My Nightmare

Here are a series of photos of my invasive plant “garden.” The patch is at the back of our yard in what my husband affectionately calls the Lower 40. It is about 30 feet long and 15 feet deep. It is a mess and makes me want to cry. In this shot you see English Ivy (Hedera helix), Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) and Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) tree-ettes, and Barberry (Berberis vulgaris). The bit of tree bark on the left belongs to the Borough and is a Norway Maple (Acer platanoides). There also Spindle Tree (Euonymus oxyphyllus) and Firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea) that you can’t see.

In this next shot, we see the addition of privet (Ligustrum japonicum) and Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum).

This scarey looking tree is at the end of the strip and is the mother Tree of Heaven. As you can see, it’s not doing too well because . . .

Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) is climbing up and weighing it down (with a little help from English Ivy).

Other players in my nightmare are Monkey Grass (Liriope muscari) . . .

And Periwinkle (Vinca minor).

You poor thing! Console yourself by remembering that for every plant there is an insect that uses it. Oh, does that scare you even more? Giggle.

Please understand that I really haven’t been a slacker. I’ve spent the last two year (since I first learned about invasive species) manually removing Barberry, English Ivy, Periwinkle and Multiflora Rose (Rosa Multiflora) from the front and side of the house. I’ve also removed quite a bit of English Ivy and Periwinkle from the back.

I’m tired. Is there an easier way that will not harm the wildlife I’m trying to cultivate? Is it best to remove the ground cover first and then tackle the trees, or should I take down all the big stuff first and then tackle the ground cover? I’m down to the final stretch, but I’ve saved the worst for last. Any suggestions?

Nah, I like bugs. Giggle back.

I've not experienced any of these, so except for digging the ground covers out, I have no suggestions. I know how much work you have put into it tho!

I hope someone else can help you!

Thanks, BP. I'm glad you haven't had to deal with these. However, I'm sure there are many on here that have had these and more. I'm hoping to get some tips.

I'd like to get this last section cleared away so I can plant some natives shrubs in the fall before winter hits.

I would get a few of the trees down unless that creates many many runners.

Maybe a rototiller and Round-up on the ground covers and their new sprouts? Seems like a small spot cleared would be taken over again pretty fast.

That second photo looks like Ligustrum sinense, which is what I have here. I didn't think it would survive that far north. Get rid of it while you can, it will try to take over your whole property.

You are absolutely correct, escambiaguy. I checked the plant files, and it is Ligustrum sinense. It was here when we moved in 10 years ago and has spread some, but hasn't taken over the yard. While it is invasive here, perhaps it's even more of a problem in the South.

Thanks for the correction!

Oh' yes, it is my #1 problem here and is a pest all over the south. The best way to get rid of it is to cut it down and paint the stump with brush-b-gone right away.

Phar Lap:

Short of a nuclear blast, there is no silver bullet for your situation. Bp's idea of taking out the trees first is sound. If they are not risk to life/limb, I'd girdle them in place (hack-n-squirt works) and leave them as wildlife perches. If you are applying chemicals to the foliage of any of the taller plants, leaving the invasive groundcovers for last allows them to receive any overspray (and you can let big woody plant body parts help smother the low stuff as you go). Stopping the woody plants from producing another seed crop ought to always be a high priority, even if you get suckering. At least with the suckers, you have the opportunity to get chemicals to more parts of the root system than you would just treating one trunk/stump.

Depending on how fast you are taking on your "heartbreaker", some other smother techniques can help reduce the pesticide applications. Wood chips, collected leaves, grass clippings, etc. will smother some stuff, and then you can selectively spray (or pull, or whatever) anything that re-emerges through that layer. Meanwhile, it will be beneficial organic matter added to the situation.

Know that however long the invasives have been growing and fruiting there, that there are seeds of them laying around just waiting to germinate. Stirring up the soil surface unnecessarily may beget more sprouting than you might have otherwise. Also, wounding the roots of things like Ailanthus will get you extra sprouts of them (and may reduce the efficacy of herbicide translocation). Tilling also might destroy some dormant nascent natives that have just been waiting for their knight in shining armor to come release them from the invasive dungeon.

LOL, Phar Lap is the best one yet!

Thanks for taking the time to consider my situation and give me suggestions. I like the idea of using as little chemical as possible, but I think I might have to use some on the Ailanthus. It is huge. However, I looked up "hack and squirt" in both Garden Terms and Botanary to no avail. Could you be a little more specific? I assume you mean to remove bark down to the cambium and then apply something like Triclopyr?

