| What is the best way to control growth (kill) the mistletoe vine? It has reached about 25' up our maple trees. |
| Mistletoe is a parasitic plant and can appear on high branches in trees, but it isn't a vining plant. I wonder if you're dealing with common ivy, bindweed, or dodder. Ivy can climb trees in a hurry, as can bindweed (a member of the morning glory family with trumpet shaped flowers). Dodder is a yellowish string-like weed that normally winds its way around plants at ground level, but under the right circumstances can climb trees, as well. The best way to control these pesky vines is to sever them at ground level near the the base of the tree trunk. This will involve a pair of hand pruners and a little or a lot of time depending upon the number of vines growing up the trunk of your maple. Cutting each vine will stop the transportation of nutrients and moisture from the roots of the plants to the tips of the vines and essentially starve them out. Once they're dead, you can pull them out of the tree. |
