500-year-old NC vine accidentally sprayed with weedkiller

MANTEO, N.C. (AP) – A massive grapevine that may have been growing on North Carolina’s coast since the 1500s is recovering after being sprayed with a powerful weedkiller.

Multiple media outlets reported the scuppernong grape vine known as the Mother Vine was sprayed by a contractor working for Virginia-based Dominion Power.

Jack Wilson has cared for the vine since he bought the property where it grows on Roanoke Island in 1957. Wilson first noticed the vine had brown areas in late May.

Dominion hired an expert from Virginia Tech to inspect the plant and recommend treatment. After a few weeks of daily watering, regular fertilizing and pruning, Wilson and the experts think the vine will survive.

Historians think the vine was alive when the first Englishmen explored Roanoke Island in the late 1500s.

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