An efficient way to control large woody weeds is frilling: 1. cut pouches with an axe …
Friends of Mount Majura (FoMM) will host a working party to control woody weeds in the endangered grassy woodlands of Mt Majura’s and Mt Ainslie’s west slopes; this will be our third woody weed working party in a row.
When: Sunday, 21 July 2024, from 1.00pm to 4.00pm.
Please come early for an introduction of the target weeds and the safe handling of equipment and herbicide. You will be working in pairs or small groups.
Where: Meet at the nature park entrance off Kellaway Street Car Park at the southern end of Hackett; view this map for the meeting point and the red outlined work area; we almost finished work to remove woody weeds at the yellow outlined “Common” except a few remaining woody weeds closer to the power line easement.
… 2. fill the pouches with herbicide mix (W. Pix)
Bring and wear: Sun protection, appropriate shoes and body-covering clothing.
What: This will be a search and destroy action to remove evergreen woody weeds such as African Olives, Privets and Cootamundra Wattles.
What else to expect: tools and herbicide spray bottles and dabbers will be provided.
Enquiries: secretary@majura.org
For further information on target weeds please visit this link
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 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).
