Help identify

21 years ago

I live in NJ, USA

I have this extremely hardy and fast growing vine growing around my yard, the leaves are heart shaped the stock get very thick hollwo from inside, extremely fast growing.

I don't know what it is, I see it around other yards also, some wild growth.

What could it be and how do I get rid of ti.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

Marshmellow
21 years ago
Well, I live in Massachusetts and what you describe really sounds like a Climbing Hydrangea, sold in our area so my guess is sold in yours to! It has glossy heart-shaped leaves and cinnamon colored stems with exfoliating bark. It can grow to 50-80 feet tall, and the trunk can be as big as a tree!

It's not invasive. It climbs with tendrils and will produce large lacy white flowers in early summer. Unlike say, a morning glory that wraps itself around objects, or a Clematis whose leaves wrap around objects (hence they need wire fence, fishing string, etc to climb) the Climbing Hydrangea has little tendrils that have a gluey substance and will stick to anything like superglue and unlike the other two vines mentioned it can climb straight up walls with it's clinging tendrils without any aid.

The problem is, if it's on your house pulling it off get ready for a surprise. Those tendrils are a permanent fixture attached to your house. I went through removing a tendril vine from my fathers house and found that out. Carefully pull the vines off the house, breaking each tendril which reamins stuck to your house, don't pull too hard you don't want to wreck the shingles, use a putty knife to help and as far as I know there's no way to get those tendrils to release. Then you have to carefully sand the siding to flatten out and remove the tendrils and paint. It will look terrible after you're done removing the vine and having all those millions of tendrils attached to your house... be prepared for shock.

Big pain, hope it's not attached to the house. Maybe there's a new product that you can spray that will release the tendrils, but from what I can tell they're superglue. Just hope it's not attached to your house.

Anyhow it's not invasive, cut the trunk, it will die, there's nothing else you can do besides just cut the vine up and pull it off piece by piece.
fyamin
Original Author
21 years ago
Thanks, That helps a lot.

Luckily it is not attached to the house, it is growing around my fence on the other side. I did cut up the trunks on a few I could reach, I tried spraying round-up and brush killer doesn't have a lot of affect on it.

I will keep cutting them down. They caught me by suprise, They all grew to 6ft+ in few weeks.

regards,
Related Discussions
Help! Need help identifying this plant!
Q
Comments (4)
Possibly Epiphyllum oxypetalum (Queen of the Night) which is an old pass-along type epiphytic cacti houseplant. Have you ever seen it bloom? Does it bloom at night?
...See More
Need help identifying this lawn weed...please help!
Q
Comments (2)
Possibly Chickweed, a plant that grows best in a soil that lawns really like, a rich, near neutral soil. Chickweed is a cool weather annual and so it will die off as temperatures rise. Your Ohio State University Cooperative Extension Service can be of help as could this from Penn Sate. http://extension.psu.edu/pests/weeds/weed-id/common-chickweed kimmq is kimmsr
...See More
Help identifying and helping a succulent?
Q
Comments (7)
Your local climate is much different from mine. And also, I don't grow my plants indoors since I am lucky enough to have good weather all year long for my succulents here in SW Florida. But I'll give you my experience with this plant. It rots easily! Now I do have humid and in the summer, wet weather. This is not what you have. I am on my 3rd Campfire plant. Here is a picture of my first rotting plant. Notice how rich and dark the soil is! It retained too much water.Out of all of those stems and rosettes, I got only 2 tiny plants to root and grow. Almost all of what you see had rot and the stems were still pretty rigid, not limp at all. So this can be deceiving. Here's a closeup - every stem and rosette that I cut was slimy and falling apart. This happened rather quickly, by the way, in spite of being in full sun. I strongly encourage you to at least use 50% perlite with your soil. That was not enough for my wet conditions, but it works well for many people. I now have my newest plant in the full gritty mix and things are going well - - - but I am keeping a close eye on things this year. Good luck! This is one of my favorite plants. So colorful!
...See More
Need help identifying weed/ lawn help.
Q
Comments (1)
It could be quack grass.
...See More
fyamin
Original Author
21 years ago
I did an online search on Climbing Hydrangea , the pictures don't seem to be the same as mine.

Mine the leaves are big the size of my palms, no flowers, just one straight vine, no branches.
The water beads of the leaves. No bark either, does have the maron tint on the stem when it is new and then it turns green as it gets bigger.
Iris GW
21 years ago
I suggest you post this on the name that plant forum. It may not be native. Can you get a picture or scan one of the leaves to show?
philmart
21 years ago
Sounds like Japanese Knotweed, commonly called "bamboo." It's pretty invasive, and you'll just have to chop, mow, spray, dig . . . Supposedly if it's deprived of leaves for two consecultive seasons it will die out. Supposedly.

Phil
taylmat_OK
21 years ago
The maroon tint on the underside makes me think of pokeweed. It grows very long like a vine and very quickly, but I believe it is an herbacious perennial. Do the older ones have berries at the end?

I've heard the leaves are delicious, but not too many of them! It can be poisonous!
fyamin
Original Author
21 years ago
No Berries, It does like son as it grows straight up behind the fence.
Thanks folks