Japanese Honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica, is a climbing plant which is spread by birds eating the fruits and by humans dumping garden waste with Honeysuckle stems in the reserve….
The Friends of Mt Majura ParkCare group will host another woody weed working bee between Hackett house track, Blue Metal Road, and high voltage power lines.
We warmly welcome all weeders with or without experience.
When: Sunday, 15th February, 9am-midday. Please arrive early to meet work buddies & weeds.
Meet: Nature reserve gate, Mackenzie St car park, near Grayson St, Hackett – see meeting point on this map .
… where it smothers native plants such as here in the Mount Ainslie nature reserve…
What: Remove shrubs and seedlings, mainly exotic garden escapees.
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 morning tea.
Enquiries: secretary@majura.org
Typical woody weeds you will find within 100m of Hackett houses
…or choking drainage lines and gullies such as this one in the Mount Majura reserve…
Environmental woody weeds such as Grevillea, Cootamundra and other non-local wattles and various hybrids of wattles, Hakea, Privets, Prunus, Sweet Briar Rose, Cotoneaster, Nettle Tree, Hawthorn, African Olive, Japanese Honeysuckle, and Sacred Bamboo , which have escaped from gardens and close by public land such as street-scapes, continue to be spread by berry & seed-eating birds, foxes, flying foxes, ants and by humans who dump garden waste in the reserves.
… from the possible source, a near-by garden extension.
They are often fast growing, and produce a lot of seeds and seedlings (especially from plants with berries and berry-like fruit), and from underground stems (Sweet Briar, Japanese Honeysuckle). If not controlled early, they are capable of forming impenetrable thickets, shading out and smothering our beautiful endemic / local native plants and degrading the grassy woodland ecosystem.
Most of these woody weeds can be tackled effectively at any time of the year provided the correct treatment procedure is used; some deciduous woody weeds such as Hawthorn and Nettle tree can be tackled from spring to autumn when they still carry their leaves.
Photos of Honeysuckle by W.Pix
Visit this link to see more environmental woody weeds such as Cootamundra wattle and its look-a-like Silver wattle.
An out-of-control Nettle Tree thicket on Acton peninsula (J. Marsh)
Methods of control we can use
Hand pulling: A simple method to control seedlings of Privet, Lavender, prunus, small Cootamundra Wattle and newly emerged Hawthorn and Briar Rose. Grip the plant close to the ground and gently wiggle to ease it out, ensuring that the roots come with it.
Chipping: A useful and efficient method for removing small seedlings which are difficult to pull out, or if they break off above ground when pulled. Use the sharp flat edge of a hand mattock to chip out the whole plant. Aim for about 2cm below ground to sever the stem below any green growth. Take care to minimise soil disturbance.
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.
Reference: ACT Weeds Manual 2023 (Summarised and paraphrased)
https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3263425851/view OR
https://22565297.fs1.hubspotusercontent-ap1.net/hubfs/22565297/ACT-Weeds-manual-Nov-23.pdf
This useful manual includes excellent photos and diagrams to help you to identify your woody or herbaceous weed or feral grass, as well as notes and tables on how and when to control them.
