Boston Flora

Tag: multiflora rose

  • Tuesday, December 12, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Invasive Plant Control Without Chemicals Webinar

    Persistent, Relentless, Tenacious…such are the words we deploy to describe our nemesis weeds and invasive species. Invasive plant species colonize degraded landscapes and overtake native plants robbing the area of critical ecosystem services. These exotic plants spread rampantly when they are free of natural checks and balances found in their native range. A handful of high-impact, aggressive non-natives affect soil health, biodiversity, and even land access. Who wants to hack their way through a tangle of unyielding multi-flora rose, common buckthorn, and oriental bittersweet? Rather than turning to chemical options, we too can draw upon Persistence, Relentlessness, and Tenacity to control these invasive plants.

    In this Ecological Landscape Alliance webinar to be held Tuesday, December 12 from 4 – 5, Mike Bald will describe methods to care and control invasive plant species without chemicals. Some invasive species covered will include:

    Japanese Knotweed
    Glossy Buckthorn
    Wild Parsnip (pictured below)
    Multi-flora Rose
    Oriental Bittersweet

    Mike Bald has worked with invasive species since 2003 and founded his company (Got Weeds?) in early 2011. Got Weeds? is a Vermont company that uses manual and non-synthetic control methods to eradicate, contain, or suppress non-native, invasive plants. Mike believes that fine-tuned ecosystems can be protected with vigilance, persistence, patience, education, humility, respect, and cooperation. Mike’s focus is on long-term site stewardship, soil health, native plant diversity, and education of landowners. Cooperation across multiple ownerships is also crucial to the control effort. Mike appreciates the importance of healthy habitats, site specificity, and ecosystem resilience; his goal with the treatment programs at Got Weeds? is to demonstrate (with comprehensive documentation) that manual/mechanical methods can succeed over extended timeframes.

    Free for ELA members, $10 for nonmembers. Sign up at http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/webinar-invasive-plant-control-without-chemicals/

  • Saturday, June 27, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Reclaiming the Land: Successful Invasives Management

    In Sudbury, Massachusetts, the incessant march of invasive plant species is meeting resistance by SWEET, Inc (the Sudbury Weed Education and Eradication Team).

    Established in August 2009, SWEET’s mission is to make people aware of the harm that invasive plant species do to our historic and environmentally sensitive natural areas and parks. With the help of community volunteers and students, the group teaches identification and responsible removal of invasive plants from designated Sudbury sites including the large wooded property at Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School (LSRHS.)

    Join SWEET founder, Rebecca Chizzo for a walking tour at LSRHS on Saturday, June 27, from 10 – noon, to learn how to identify common invasive plants and how you can control or reduce their proliferation on your own property – without using chemicals. On this tour, participants will learn to identify invasive species using simple characteristics and habits and learn about what works in alternative approaches for control. At LSRHS, SWEET has encountered many invasive plant species including Japanese honeysuckle, black swallowwort, Oriental bittersweet, multiflora rose, glossy buckthorn (pictured,) Cypress spurge, and many more… Come with your questions about invasives and Rebecca will share her knowledge as we walk through the LSRHS landscape. $15 for Ecological Landscape Alliance members, $25 for nonmembers. Register at http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/reclaiming-the-land-successful-invasives-management-2/#sthash.yz7CCsSH.dpuf

  • Avoid Decorating with Invasive Plants

    The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has sent us the following reminder:

    During the holiday season, many people use plant material gathered from their yard to decorate their houses or businesses. The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) and the Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR) encourage people to avoid using exotic, invasive plants such as Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) and Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) in holiday decorations. Though these plants are attractive, it is best not to use them. Birds eat fruits from wreaths and garlands and the digested, but still-viable seeds, sprout where deposited. Exotic, invasive plants create severe environmental damage, invading open fields, forests, wetlands, meadows, and backyards, and crowding out native plants. Bittersweet can grow over and even kill mature trees. These invasive plants are extremely difficult to control: when cut off, the remaining plant segment in the ground will re-sprout. It is illegal to import or sell Oriental bittersweet and Multiflora rose in any form (e.g. plants, cuttings, or wreaths) in Massachusetts.

    Home and business property gardeners, garden club members, nursery staff, landscapers and conservationists can learn more about invasive plants from DFW’s “A Guide to Invasive Plants.” The guide includes invasive plant descriptions, photographs, the plant’s regulatory status, key identification characteristics, habitats where the plant is likely to be found, type of threat the plant poses to native species and their habitats, its current distribution, and place of origin. Similar plant species are also briefly described to aid in plant identification.

    To purchase a guide, stop in the Field Headquarters office in West Boylston (note new address) during business hours or send a request to “Invasive Plant Guide,” DFW Field HQ, NHESP, 100 Hartwell Street, Suite 230, West Boylston, MA, 01583, and include a check for $5 (per copy) payable to: Comm. of Mass.–NHESP. Sorry, but DFW does not accept credit cards. Learn more about invasive plants from DFW’s Natural Heritage webpage at:

    http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/land-protection-and-management/invasive-species/invasive-plants.html. Find this and other NHESP publications at: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/natural-heritage/publications-forms/publications/.

    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3XCtMb2oREE/UDb2qKl7cXI/AAAAAAAABwU/tQFKUfGQtVE/s400/bittersweet-wreath-bhg.jpg

  • Saturday, September 4, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Invasive Plant Control for Homeowners

    Invasive plants are an increasing threat to the environment as bittersweet, Japanese barberry, garlic mustard, and multiflora rose (below)  sweep rampant through the landscape. This discussion centers on what homeowners can do to eliminate or control these pest plants. Learn to identify these rogue plants, and the mechanical, chemical, and biological techniques available for controlling and eliminating them. Consider how to evaluate potential invasive plant problems and how and when to effectively control their spread in this Berkshire Botanical Garden workshop, to be held Saturday, September 4, from 10 – 12, at the Garden at 5 West Stockbridge Road in Stockbridge.

    Jack Sprano is a Western Massachusetts Master Gardener and long-time garden enthusiast. He has cleared a six-acre property full of invasives and has developed multiple strategies for controlling these plants. He is currently a board member of the Berkshire Botanical Garden.  $18 for members of BBG, $24 for non members.  Register online at www.berkshirebotanical.org.