Tackling woody weeds is double fun when carried out in pairs (photo W.Pix)
Come along and join the Friends of Mt Majura to search and destroy the woody weeds that we missed at our work party in February. We will work in the grassy woodland around Blue Metal Road and the Hackett House Track – see the work area on this map – and warmly welcome volunteers with or without experience.
When: Sunday, 19th April, 1pm to 4pm. Please arrive early to meet work buddies & weeds.
Meet: Nature reserve gate, Mackenzie St car park, near Grayson St, Hackett – see the meeting point on this map .
What: Remove weeds that escaped from gardens and from public land adjacent to nature reserve. Our priority targets are the high environmental risk weeds Broad-leaved Privet (Ligustrum lucidum), and Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica); other invasive species that we may come across are Sacred Bamboo (Nandina domestica), Grevilleas (none of the many Australian Grevilleas is a local species of Mts Majura and Ainslie) and garden Asparagus. Some weeds have been flagged with pink or orange coloured tape to help with spotting them and identification.
Bring: Enthusiasm, water to drink, sun protection, and wear gardening clothes, gloves
and sturdy shoes and some personal garden tools such as hand mattock or secateurs (optional).
We provide experienced weeding buddies, tools, gloves and delicious cake for afternoon tea.
Enquiries: secretary@majura.org
Typical woody weeds within 300m of Hackett houses
Japanese Honeysuckle, a common garden escapee has opposite leaves that are sessile or on short stems. Young leaves shown here on new shoots from nodes along the vines are often lobed (courtesy of Canberra NatureMapr).
Woody weeds are perennial plants, evergreen or deciduous, climbing, creeping or upright growing, with woody stems such as Grevillea, Cootamundra wattle and their hybrids, hakeas, privets, prunus and other ornamental fruit trees, Wild roses, cotoneasters, Nettle tree, Hawthorn, African olive, Sacred bamboo and Ivy which have escaped from gardens and public land and continue to be spread in the nature reserve by fruit and seed-eating birds, foxes, ants, and sometimes by humans dumping garden waste.
Many produce a lot of seeds and seedlings from berries and berry-like fruit. If not controlled early, they are capable of forming impenetrable thickets, shading out and smothering local native plants and degrading the grassy woodland ecosystems.
Removing woody environmental weeds will be a continuous task – usually carried out by volunteers – as long as they grow in gardens and public land adjacent to nature reserves; see this report from ten years ago: The continuous struggle with woody weeds.
Three methods to tackle woody weeds
Hand-pulling: A simple method to control small seedlings of Privet and Cootamundra Wattle is to grip the plant close to the ground and gently wiggle to ease it out, ensuring that the roots come with it.
Chipping: Small seedlings which are difficult to pull out may be chipped out using the sharp flat edge of a hand mattock. Aim for about 2cm below ground to sever the stem below any green growth. Take care to minimise soil disturbance. Certain species such as wild roses produce lateral roots that produce suckers after the parent plant has been chipped out and are better treated by….
Cut & Dab: For larger seedlings and shrubs, cut stems close to ground level and immediately treat cut surface with glyphosate (Roundup) at a high concentration. The herbicide is pre-mixed for use at working bees, and will be in spray bottles or sponge dabbers. Treat every cut surface liberally within 10 seconds for optimum effect. Cut and treat each stem of a multi-stemmed plant separately to avoid delayed herbicide treatment.
ACT Weeds Manual 2023
includes excellent photos and diagrams to help identify woody (and herbaceous) weeds, as well as notes and tables on how and when to control them:
https://22565297.fs1.hubspotusercontent-ap1.net/hubfs/22565297/ACT-Weeds-manual-Nov-23.pdf
