This is a topic I have talked about in the past, but I was reminded of invasive species when I encountered this setup to evaluate the control/eradication of Japanese knotweed along the CCRT path in Eastham. the contraption consists of nothing more than a wire mesh laid over knotweed roots. I guess the idea is that the shoots will be cut at the base by the wire, depriving the root base of nutrients. We’ll see if it works – the plants looked pretty healthy to me, but their circumference had not made it to decapitation level yet… Japanese knotweed is a real scourge not only on Cape Cod but anywhere it is taking foothold. I hope we can find a non-toxic way of getting rid of it, or at least control it. Another way to deal with (some) invasive plants is eating them. NEWFS (New England Wild Flower Society) had a webinar on this recently (“Managing Invasives Through Eating: A Conservation Diner’s Guide”) and lately I have seen more and more posts on the internet of people doing exactly that. That is definitely something I want to explore further – although – how much knotweed do you want to eat? The supply seems never ending and if you are forced to eat too much of it, then well, it could turn out to be the next broccoli or pea… making children cry at the dinner table everywhere.
While eradicating Japanese knotweed from our landscape is beyond my capabilities, I have other non-native fish to fry right here in the woodland garden. When we bought the house and land many years ago, it came with some established plantings already. I have a 20 year old Butterfly bush, a handful of Morrow’s honeysuckle and some Burning bush plants. My rational mind says to take these all out, but there are also other things to consider – what is going to shield me from the neighbors or the street? The big bang approach does not work in my case, so I am taking a multi-year crowd-and-replace angle, which goes something like this: Plant native bushes around the 10 feet high and wide Morrow’s honeysuckle and over the course of a few years trim the target while allowing more space for the growing natives. Eventually take down the target. This is a long-term approach but it keeps shielding and shelter in place. I know it may make more sense to take care of this immediately, but I am not known for drastic measures, at least in the garden. This is the guy who prefers to dig and saw by hand power tools be damned
Some more suggestions can be found in this article, https://www.gardenista.com/posts/go-native-10-indigenous-alternatives-to-common-invasive-plants-garden-design/, although I am not a fan of all the suggestions – planting west coast natives on the east coast does not make sense to me. Native neighbors from east of the continental divide could work as the wildlife supported is the same or similar by-and-large, but west coast plants are part of a very different ecosystem altogether.
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