I wish they'd outlaw that euonymus. The place my husband and I bought was overrun with all the bad guys you're struggling with, and the wintercreeper euonymus is far and away the most difficult thing to eradicate. But I'm doing it, and the only thing I've found that works on the buggery stuff is to cut it with a weed whacker (string trimmer) and then IMMEDIATELY -- meaning within 20 minutes -- hit it with a spray of brush killer. Not RoundUp, but stuff labeled specifically as brush killer. It may take up to five applications a week apart, but it works. If it's climbing your oaks, get it off of them pronto by sawing the trunk of the euonymus where it's clinging to the oak and painting brush killer on the open cut with a cheap paintbrush.

This method also takes out the jap honeysuckle in one pass for me, and ivy in two treatments.

Good luck!

Soeur

Thanks Soeur!
Did you use Brush-B-Gon? And did you paint on the concentrate undiluted?

I've used Brush-B-Gone but I don't think it's as effective as other brands for some reason. If you have a farmers' coop in your area, check there. They usually have a big selection of this sort of thing. If not, look in Lowes or Home Depot.

Yeah, I painted it undiluted on the big woody stems I cut with a chainsaw. Killed it deader'n a doornail, I'm happy to say.

Soeur

The problem with Brush-Be-Gone or any other triclopyr based herbicide is that the poison is transmittable through the roots. The poison will stay in the ground and kill desirable plants from the ground up. Broadcast spraying large amounts over a large area is not good for anything.

There are also erosion problems from removing everything at once. I would work at clearing small areas scattered throughout the hillside. Plant some shrubs or tree seedlings and keep the invasives off of them. Also, clear around any "good" plants that you find. Get some plants established and then do some more. Slowly, over the years, you will have "restored" the forest.

There is no good way to have a instant invasive free landscape, and quite often to attempt this causes horrible consequences. Think about how the landscape became this way, it took time, and it will take time to bring it back.
t

Vinca is horrible. I tried to remove it once by digging it out. The runners were like steel cables. If you chop up the roots they re sprout. My new home has creeping charlie which spreads somewhat like vinca. Some beds have a half foot thicket of runners. This summer I bought some dirt that was mixed with peat. I had extra dirt. so I dumped it over a thick patch of creeping charlie. The dirt was 3-4 inches deep. Planted some leftover seeds in the dirt, expecting the charlie to take over. The good news is that heavy dirt suppressed the creeping charlie. My seeds did quite well in that thin layer. There are a few charlie plants coming through. Over another patch of charlie I put sod we had cut out doing driveway repair. I put that sod right over the weed beds, and kept it moist. This is the second summer and no charlie has come through the sod which is doing very well. So you could try removing shrubs, cutting the remainder low, and then laying sod right over it, or, do the lasgna garden by laying cardboard or newpapers over the cut weed beds, followed by topsoil. I think if I was rich, I'd sod right over my worst areas, just to smother out the plants.

Viridis2, could the upper hillside you're dealing with by chance be an old cemetary? It was common to plant vinca & ivy in old burial grounds even when no headstones were placed. When walking "new" ground to determine house sites, roadways, etc., surveyors and others always watch out for these two plants and do a little investigating if they find them.

It's not necessarily a cemetary, but if you think it's a possibility, it might be a good idea to check with your local historical society to see if they have any records of your property.

Gardener_Sandy: that's good to know - I think. Wish they had a machine that could look underground and let you know if there are any surprises!

I have been hand pulling some of these "ground covers" for 30 years and though I have made a dent, a summer away gives them the strength to come back! I am thinking or resorting to roundup. You can paint it on the leaves if you are careful. Another thought might be to dig up the ferns and other desireables, then nuke the whole area and start over.

Is the honeysuckle evergreen? I think I remember reading that you could use Round-Up in the winter when the other plants are dormant. Please double check though.
Have you already looked through the Missouri Department of Conservation website?

Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri Vegetation Management Manual

From what I have been told, Round-Up only works in an ambient temperature range from 50-80 degrees. Any warmer, or any cooler, plants shut down their respiration(?)and/or photosynthesis(?), and the Round-Up can't do it's job. Someone here will correct me if I'm wrong, and if I am, please do! April

I've used RoundUp both above 80 and below 50 and it always seems to work. No scientifice evidence just what ive done.

I am reading all of your ideas because I am battling ivy, kadsu, and vinca behind my house. We cut it all down today with the lawn mower. We are planning to cover it with black plastic and rocks until spring and then dig out the dead stuff. Do you think that will work? I don't want to use a brush killer because when I tried that at another house, it took 3 years to grow anything in that area. (No grass, no ivy, not even healthy weeds) Thanks, Tonya

"I don't want to use a brush killer because when I tried that at another house, it took 3 years to grow anything in that area. " You most likely used too much brush killer, or some stuff that lingers too long in the soil. Most brush killers (triclopr esp.) only last in the soil for up to 30 days with most of it bound to the soil by 10 days. If you cover with black plastic and rocks, I don't think that anything will happen. Actually you will most likely insulate the weeds over the winter and they will be stronger than ever in the spring. That or they will spread underground until they are beyond your plastic. For this technique to really be effective, it must be done in full sun and in the height of summer, and I'm not convinced that it will kill these groundcovers because of their vitality.
One problem with mowing everything is that you can actually spread propagules and cause the groundcover to spread faster. Try Garlon 3A at a rate of 2-3% in a backpack sprayer on the new growth. You should also read my thoughts above pertaining to instant control. It really does not work and usually causes more problems.
good luck
t

Trilliophile,
Thanks for the heads up. Stronger weeds? Oh no-that's not the look I was going for. :-) I will try the Garlon 3A. I don't remember what I used before but man did I feel bad for using it. Anything that strong should be outlawed! I guess I will resign myself to pulling out ivy, kadsu, and vinca for the next 20 years. Oh well, it's good excercise. I should have figured there wouldn't be an easy way out. There never is!

Try getting goats. They prefer shrubs over grass and I have heard that kudzu is used as animal fodder in its native area. Only drawback is they will eat everything they can reach so you will need to fence around the shrubs you want to keep.