forsythia

Question

my forsythia bush is covered with invasive vines and they are killing the bush – this bush has many birds in it over the winter using it for shelter from the snow and wind. I know that they carry the seeds of other plants with them –
No matter how much I cut these vines are strong and wound around the plant almost choking it –

Please any suggestions are appreciated –

I do not want to use any type of poisons –

Answer 1

I wish you had included a picture: knowing which vines you have helps with effective eradication measures. If you don’t want to use herbicides, you are left with digging out the vine roots or cutting stems to the ground weekly. Consider digging out the forsythia to get to all the roots. Forsythia is very tolerant and will bounce back if kept watered while it re-establishes. I would prune it back or tie up the forsythia stems to make the task easier. Cutting the vines and immediately applying a small amount of Brush-B-Gon to the cut (I use a q-tip or 1/4″ foam brush), gives faster results. With this technic, only a minimal amount of herbicide is used.