I like the idea of smoothering and pulling as an alternative to spraying. I have catbirds that follow me around the yard whenever I'm digging, pulling or raking. They hop in to look for bugs the moment I walk away. I'd really hate to give them a stomach ache or worse.

I'd like to start a hedgerow in this spot using Viburnum spp (arrowwood, cranberry bush, blackhaw), Amelanchier spp (shadblow, serviceberry, Juneberry), Vaccinium spp (blueberries) and Cornus spp (gray dogwood, redosier). How late in the fall can I plant these? Or would it be better to wait til spring?

"Hack & Squirt " basically means to take a small hatchet and whack the bark off in a circle around the tree, then paint it with herbicide.

I understand your aversion to chemicals. I was killing and digging up Brazilian pepper trees in my yard, but there was one stump that even my Dad's truck couldn't get out. It was still sprouting little trees out of the stump, and I had skunk vine bulbs entwined in the roots! So Dad drilled holes in the stump and poured a ton of rock salt in it. It finally died, and I managed to dig around the roots to get the skunk vine out. I turned the area into my bromeliad garden, and I even have an aechmea sitting in the middle of the stump now! It is a lot of hard work reclaiming an area from invasives, but it can be done! I had skunk vine growing up the telephone pole support cables at least 20 feet high. I'm sure the utility workers out there are thankful I did their job for them! As for what to tackle first, I took out the trees, and then worked on the smaller stuff. With the trees came a lot of the vine on the trees, and getting their roots out of the way allowed me to dig up the bulbs. Whatever you decide, I'm glad you're removing the stuff, and I know you will be so happy when you have a beautiful garden in its place.

Thanks for the encouragement, Mellie. I'm not familiar with Skunk Vine so I went to the Plant Files. Looks like some very nasty stuff! It must give you a real sense of accomplishment to look at your garden and remember what it was. I'd love to see a picture if you have one.

Seems everyone suggests removing the larger stuff first and then tackling the ground covers and vines so that is what I've started to do. It's starting to look better already, but I've got a long way to go. I'll post pictures soon of my progress.

I finally opened this thread and looked at your mess. Good gawd. All those folks who natter on about how these invasives don't spread in *their* gardens and every other excuse in the book need to take a look at some of these -- or even just really open their eyes and look around them!

I think you've been given great advice from Equil and others above and I hope you could hear my thunderous applause at your goal of establishing a wildlife friendly hedgerow here. One additional thought for you. Have you checked for any eradication tips with your native plant society? I know mine has some publications on controlling invasives along the lines of which mechanical methods and, in some cases, 'cides are most effective. Here's the link http://www.mdflora.org/publications/invasivesframe.html

Yes, everyone has been so generous with their advice and ideas. There are some amazing people at DG!

Mary, thank you for the link. That publication is well written and easily understood by the novice (me!). There were a few options here that I hadn't considered, I especially liked the use of an envelope dauber to apply chemical to a small area. I'll have to check out the New Jersey native plant society's website and see if I can find more good tips. Great idea! Thanks.

Do a search (on DG, maybe elsewhere) for Glove of Death...

OK.

Wild Ones talks about "Glove of Death." Great idea. Do you think it would work on my Ailanthus tree-ettes?

Exactly. And plenty other pernicious pests populating your place.

It's one of the good tools for eliminating an unwanted plant "in place", like amongst ground cover, or in a flower bed, or a plant that is just difficult to hand pull (like your Ailanthettes).

I posted in the other thread though ;) Not this thread but I would agree the Glove of Death can work just fine in many situations. Are you familiar with the cloth gloves stamp collectors use when they handle their collections? Those will work perfectly well and they are cheap.

Thanks VV & E. I've got a bunch of old cotton gloves up in a hat box in the attic from the days when ladies wore gloves. I could use them over a pair of laytex gloves couldn't I? If not, eBay's got the collectors gloves you're talking about, E. I can "buy it now" at 6 pairs for 99 cents. Can't get mucher cheaper than that.

I can't wait to try it. Kinda like King Midas.

Old socks that you no longer darn for DH (or DB, or DSO, or whatever) can be put to final use as well.

Since EQ still performs this thoughtful task, it's not an option for her.

ROFLOL! I'll definitely be raiding hubby's sock drawer. There's probably socks in there from when we were dating many, many, many years ago.

Darning???? I. Don't. Think. So. E, say it ain't so.

You'd be amazed at the talents that she "keeps under a bushel basket".

She's darning me some special for my anniversary.

I hear she may even make special order boxers from the chiffon print (posted elsewhere), if I send her a pattern. I'll have to fish one out. Wonder where I've got those packed away?

