Eastern Shore Gardener

Weeds in the garden have pulled me away from the computer this summer. After a wet April, a dry May, and a very wet June, I continue to do battle. Fortunately, I have help this summer in the form of David Arnold of The Esoteric Gardener, so by the close of this season the garden will look far better than it has in the past couple of years.

In addition to the regular culprits, I am making a special effort to eliminate wineberries (Rubus phoenicolasius), which are threatening to take over major portions of our property. I expect this to be a multi-year battle, and I don’t think I will ever be able to let my guard down completely.

Above: Wineberries with multiflora roses (Rosa multiflora), another common non-native invasive weed.

In the past, I’ve tried digging and discarding wineberry plants. I’ve also routinely cut off and placed the fruit in the trash to try to reduce the number of seed-grown plants. Despite previous efforts, this year they have taken over more space than ever, indicating my past efforts haven’t been effective. In response, I am resorting to using herbicide and a sprayer, something that I hate to do.

Wineberries are a serious non-native invasive that are worth fighting. Not only do they spread by suckers and come up from seed sown by birds, they also root wherever the stem tips touch the soil and produce canes that arch over and shade out nearby plants. The end result is an interconnected mass of thorny stems that form thickets that are really difficult and unpleasant to negotiate. The fruit is edible, but is not enough of a reason to let the plants live. Native black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) are thorny and can get out of control, but they are a far better choice and a great homegrown fruit.

Above: Wineberries have arching stems covered with bristly reddish hairs and plentiful thorns. On the left is another non-native invasive, oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)

Above: Black raspberry stems are whitish in color. While they have thorns, they  lack the red hairs that characterize wineberry stems.

Spraying wineberries is not a once-and-done operation. Established plants form dense tiers, and I have found that spraying twice or three times at about 10-day intervals works best to eliminate the plants. The first spraying generally takes care of the main canes, which reveals lower branches along with smaller plants closer to the ground. I am using Roundup mixed according to label directions. (I buy the concentrate, mix it myself, and add a squirt or two of dish-washing liquid as a spreader sticker.) When spraying, I try to isolate the canes to prevent drips from getting on any plants below. This isn’t always possible, and I have  damaged some plant growing underneath the wineberries. I hope they will rebound once the blanket of dense foliage dies away. I am also leaving the canes in place so I can see where they were located and spray again if necessary. I’ll probably cut them back late this fall, then start year two of my elimination program next spring.