Honeysuckle

[Brett Morris]

I have a similar question. I have a south facing slope that is fairly thick with cedars, locust, honeysuckle. I have been cutting the cedar limbs off up to about 5’ so that i can move around in there. Once i get those limbs cleared out i am going to girdle the bigger locust trees, i may girdle some cedars as well to get sunlight to the ground. I would like to establish some grass on the hillside to create bedding. This hill is off the south end of a 3 acre food plot and the area i am working with is about 1.5 acres. What type of grass is most likely to survive a fairly shaded south facing hill?

This sounds EXACTLY like my areas. Combinations of cedar/locust/honeysuckle. Does it make sense to drop the locust all the way to provide some ground level cover?

Also curious if it makes sense to eradicate the honeysuckle before doing any TSI work? I would assume that would be the smartest.

 

[Obsessed]

Don't deer like bedding in thick patches of honeysuckle? I've got plenty of food around and neighboring timbers are grazed by cattle or mowed periodically. I've also noticed that the honeysuckle stays green and holds foliage the longest into the winter months. The only down side I have with it is that it is so thick, that it hides deer walking through it. But, the same can be said for thick patches of cedars too.