Honeysuckle Working Party

honeysuckleThe Friends of Mount Majura will be hosting a welcome spring working party on Sunday, 20 September to remove Japanese Honeysuckle from a gully behind Mackenzie Street, Hackett. Make a difference: give an hour or more of your time and help remove this invasive plant.

When: Sunday 20 September, 9 am to 12 noon
Where: Meet at the nature park access close to Mackenzie Street intersection with Russell Street and Hull Place (south of 85 Mackenzie St); view this map with meeting point and work site.
Bring and wear: Sun protection, body covering garden clothing and sturdy shoes.
Inquiries: secretary@majura.org

Honeysuckle going bush
Japanese Honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica is a declared Pest Plant in the ACT and regarded as an environmental weed in all Australian states and territories except in the Northern Territory. It also appears in the Global Invasive Species Database (GISD).

Japanese Honeysuckle fruits

Japanese honeysuckle fruiting

The perennial vine climbs by twisting stems around vertical structures, including the limbs and trunks of shrubs and small trees. This robust and vigorous ornamental plant has been frequently cultivated in Canberra’s gardens to cover up unsightly structures and fences. It escaped gardens and became a serious weed of moister sites such as gullies and drainage lines where it smothers and out-competes native vegetation, stunts the growth of shrubs and trees and prevents regeneration of native species.

Japanese Honeysuckle DSCN2145

Japanese honeysuckle growing in the gully.

Japanese Honeysuckle spreads by seed and vegetatively. It produces several meters long  runners that develop roots where the stem and leaf junctions (nodes) come in contact with the soil. Underground stems (rhizomes) help to establish and spread the plant locally. Long distance dispersal is by birds which readily eat the black shiny fruits and defecate the seeds at various distances from the parent plant. Japanese Honeysuckle was often dumped in Mt Majura’s bushland behind Hackett gardens.

Method of control. Cut stems and hand-pull upper root system; cut and daub main stem; spot spray regrowth; collect removed stems and dispose at green garden waste collection site.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Comments are closed.