Herbicide Evaluation to Control Clematis terniflora Invading Natural Areas in Gainesville, Florida

Abstract

AbstractJapanese clematis, a herbaceous to woody vine native to Asia, has been widely used for landscaping in the southeastern United States and is now a naturalized and invasive in Florida. Herbicides that contain the active ingredients fluroxypyr, glyphosate, imazapic, metsulfuron, or triclopyr, applied alone or in combination on a spray-to-wet basis, were evaluated for their effectiveness to control the plant in a natural area of Gainesville, FL. All herbicide treatments provided some level of control 30, 60, and 90 d after application. The most effective herbicide treatments, imazapic 0.6 g ae/L, glyphosate as low as 3.6 g ae/L, triclopyr as low as 3.6 g ae/L, metsulfuron 0.07 g ai/L, and fluroxypyr as low as 1.8 g ae/L, resulted in 72% to 99% control 90 d after application, but were not significantly different from each other. Natural area managers throughout the range of Japanese clematis should be vigilant for this species and remove it whenever encountered. Our results indicate that it can be controlled by foliar application of several herbicides commonly used for management of pest plants in natural areas, but repeat applications will be necessary.