This is a new area of learning for me, so of course I ordered the book - "Woody Plants in Winter: A Manual of Common Trees and Shrubs in Winter in New England." But what about invasives, you ask. And can you pull or cut when there's snow on the ground? You can, and while as always pulling is the best option cutting works, the drawback being that the plant spent half the previous year storing carbohydrates in its root system. Still, if you want to, cut it. You've now set it back years of growth. Alternatively, hack a few big branches off (buckthorn, honesuckle, etc), girdle the tree, or saw a few big hunks off the bark, anything to stress the plant and make it struggle.
So here's what I do: look for leaves. Invasives frequently keep their leaves well into winter. Some natives do as well (beech, red oak) but it's one clue. You can always scrape the bark for the orange of common buckthorn. Glossy buckthorn's bark has the telltale white lenticel spots; but make sure it's not spotted alder.. And If there are seedlings and you're suspicious, pull one and look for the red roots of glossy buckthorn. Dead giveaway. Bittersweet pulls nicely when the ground is softened by snow, and the vines are pretty easy to spot, especially when they have the berries which they often do.
So yeah, get out of your warm, comfy chair and go pull, cut, girdle, hack, scarify, and put some hurt on those invasives. And science (of course ..) tells us what we should have known all along - that cold is good for you:
Bon pull!
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