Sunday, September 18, 2011

Chinese Privet's Worst Nightmare

Now that the summer season has calmed down and we haven't quite reached the peak of our education programming, I am back to my parttime resource management work at the park. I cut down and chemically treat exotic, invasive plants at the battlefield. I worked in resources twice this week tearing it up.

Before my handywork:


After my handywork:



One both days, I had help from a volunteer (though on Saturday morning, I was working solo). We are trying to restore the battlefield's native ecosystem and the most active part of that is removing the exotic, invasive species. The two biggest culprits? Chinese Privet and Bush Honeysuckle. I step out with my work uniform, plastic goggles, rubber gloves, loppers, and spray bottle of herbicide, and those plants start a'shakin' in their roots. "Alright, pardners. There's a new sheriff in town."

Do you sense the fear in this Chinese Privet?



I have to work extra tomorrow in order to treat plants during some of our new tour road construction. Rest easy tonight, invasives, for it will be your last.

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4 comments:

Melissa, Protector of Swordland said...

I hate that stuff...how do you kill it?

ekd said...

We cut the plants at their root and immeadiately spray them with Accord (glyphosate, found in Accord, is the same active ingredient in Round Up). The fancy term for this: "cut and stump."

ekd said...

Well, not their root, really at the base of their stem (close to the roots).

Melissa, Protector of Swordland said...

So this is effective??