Can anyone Id this vine and how to get rid of it?

Carol G
by Carol G
I have tried everything to get rid of it. It has invaded one corner of my yard...have tried all weed killers but to no avail.
  31 answers
  • P R P R on Jul 02, 2012
    Why would you want to get rid of it? It is just beauriful. I would just keep it trimmed back some. Wish it was in my yard. lol
  • Looks like Smilax pumila It's a native vine to the gulf coast area of the US. See attached link from an LSU page on the plant. Not really a weed, and readily occurring in your region. Try digging it out or dousing it with roundup if it's that much of an issue. (just be careful of what's around it if you go the roundup direction) I have a cousin of your plant growing here in Georgia. I just get in the shrubs and cut it off at the base when it pops up. When I replant the bed, I'll dig it out for good.
  • Carol G Carol G on Jul 02, 2012
    It is pretty but you can not keep it trimmed back..I have cut it to the ground but it pops up all over and is taking over the whole corner of my yard it also has thorns. I have tried round-up but it just laughs at it. I would have to dig up half my yard. It is just as bad as the bamboo that is in the same corner..that is my mulch bed..now it is a weed bed. arrrrrhhhh.
  • Lou B Lou B on Jul 02, 2012
    We have the same kind of weed here in FL...I have it in my back yard, and it is almost impossible to get rid of...you can't pull it up..it has managed to grow up a pine tree and the vine is about 4 inches in diameter. It is really hard to get rid of.
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Jul 03, 2012
    Carol, try painting an herbicide with glyphosate (like Roundup) directly on the leaves with a foam brush. You might add a few drops of dish soap to help it adhere.
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Jul 03, 2012
    I use Boiling Vinegar to kill seriously invasive "shrubs" My neighbor planted honeysuckle that crossed between out yards and started taking over the side yard...Not being from the south she didn't eralize just how invasive it would become. But sadly, I thought the new plant in my yard was from seed and killed it, only to discover it was a runner from her plant which also died...Now she grows it on the back fence...
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Jul 03, 2012
    I also used an herbicide to kill off a wild plum that was putting suckers all over the back yard, but I simply poured some in a small jar, (like a pnut butter jar) and dug a hole in the ground to hold the jar up then dug up a large root from the tree and dropped the end of the root into the jar of herbicide. the next day it had drunk all the herbicide and the tree and all it's suckers were dead. it did not come back.
  • Carol G Carol G on Jul 03, 2012
    No my problem is not resolved yet..think I will try the hot vinegar...the vines vine under ground and come up all over the yard now. will add salt to it maybe that will work. thank you all for your help..hope it works because roundup sure does not work ...used a whole bottle of it pure and it laughed at me and came back stronger.
  • Carol G Carol G on Jul 03, 2012
    I am going to try the vinegar and add salt to it this morning.
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Jul 04, 2012
    @Carol, if you use salt it will contaminate the ground and you won't be able to grow anything over there for possibly years....put a gallon of vinigar in a large pot and bring to a near boil, add a tablespoon of dishsoap and then carry the pot out to where it is growing and trickle it onto all the visible plants...if you have any left trickle it onto the ground surrounding the area....plan to do this again in a week for insurance....
  • Caroline Johnson Curran Caroline Johnson Curran on Jun 17, 2016
    Does t have some thorns and a somewhat wiry stem? I'm pretty certain that it's smilax. It's very hard to eradicate because it creates underground tubers which multiply. You can probably get some advice about digging up the tubers by looking it up online, but unless it's something else, I don't think vinegar or vinegar/salt solution will work. Good luck.
  • Kathy Haines Cramer Kathy Haines Cramer on Oct 02, 2016
    Have you had any luck?
  • Bunny Tracy Bunny Tracy on Oct 02, 2016
    Looks like philedendrom to me
  • Alice Alice on Oct 09, 2016
    Bunny, that is what I think it is. I have some inside and love it.
  • Jewell Ann Diehn Jewell Ann Diehn on Oct 11, 2016
    It's smilax.
  • Patricia Bell Patricia Bell on Nov 08, 2016
    In Alabama it is called a bamboo vine. Very bad thorns which can cause bad infections if stuck. We cut it off at the ground and try to dig up what we can depending on where it is.
  • Miriam Miriam on Nov 09, 2016
    Going with philedendrom. It is a house plant. Where are you, it must be warm because it will die at 1st frost if left outside. It is known to be hardy, but not invasive.
  • Nina Nina on Nov 14, 2016
    If it has stickers on it, it may be green briar
  • Caroline Johnson Curran Caroline Johnson Curran on Nov 15, 2016
    It is absolutely smilax, not a friendly vine. If you look it up, there is information available. Difficult to eradicate.
  • Larry shriver Larry shriver on Dec 18, 2016

    If you have one close, go to your local extension office..............take a sample with you so they can identify, and they will have information on how to eradicate it.

