agree.. if you dont MURDER it.. with malice and aforethought.. it will be back with a vengeance.. because there is no insult to the root system ... see link for very expensive RUp applicator ... clean it out.. insert RU.. use.. return unused to original container for storage .... 41% is full strength ... on cutting.. there is a green ring just under the bark .. the cambian layer ..... and that is what needs to be treated.. middle dead wood is.. well.. dead ... that green is the vascular system of the plant.. and will suck the killer down into the roots ... i would never pay to have one removed.. but i have space.. if you need the space.. pay or dig.. your choice ... it is an INVASIVE in many parts of the country .. PLEASE KILL it.. do NOT ignore it ... pix of leaves and branches.. if you are questionable on your ID guess ... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

Wisteria seed pods are poisonous to horses [and I assume other animals] so mine are planted away from my horse pastures. Here is photo of my bush last spring - it is just about to start opening blooms. The fragrance is divine - it is, to me, what heaven would smell like. I love to work in my front yard rose bed while it is in bloom - intoxicating! I even bought a pop up shelter to cover it in case of a late freeze - which happened 2 years ago. It had just started blooming, here came the freeze and the blooms were toast. I was so mad I vowed this wouldn't happen again. This bush I now have looks like one I had in my yard when I was growing up and loved. I assume because my yard is mowed every other week that any sprouts that come up are mowed down. I am getting ready to plant another one that I have babied for 2 years in a pot to make sure that it would bloom white like the tag said - it is finally getting ready to bloom and is, indeed, white. These are hard to find and have a different fragrance from the lavender, but its strong and rich scent. I trim mine back sharply every year and it doesn't get out of bounds nor run wild. But - it is out in the middle of the yard and instead of a climber, makes a large bush - this way, it cant get into trouble. When in full bloom, people pull to the side of the road to look. I agree that they can get out of hand unless properly maintained but where mine is placed, it can be kept under control and rewards me with one of the things I love most about spring - 2 weeks of beauty and fragrance that cannot be duplicated. Judith

I think the key to being a happy raspberry gardener is to figure out how you're going to control them before they get big enough to need a trellis or stakes or whatever. My raspberry bed is 2 feet wide, and I've been thinking of making an aisle in the middle of it so that I can both control the brambles better, and pick the berries more easily. I'd also make sure they are getting enough sun if they are under the walnuts. I don't have any root barriers, so the raspberries are coming up in surrounding areas, but they are easy to pull out. In fact, they are the only thing that comes up through the mulch, so it's kinda nice to have some weeds to take care of. A couple thoughts on guilds. I planted a row of Moonshine yarrow alternating with garlic alongside one edge of the raspberry bed (because I had a lot of yarrow to plant after dividing one plant). The garlic did not get enough sun, though the yarrow flourished and was low enough not to be in the way when I was picking the berries. I ended up not watering the garlic/yarrow area much, and the yarrow did better there than in another part of the garden where I paid more attention to it. One thing I have thought about planting at the edge of the berry bed is peas, particularly since peas can produce fall and early spring crops here. THe peas can climb on the low fence surrounding the berry bed, add N to the soil, and ornament an otherwise abandoned-looking section of the garden while the brambles are dormant.

The update is that I ended up using a chemical fungicide which cleared up the problem. I put down two apps of cornmeal (20 lbs/k), Actinovate, and serenade and waited the appropriate times but it never cleared up. I finally broke down and sprayed Bayer fungus control and it seemed to stop the spread. I then put down Heritage G about 2 weeks later and it completely cleared up 10 days after that. Right after everything was looking great again we got another big rain event (14 inches in 24 hrs, major flooding) and I got a little bit of brown patch but that has cleared up now too. I'm not sure if I will try the cornmeal again next year or not. When I had the major outbreak of grey leaf spot, my neighbors' lawns seemed okay. I wondered if the bad fungus was also feeding on the cornmeal and making it worse. After I put down the Heritage we had the crazy 14 inches in 24 hrs and my neighbors' lawns are looking awful right now, brown patch everywhere, but mine looks great. Heritage is effective for a month so still seems to be working to protect it.