Spring is also the time to identify weedy climbers like jasmine when they are blooming and most obvious. We have an annual battle with the potato vine and jasmine that a friend planted as a ‘nice surprise’. It was indeed a surprise and still is 20 years later. Jasmine is hard to kill, especially when it’s three metres above you in a tree. Even low-growing jasmine is resistant to herbicides – the waxy coating on the leaves inhibits penetration. Hunt out the stems, cut them, then peel the outside of the stem and apply a herbicide gel. Use gloves, a paint brush and a mask, but there’ll be no spray drift, just an ugly dead patch of vine to haul out.
