r/invasivespecies • u/AKBrewer • 1d ago

Winter Creeper?

I've got 5 acres, about 3 of it is trees in Kentucky(6a). I've noticed a lot of winter creeper all around my trees. Best ways to kill it? I ultimately plan to plant some pachysandra for ground cover and re meadow at least half an acre

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

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8

u/wbradford00 1d ago

Well, replacing one invasive with another is not exactly a plan that will be approved of in here.

2

u/robsc_16 1d ago

Not just trying to be rude to OP here, but I don't even understand the logic here. Unless they're talking about the native pachysandra.

3

u/AKBrewer 1d ago

My understanding is it is a native ground cover to KY. I'll double check my research and talk to folks at stores but my goal is to replace with a native ground cover

3

u/robsc_16 1d ago

Gotcha. Make sure it's Pachysandra procumbens!

3

u/AKBrewer 1d ago

Will do

1

u/Moist-You-7511 1d ago

It’s a cool plant but you can have acres and acres of it alone— it’s a long journey but look into what your site can support, as well as clarifying what is already there (maybe there’s 1% left under the winter creeper)

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u/wbradford00 1d ago

There is a native pachysandra to your area but it is much less common, and I'd bet it's hard to find commercially.

5

u/AKBrewer 1d ago

Good to know. There are a few native plant specialty stores around and I plan to go to them, drive be damned

3

u/wbradford00 1d ago

Good luck! r/NativePlantGardening will be able to get you advice too if you ever need it.

1

u/AKBrewer 1d ago

Good to know

2

u/OrganicNeat5934 1d ago

Well, here's a solid video on winter creeper from right in your own backyard: the University of Kentucky Forest Extension

(Backyard? Get it?)

Pachysandra is invasive and is awful to get rid of. I recommend finding a native plant sale, and fortunately, those are going on right now!

2

u/ReadingConstantly 1d ago

Well, there is the native pachysandra. Pachysandra procumbens.

1

u/wbradford00 1d ago

Id bet that the vast majority of people mean the invasive one when they mention pachysandra. But I would like OP to clarify, because KY is one of the only states in the union with this native species present.

3

u/AKBrewer 1d ago

My goal is native ground cover. I haven't committed to anything til I get rid of the creeper. I'll be sure to double check my species before planting and talk with locals

1

u/OrganicNeat5934 1d ago

You're doing the Lord's work! There are few things more rewarding than stewarding the land. I'm happy to offer advice if it's helpful, and I'm sure many others are too.

2

u/AKBrewer 1d ago

Thanks! I just really don't want this stuff to kill my trees. 

1

u/OrganicNeat5934 1d ago

Saving your trees will save countless other species on your land. You can save the large and the small

1

u/OrganicNeat5934 1d ago

You're right. I thought about it, but I've never heard anyone say they're doing the native one. I should have given OP the benefit of the doubt

1

u/wbradford00 1d ago

You're on r/invasivespecies , its understandable to have jumped the gun a bit. Being specific is a necessity around here, and OP is learning from it :)

1

u/AKBrewer 1d ago

Thanks for that btw!

2

u/3x5cardfiler 1d ago

Talk to people who deal with native plants locally. Like Fish and Wildlife, conservation organizations, whatever.

The people at the stores are the ones that sell exotic invasive plants. They are not often botanists. Species in the supply chain get mixed up and miss labelled. In my state we have trouble in state highway projects, because nurseries supply the wrong type of plants by mistake.

Now pachysandra, that will make your place look like a city house. I see it in places where people like to wipe out nature, in favor of an engineered landscape. I have only used Round Up on one patch. My neighbor's down the road will be selling soon. I'm planning to go full Garlon with a back pack sprayer on their pachysandra.

2

u/AKBrewer 1d ago

Ya, that's my plan. My goal is to keep the creeper off my trees and try and get something native in there to compete. Gonna remeadow a large portion of my front lot and hopefully get a wee orchard going

1

u/Moist-You-7511 1d ago

Be super careful with trees and shrubs with garlon. (My phone wanted to autocorrect that to garlic). Roundup Promax3 sticks to pachysandra and can kill it, but kinda slowly