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My house has extensive russian vine on the walls which is continually getting under the slates. I have decided to get rid of it. Is it better to use Roundup spray to seep down and kill the roots or just cut the lot off the house and try to dig the roots out?




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Not sure you mean Russian Vine, its more likely to be Parthenocissus (virginia creeper). Either way, it's not easy to kill off all the roots, and Roundup certainly won't do the job. Best to strip it all off the house, cut it at the base, then have a dig and poison with SBK any woody roots large enough to make cuts into that you can't get out by digging.

2 Sep, 2014

 

Thanks I'll try that.

2 Sep, 2014

 

Agree with Bamboo's suggestion. This what we did with our Virginia Creeper when it started getting under the slates.
Russian Vine has green leaves and panicles of white flowers. Virginia Creeper has Acer-like leaves which turn a lovely red colour in autumn. Virginia Creeper sticks itself to the wall with lots of little sucker pads and these will still be attached to the wall when you have ripped the vines off. Nothing much that you can do about it.

2 Sep, 2014

 

It is unlikely to be Russian Vine / Mile-a-minute / Polygonum Baldschuanicum or Fallopian baldschuanicum as this plant is a scrambler and needs something to hold it up. It's great over fences or into trees but it has no means by which to attach itself to a wall.
That said, if it has got really out of hand it could be resting on the growth of previous years. Just about the only way to get rid of it is to cut it down to a few inches above ground level as soon as the leaves have fallen and then spray new growth in the spring. Don't attempt to dig it up as the roots go on for ever and it will sprout from bits of root left behind. It will take a while to get rid of it - cut hard back each year's new growth, or cut back half the stems and allow half to flower - in good years when it's kept in order it can be every bit as nice as a wisteria.

2 Sep, 2014

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