Hops vs Poison Ivy?

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wintermute2

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I have a corner in my yard that we just can't slow down ivy, virginia creeper, and poison ivy growth in. I was wondering how aggressive hops plants are and if it's possible to use them to out-compete the annoying crap in my yard.
 
wintermute2 said:
I have a corner in my yard that we just can't slow down ivy, virginia creeper, and poison ivy growth in. I was wondering how aggressive hops plants are and if it's possible to use them to out-compete the annoying crap in my yard.

Probably not:(
The best thing to do is use Roundup on the invasive plants and kill them dead to the roots and then plant your hops next year.
 
Round-Up isn't The Right Stuff for woody stuff like PI. Scotts sells a really good brush killer that works great on PI and similar brushy plants...

Cheers!
 
day_trippr said:
Round-Up isn't The Right Stuff for woody stuff like PI. Scootvsells a really good brush killer that works great on PI and similar brushy plants...

Cheers!

As a landscape contractor and licensed chemical applicator with a lot of experience killing poison ivy I can tell you roundup works perfectly fine. As a general broad spectrum herbicide there is very little that round will not kill dead to the roots
 
Hops are pretty gregarious plants and I reckon they'd just join the party and pi$$ you off even more. Don't get mad, get even and stick some multiflora rose into that area. You may get their attention then!

Previous comments are on target but if you have some grasses in the mix that you don't want to eliminate you can use something with triclopyr in it (Crossbow is a favorite of mine: http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/triclogen.pdf). I think that may be what day tripper is getting at. The types of plants you mentioned are very difficult to control with one application because they have lots of juice left underground and will send up new shoots for a few years. It takes a few years of keeping after them but you can do it, so all is not lost. Grab a few beers and draw out a strategy first though (label reading is a MUST!
 
I agree with the Roundup. If you go with a generic version to save a little be sure it has a surfactant. Apply when growing conditions look favorable for at least a few days, a week is better. You may not see rapid burndown so give it time before reapplying as needed.
 
I sprayed my ivy three times this year, twice with roundup and once with something else.

I followed directions of the bottles to a T.

All three times the ivy said Thanks You for the drink and grew even faster.
 
I would try pulling them out, it seems to work well. If you pull them out roots and all they don't come back for a long while. However wear complete protection, even double layers and rubber gloves. PI has an oil that saturates clothing and can remain in it for years. Use rubber gloves, don't touch your skin (especially face), and pull fast. Remove all clothes again using rubber gloves to handle them and place into hot wash. Then take a shower right away.

Or....buy a goat lol
 
One thing I forgot to mention: if the plants are well established which it sounds like they are, cut the plants off at ground level and then spray the ground level plant.

Once the cut off tops die simply pull them down, wear protective clothing though still as the oils will still be present to some degree. If you are trying to spray the entire plant they are too well established and require multiple attacks with the herbicides
 
Get yourself a nice propane weed burner, burn them down, as soon as green shoots appear a week or two later hit them and the area with a healthy dose of Round-Up. In the spring till up the area then plant your hops :mug:
 
I'd watch that "burn them down" approach, I've heard of people with respiratory issues from burning poison ivy along with other yard waste.
 
You don't need a preexisting condition, just a basic allergy to PI: when I was eight my dad was clearing out some back acreage and burning the brush he piled up. And I was playing in the smoke. I ended up in the hospital being pumped full of epinephrine for a few days.

On the up side, I can roll in PI now and never get even a bump...

Cheers!
 
Based on the amount of PI I bordering my property, how well Roundup worked on it, and the cost of Roundup...I would go poor long before I was able to control the poison ivy back there.

Roundup kills it, but it comes back just as quick.
 
+1 to not burning; not safe.

Seems like mechanical pulling is the way to go if you are very careful...
 
DONT BURN POISON IVY!

You will hospitalize yourself or anyone else who happens to breath in the smoke. Think of your lungs coated with the slimy bubbbly PI bumps. *shudder*
 
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