PHYLLOXERA!

Hi, Newb here, with issues! I bought my first house four years ago, love it, has small mostly paved back yard but with perennial beds with lots of potential all sides, unsightly fence I'm saving to replace. Discovered over the course of 3 years that wonderful wild grape vines have fully covered unsightly fence! Combined with sweet pea very pretty. Could not understand why prior owners had cut these wild grape vines away when so useful, until today I noticed problem on leaves. Have explored Internet-undoubtedly phylloxera! Here is my question. I now intend to cut away wild grape vines and start over with honeysuckle and trumpet vine. Both are woody I think. Are they susceptible to phylloxera, which will continue to be in soil at grape root? Or is phylloxera specific to grape vine? (hopefully).Thank you, looking forward to chat.

Phylloxera is specific to grapevines and specific to certain varieties of grapevines. They phylloxera must have the grapevine rootstock to overwinter on or they die.
There are varieties of grapes grafted onto resistant rootstock for planting in areas susceptible to phylloxera.
Thiodan is used in commercial vineyards, but it's not approved for home use and is only partially effective.
Hope this helps.

Thanks, Calalily. Any info I could find also indicated chemical treatment not particularly effective or only available for commercial vineyards. Not that I'm up for expensive toxic solutions even if available! How do you know about phylloxera, personally, professionally, or just knowledgeable in general?

I'm in Zone 5a. We're having a great summer, temperate and sunny. Thanks again for your reply. B.

Sometimes I just remember things from the summer classes that I take. I also have a friend with a vineyard and I remember he was so meticulous about keeping wild grapevines cleaned out around the vineyard.

Hey, Calalily! Regards. Follow-up five days later, infestation not running rampant yet. Am hopeful will get through this season with pretty enough vines, as long as continue to cut away affected areas. Very interesting that your friend had to monitor the surrounding wild vines. I sure am enjoying getting this education re:gardening, albeit some of it bad news. On the good news side, have purchased beautiful trumpet vine, planting today. Hope you're having a great summer. B.

Butterfield, maybe you can get some grapevines that are grafted onto resistant roots. I hope it works by keeping the infected areas cut off. If you get them all, then they won't get to overwinter on the roots and each year should be less and less infestation.

Calalily - got time for an update? After I read your last message I was feeling very optimistic, the infected growths seemed to be controlled and very sparse. I had wondered if I was naive in thinking it possible that perhaps I could control the problem with just cuttings, but your message confirmed my optimism. Now let me ask you this...Do you recall how vigilant your friend had to be re: neigboring infected wild vines? Because I took a little look around, knowing that my neighbor had a large patch of these wild grape vines also nicely camouflaging a chain link fence in his back yard. And you guessed it. Rampant phylloxera. Some of the leaves are so badly mottled with growths they look more like miniature clumps of grapes themselves!

My neighbor is a great guy and we get along fine, but not the type to bother with the infected vines, expecially since they are far enough away from the house. I've considered asking for permission to also monitor and cut away on his vines, but I realized I'm not up for it, it's at least 30'x8' of thick vines, the other side of his fence in a public area.

Part of the life cycle of this phylloxera is airborne I've read, once they are well established. What kind of chances do you give me to save mine? The neighbor's infected vines are about 40' away "as the crow flies". Thanks again ... B.

P.S. In Plan A, rather than get grafted resistant grape vines, I've been opting for other types of vines. Love the trumpet vine I got last week, and last night for a shadier area I planted a beautiful climbing hydrangea. Already gun shy over these grape vines, although they have been beautiful for a while. ... B.

Butterfield, I know he removed the vines around the perimeter of his property, but all around were woods and I'm sure there were wild grapevines in the woods. I will have to ask him. I love to go down there, he makes some good muscadine wine!
I think planting other kinds of vines is a good idea. How about some clematis? The different kinds flower at different times of the year. I had a fence at our old house that I planted clematis about every 6-8 feet along the fence and over several years it covered it.
I have a climbing hydrangea that is not very big yet, but saw one at an old house that was covering a fence in the shade. It was so pretty!

Hi Calalily! I like clematis very much, and the house has a mature vine in the front, but it doesn't flower much. I think it must be a fall bloomer, but even so I get very few pale orchid blossoms. The vine itself is gorgeous though. I've been thinking that perhaps I prune it incorrectly, at the wrong time or too much, and am experimenting. That is why I haven't opted for the clematis. Also someone told me they are slow growing.

So you have climbing hydrangea...I have high hopes for the two vines I just planted! Although while they seem to be holding their own, looking healthy, they're not growing much (only been a few weeks, and they are a "watched pot"...as in "never boils").I've wondered if the soil isn't acidic enough, although I'm mulching with pine bark mulch, and assuming that will over time create the correct soil.

Have a great rest of August! The grape vines are looking a little peaked... infected, but overall not bad. I'm over my first crisis. Year by year will figure it out. Take care, B.

P.S. Did I just see that it's your birthday? If I got that right, Happy Birthday!!

This message was edited Thursday, Aug 7th 10:23 AM