Fireweed, it took me a while to brave the heat, mosquitoes, and lightning, but here are some pics. This is a piece of land in between our yard and our neighbor's. I kept the palmetto (I tie tillandsias to it) and I saved three oak trees. I had more, but I thinned them out so the three I kept could really grow and thrive. My Dad liked that the mess blocked the view of our house from the road, but it was a haven for invasive species. I don't even want to think about the rodents that probably lived in it. The skunk vine was up the support cables and there were several evil Brazilian pepper trees. But as you can see, I'm slowly turning it into my bromeliad heaven.

Here's another view...

Mellie,

Your garden is just lovely. I've been reading about the Brazilian Pepper tree and the harm it has caused in Florida. Good for you for eradicating it from your property. You've obviously worked very hard because it certainly shows.

I've slacked off the last week because we've had temperatures hovering around 100, and after working all day I just haven't been able to get motivated. The heat wave is suppose to break tonight and we may even get a little rain so I'll be out there all weekend. Your pictures are very inspiring. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures of my progress after the weekend.

Your bromeliads look very happy! Great job.

Update photo. Hey, look! I've got a garage!

Mellielong, those must be some very old palmettos to have a trunk like that, they are beautiful. You'd be surprised at how many american hollies and blackgum trees I have uncovered by removing chinese privet. They have probably been under there for years just waiting to be released. Do you have many slash pines on your property? They are so important for Florida wildlife.

That's actually all one palmetto, Escambiaguy. I took one of the front "branches" off it because I was trying to go for a semi-circular shape to frame my plants. Dad likes it because it shields the house from the road. I know it's at least 12 years old because that's when we built the house. Before that it was a vacant lot. We do have lots of pines; I don't know whether they're slash or longleaf. Our red-shouldered hawk likes to hang out in them. When I was cleaning up that section of the property I found a ton of beautyberries. The power lines run over it so I think the birds were pooping out the seeds right into the garden. Scariest moment - I was straddling one of those palmetto trunks, pulling skunk vine off of it when I saw something slither! It was just a little black snake, but I jumped three feet in the air.

We have lots of palmettos growing along the creeks and rivers here, I love the way they look. I got some seeds and started some myself. I have also found lots of beautyberries around here, I have one that is about 8ft tall. I'm only about 1 mile from the Florida state line so I usually have to think like a Floridian when it comes to gardening. If you need a good screen get yourself some wax myrtle, the birds love the berries.

Look what happens when I don't bookmark a thread! Everyone was having fun and I missed out. Yes; I sew, quilt, know how to darn, and I also crochet very poorly (never could get the hang of gauge).

Here's what we use old socks for around here- We save them and pass them out to kids groups and let the children take off their own socks and shoes and then we tell them to run around in a vacant lot wearing only the holey socks on their feet. After they are done running around, we have them take off those socks and we slip them into ziplock baggies with their names on the baggies. When we get them back to school, we tell them to grow their socks! Talk about making a statement to kids! You should see those socks grow! I wish I had photos but I'm normally not around after the workshop is complete to see the end results.

Back to the darning question- no, I don't darn any socks (tee he). I find these types of socks need to be set aside for a higher purpose!

Say Fireweed and mellielong, good work both of you. It's hard and thankless work that's for sure but over time your little "footprints" on the land will make a difference. Way to go ladies!

Thanks Equilibrium! Fireweed, I was thinking again about the order in which you want to remove stuff. It might be easier to take the big things out now, and the little stuff when it gets cooler. I know here during our "winter" the skunk vine goes dormant or just dies and it is much easier to pull up. It might be the same for a lot of the other "little" plants as well. Summer seems to be a never-ending battle against their propogation. I need to get across the street and clean up the corner again but it's way too hot here to do anything! I was thinking of making it a showcase for native plants so everyone driving down the street will see that there are pretty flowers that can take the hot Florida sun. Right now I have blanket flowers "Goblin" variety, and echinacea "Bravado". I want to add some rudbeckia and a bunch of other things I looked up that are native to my county. I also have a section in my yard that always stays pretty wet and not much grows there so I'm starting some pitcher plants. I went out this weekend to one of our preserves and found clumps of endangered hooded pitcher plants and it just made me so happy. But on the drive home I saw all sorts of development that made me sad again. A poor gopher tortoise was sitting in the sand a few yards from the road all splayed out with this look like, "What happened to my home?" But it's nice to know there are people like us out there making a difference. I like Florida to look like Florida, and when I visit other places, I want to see all the wonderful things they have that are unique to the area. This country of ours is so big and diverse, I hate to see it all start looking the same.