are going forward wth plans to clear out that area beg September.

Thanks for posting tips. I've been losing the battle with a Tree of Heaven and privets. This gives me hope!

pam, trust me, the Green Light stuff works on privet. I had only a tiny bit reappear, sprouts from somewhere on the roots, not where I initially killed it.

My city's planner calls privet evergreen kudzu. Sure glad all mine is long gone.

get remuda (glyphosphate 40%) from ace hardware, cut the stems to 1 foot, and paint with remuda. Let it overwinter, when you get new growth in the spring, would cut it again to 1/2 foot and paint again. Find a good wildflower seed mix spreand and keep it watered. If you don't replace with something else it will grow again.

GreenLight Cut Vine and Stump Killer is no longer available. I have a note somewhere to buy a product called Vinex instead. Meanwhile, I've been using a strong mix of glysophate, 1 part glysophate to 3 parts water. Store it in a small jar, labeled of course, with the small brush attached with a heavy rubber band.