Strategies for Invasive Plants Management from NPT
Native Plant Trust (http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/) offered a seminar today (06/16/21), called Strategies for Invasive Plant Management. I found it enlightening and very interesting. The main takeaways that I wanted to share were from the discussion of mechanical plant management, and replacement with native species. But first, here’s a little info about the seminar.
NPT's Synopsis:
“Invasive plants continue to be one of the main threats to the ecological integrity of natural communities and to populations of rare plants. Native Plant Trust’s Ecological Programs Coordinator, Bud Sechler, examines different strategies for combating invasive plants, drawing on invasive plant management experiences with Native Plant Trust, the Massachusetts Invasive Plant Advisory Group, and the Sudbury-Assabet-Concord Watershed Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area.”
Other courses:
They are offering another course in the same vein in mid-September (see link below) and I am really looking forward to attending more of their seminars. http://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/invasive-plants-identification-documentation-and-control/
Mechanical Removal:
Mechanical removal includes cutting, and digging up plants by the roots. Many invasive species thrive on disturbed soil, and regenerate readily from small root fragments, so be sure to read about your target before launching an attack. Bud recommended using a spading fork rather than a shovel, so as to avoid breaking the roots and leaving bits behind. For cases where you cannot/should not disturb the soil, cutting invasive plants to prevent flowering/seeding can be effective, but this approach requires maintenance.
Replacement with Native Species:
One way to prevent an invasive plant from regenerating in disturbed soil after removal is to plant native species at the site. The list here https://grownativemass.org/Great-Resources/nurseries-seed gives many sources for native plants. If you want to avoid replacing non-natives with cultivars, these should be great sources. Bud also recommended transplanting local species from nearby to the site. Of course you should be very careful of digging up native species, even for the best of causes. Please get permission/advice from an expert first.
The following list is as many of the environment-specific recommendations for hardy, competitive native replacements as I could write down before the slide switched.
Dry, Upland Woods: maple-leaf viburnum, lowbush blueberry, early azalea, dwarf serviceberry, black huckleberry
Moist, Upland Woods: witch hazel, upland blueberry
Streamside: northern spicebush, common winterberry, nannyberry, coastal sweet-pepperbush
Wetland or Swamp: common buttonbush, speckled alder
Open, Sunny, Dry Areas: New Jersey tea, sweet fern, smooth serviceberry, staghorn sumac
Dry Pollinator Meadow: butterfly milkweed, yellow wild indigo, wild bergamot
Moist Pollinator Meadow: spotted joe-pie weed, cardinal flower
Low Shrub Cover: small bayberry, lowbush blueberry, serviceberry, lingonberry/cowberry
