Rosemary Grevillea, Grevillea rosmarinifolia (hybrid), a common garden escape that invades Mount Majura nature reserve (W.Pix).
The Friends of Mt Majura ParkCare group will host another woody weed working party along the Hackett house track on the 3rd Sunday in August and warmly welcome new and experienced weeders.
When: Sunday, 17th August, 1pm to 4pm; please arrive 1pm to meet workmates & weeds.
Meet: Nature reserve gate car park, Mackenzie Street roughly opposite Grayson Street, Hackett; click this map to see the meeting point.
What: Cutting and dabbing small shrubs not indigenous to the nature reserve such as Grevilleas that escaped gardens.
Bring: BYO water, sun protection, garden gloves, and wear sturdy shoes & gardening clothes; we provide tools and delicious home made cake for afternoon tea.
Enquiries: secretary@majura.org
Evergreen woody plants such as Rosemary Grevillea, Cootamundra wattle or Privet can be tackled any time of the year provided the correct treatment procedure.
How to …. Control woody weeds using cut & dab and frill & fill.
Cut stems close to ground level and immediately treat cut surface with glyphosate at a high concentration e.g. 1 part glyphosate : 3 parts water; apply herbicide mix with a spray bottle or dabber.
The plant’s natural protective mechanism acts very quickly to seal off the cut surface which would stop the penetration of herbicide into the sap stream. It is therefore important to treat the cut surface immediately, i.e. within less than 10 seconds after cut; the longer the treatment is delayed, the poorer the result will be. If necessary, cut and treat each stem of a multi-stemmed plant separately to avoid delayed herbicide treatment.
If a tree trunk is too thick for loppers, a better method is frilling. With a sharp axe, cut pouches at an angle around the trunk, close to ground level. Fill the pouches with herbicide. The pouches can touch each other but should not be more than 2 cm apart in a large tree trunk. The cuts need to be deep enough to reach the sap conducting tissue under the bark (don’t just scratch the bark).
For more information on how to tackle woody (and herbaceous) weeds see this fantastic Weed Manual prepared by ParkCare volunteers for ParkCare volunteers.