  • Linda Linda on Jan 05, 2017

    I have been trying to eradicate it from my yard since purchasing my new home. I dug up most of it, but some was interwoven with other plants. I poured some weed killer into a cup and dipped the vine into it as far as it would go, being careful not to get the weed killer on the other plants. Two weeks later, it was dead! Just keep digging and killing . . .

  • Caroline Johnson Curran Caroline Johnson Curran on Jan 06, 2017

    If you've used weed killer or digging it, it will probably come back. It is smilax, without a doubt. It's very hard to get rid of. I suggest that you Google or otherwise research smilax, and I think you'll be convinced. Sorry.

  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on Jan 06, 2017

    Here in S.E MN where I live wild grapevine is my nemesis. Our neighbor had one right next to her house that kept invading my lilac that is huge. I tried roundup on the leaves all over our yard where they were popping up and it did not work. Out of frustration I hacked at it with a hatchet, but it was too big [the one next to the house], since there were open areas I cut into I put roundup liberally on them. It took a while, but I haven't seen a leaf on it for a year now.

    • See 1 previous
    • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on Mar 18, 2017

      No animals are ever near it. That area gets maybe an hour of sun a day. It was against the neighbors house. There is a six foot strip of grass, then a single car driveway, then our house. to the south is a wood privacy fence and our garage. I don't think it would be able to get baked or I would have tried something like that. my neighbor gave me permission to do this since I care for anything on the side of her house, including huge lilac and shrub on the corner of her house. If I use Roundup on anything I make sure it is far from where any dogs or cats will be, or any plants will be affected. I have used this for years and am very careful. I even store it in the garage in a cupboard about eight feet up.

  • Mary Mary on Jan 25, 2017

    Get the round up that is supposed to be mixed with water, don't mix it pour it straight on. A more natural way is straight apple cider vinegar ( the brown stuff) it will take a couple of weeks but keep pouring either one you choose on and in a month I don't think they will grow back. But keep in mind nothing else will for about six months.

  • Kat Kat on Jan 31, 2017

    if it has thorns, it could be Kudzu, very invasive in NC and southern states; a pain to deal with! husband used to call it the "NC potato", Kudzu has root tubers that go very deep, and tho you can cut the plant, tubers will grow back. we fought those suckers for 20 yrs! (they won of course, despite hubby digging constantly) oh well.......

  • Claude Claude on Feb 03, 2017

    I have an invasive that birds spread into my front gardens UGH. After fighting w it for a couple of years I finally got someone from the extension office to Id it. I pulled out all that I could...hatcheted the plants below the ground level. Pulling over the mulch to do it. Placed solid bulk plastic over the dirt and replaced the mulch. All of this activity meant I had to relocate iris tubers and throw out some flowering favorites. It has been 2 years now...deprived of moisture and light. I put potted plants in the area on top of the area because I could not handle the empty area. It's working. You don't need round up. It doesn't work in a permanent way anyway. Just some sweat and patience.

  • Beth Beth on Feb 15, 2017

    In a house we used to own, my nemesis was a trumpet vine that invaded everything in its path. It had originally been planted by the neighbor next door, but when they couldn't get rid of it, they "conveniently" relocated the fence line and moved it closer to their home and leaving the legacy of the trumpet vine on my side. While it gave me about four inches more of property (that was established by a community law passed many years ago), it also gave me the stupid trumpet vine.


    What we did was cut the thing off as near the ground as we could get. The trunks were huge! Once we got them cut down to the ground, we drilled three holes in the center of the larger ones and two in the smaller ones that were at least five to six inches deep inside the root. Yes, they were thick enough to accommodate that many holes in them. Then we poured a plant poison inside the holes and filled them with a tarry mixture to keep it from leaching back out the top of the holes.


    While it took a bit of doing, with all the chopping, drilling, pouring, tarring, etc., it actually did the trick. The trumpet vine died and we didn't even have to worry about any tendrils because it killed those also. The only thing we had to take care of were any of the root system that came up in other areas along the fence line, but we did them the same way and within 8 to 10 months we were trumpet vine free! I was never so glad to get rid of something in my life as I was that monstrosity.


    It was nothing but a haven for hornets, wasps and spiders, the first two which I am highly allergic to. The spiders tried their best to keep control of the other two pests, but even they were overwhelmed with the amount of wasps and hornets that loved those trumpets. Even the bees and hummingbirds stayed away.


    We did get the suggestion from our local Extension Office. They told us the exact procedure, chemicals, mixture, etc., to use, and they were an invaluable resource.


    Good luck!!!!!

  • Sterling Kelley Sterling Kelley on Feb 19, 2017

    I've heard this may work on hard to get rid of vines. I've used it on wisteria. Go to a florist, buy a couple of those little plastic flower holders with the rubber cover that the florist sticks down in arrangements with water in them to keep the flower fresh. Go home, fill it with weed killer, cut the vine and put the rooted end into the filled plastic holder. This will feed the vine!