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Old 25-07-2017, 03:39 PM posted to rec.gardens
David E. Ross[_2_] David E. Ross[_2_] is offline
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Default Grapevines and Leylandii

On 7/25/2017 4:54 AM, JB Conner wrote:
I have some young leylandii pushing their way up but a nearby grapevine
has taken a fancy to a couple of them and has latched onto them. As it
would do, it's starting to spread over them. I rather like the addition
of grapevine leaves to the leylandii branches, but I'm worried that the
combination won't work out in the long run. Will the leylandii prove
strong enough to grow normally in spite of the clinging vine, and take
the vine up with them, or will the vine prove to be the stronger and
stunt the growth of the leylandii? Can anyone advise me on this? If I
have to, I'll simply cut the vine away from the trees.


As with most plants, your Leyland cypress grows from the branch ends,
not from the base of the trunk. Thus, it will NEVER "take the vine up".

However, this is not a good situation. Grape vines are very vigorous.
I have three, and their shoots grow several feet in a season. While the
tree will not raise up the vine, shoots will grow out of your reach and
possibly grow to the top of the tree. The large grape leaves will shade
the cypress, eventually causing it to die.

To be productive, grape vines need severe annual pruning. Growing on
and in a tree will make that quite difficult.

Grapes are not the only vine that can grow on a tree and kill it. I saw
an Italian cypress with wisteria on it. The tree was struggling to
survive. Fortunately, the owner recognized the problem and cut the
wisteria at the ground. It was a few years before the tree recovered.

--
David Ross

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