Have been incredibly busy at work - the bird flu season has started early this year.
I have been doing battle with exotic invasive plants on my 12-acre fully wooded property for years. The battle front is steadily advancing towards complete victory in another year or two.
First, how to define an "exotic, invasive plant"?
Many of the plants common in our environments were imported, either recently, or in the distant past. At some point, I guess, they all become "native", as opposed to exotic. But, the exotics I target do not have redeeming qualities as a food source for native wildlife. And, from my short list below, most will agree that they are truly "invasive" and will take over a landscape, if you let them. In general, the exotics stand out as they are the last to wither in the winter, and the first to green up in the spring. In mild winters, they will remain green all winter. So, they outcompete and crowd out the native plants.
My short list (the ones I'm currently targeting most aggressively):
1. Oriental bittersweet - vines that climb trees, choking them, getting as big as your arm in diameter.
2. Porcelain-berry - another vine, closely resembles grapevine, but with a different bark and hard, blue, pea-sized berries. Another tree-climber.
3. Japanese barberry - a prolific shrub with thorns and small, oblong, red berries. Must be distinguished from native barberry, by the thorn pattern.
4. Multiflora rose - large thorny shrub, very common across the US. Imported for use as a natural fence, but very invasive.
5. Hedge laurel - not highly invasive, imported from Europe.
6. Bush honeysuckle - tree-like large shrub with arcing branches and shreddy bark, pleasant-smelling prolific blossom, red fruit is winter food for birds, but is VERY invasive, as it is spread by birds.
7. Kudzu - Thorny, woody vine, most common in the southeast US. Very invasive, spreads via underground rhizomes.
8. Angelica and related Asian tree-like plants, including tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus), the favorite of Spotted Lanternfly. Have compound leaves like native sumac, and often, thorny stems. Common along roadways, railbeds, and power-line corridors.
In particular, the growth of oriental bittersweet, multiflora rose, kudzu, and Angelica will actually be stimulated by efforts with a saw, mower, or a blade. Burying the shredded growth in a nutrient-dense material (mulch or compost) will make them very happy indeed. And, don't think about trying to pull them out by the roots. The root fragments left behind will quickly sprout and regrow. All of these exotic invasives quickly populate clearings in the woods. My most troublesome areas are the borders of the small lawn around the house, and along the driveway, where light has recently been introduced to the forest floor.
My MO is to use some kind of hand clipper (short-handled, or long-handled) to clip these plants off at ground level. You may need a hand saw for the bittersweet vines and bush honeysuckle. For large tree-of-heaven, I girdle them in the spring with a hatchet. Then, I immediately paint the stump with straight, 41% glyphosate concentrate. I use a small, 2-ounce shoe polish applicator - the kind that you pump to moisten a foam applicator. Two ounces will typically last me a couple of hours when I'm working. Now, before anyone has a cow about the "chemicals", realize that glyphosate is about the safest herbicide there is, from an environmentally conscious standpoint. It is rapidly degraded by soil bacteria and its half-life in soil is about 24 hours. This kind of focused (not broadcast) application is very discrete, so you're not killing nearby native plants. Don't use it near surface waters, as it is quite toxic to aquatic animal life. I'm always wearing thick gloves when I do this work, so I have no worries about skin contact. Typically, I will gather up the clipped off aerial parts of the plants and promptly burn them, so they have no chance of re-rooting.
Yes, this is a lot of work, but a thorough approach will permanently eliminate these nuisance plants. And, preserve the native plants around them, to quickly take over the void. Areas that I have cleared of exotic invasives become carpeted with bracken and ostrich fern the very next spring. Beautiful!
Now, go out and reclaim your property!
-Paul
I have been doing battle with exotic invasive plants on my 12-acre fully wooded property for years. The battle front is steadily advancing towards complete victory in another year or two.
First, how to define an "exotic, invasive plant"?
Many of the plants common in our environments were imported, either recently, or in the distant past. At some point, I guess, they all become "native", as opposed to exotic. But, the exotics I target do not have redeeming qualities as a food source for native wildlife. And, from my short list below, most will agree that they are truly "invasive" and will take over a landscape, if you let them. In general, the exotics stand out as they are the last to wither in the winter, and the first to green up in the spring. In mild winters, they will remain green all winter. So, they outcompete and crowd out the native plants.
My short list (the ones I'm currently targeting most aggressively):
1. Oriental bittersweet - vines that climb trees, choking them, getting as big as your arm in diameter.
2. Porcelain-berry - another vine, closely resembles grapevine, but with a different bark and hard, blue, pea-sized berries. Another tree-climber.
3. Japanese barberry - a prolific shrub with thorns and small, oblong, red berries. Must be distinguished from native barberry, by the thorn pattern.
4. Multiflora rose - large thorny shrub, very common across the US. Imported for use as a natural fence, but very invasive.
5. Hedge laurel - not highly invasive, imported from Europe.
6. Bush honeysuckle - tree-like large shrub with arcing branches and shreddy bark, pleasant-smelling prolific blossom, red fruit is winter food for birds, but is VERY invasive, as it is spread by birds.
7. Kudzu - Thorny, woody vine, most common in the southeast US. Very invasive, spreads via underground rhizomes.
8. Angelica and related Asian tree-like plants, including tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus), the favorite of Spotted Lanternfly. Have compound leaves like native sumac, and often, thorny stems. Common along roadways, railbeds, and power-line corridors.
In particular, the growth of oriental bittersweet, multiflora rose, kudzu, and Angelica will actually be stimulated by efforts with a saw, mower, or a blade. Burying the shredded growth in a nutrient-dense material (mulch or compost) will make them very happy indeed. And, don't think about trying to pull them out by the roots. The root fragments left behind will quickly sprout and regrow. All of these exotic invasives quickly populate clearings in the woods. My most troublesome areas are the borders of the small lawn around the house, and along the driveway, where light has recently been introduced to the forest floor.
My MO is to use some kind of hand clipper (short-handled, or long-handled) to clip these plants off at ground level. You may need a hand saw for the bittersweet vines and bush honeysuckle. For large tree-of-heaven, I girdle them in the spring with a hatchet. Then, I immediately paint the stump with straight, 41% glyphosate concentrate. I use a small, 2-ounce shoe polish applicator - the kind that you pump to moisten a foam applicator. Two ounces will typically last me a couple of hours when I'm working. Now, before anyone has a cow about the "chemicals", realize that glyphosate is about the safest herbicide there is, from an environmentally conscious standpoint. It is rapidly degraded by soil bacteria and its half-life in soil is about 24 hours. This kind of focused (not broadcast) application is very discrete, so you're not killing nearby native plants. Don't use it near surface waters, as it is quite toxic to aquatic animal life. I'm always wearing thick gloves when I do this work, so I have no worries about skin contact. Typically, I will gather up the clipped off aerial parts of the plants and promptly burn them, so they have no chance of re-rooting.
Yes, this is a lot of work, but a thorough approach will permanently eliminate these nuisance plants. And, preserve the native plants around them, to quickly take over the void. Areas that I have cleared of exotic invasives become carpeted with bracken and ostrich fern the very next spring. Beautiful!
Now, go out and reclaim your property!
-Paul
