Non-native Invasive Plant Identification & Control Methods

Kelly Waldron

Assistant Forest Stewardship Director

EcoForesters

kwaldron@ecoforesters.org

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

What is an “Invasive Species”?

“An invasive species is one that is non-native to the ecosystem under consideration AND whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm, or harm to human health.”

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Why does it matter?

• A Landscape that is rich in native biodiversity, is more resilient
• Landscapes riddled with invasive species are more susceptible to wildfire and damage from storm events
• Native plants provide healthier food and habitat resources for wildlife
• Some invasive species can change nutrient cycling and soil chemistry
• Changes in forest succession by excluding native perennials and tree seedlings
• Can limit wildlife from dispersing native seed more readily
• Can alter stream habitats by filtering less sediment and increasing organic matter input
• Contributes to habitat fragmentation
• Can lower property value

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What can we do to control invasive plants?

• Get familiar with your pest (identification, life cycle, growth habits, etc.)
• Educate self about conditions that contribute to its presence, staying power and spread
• Practice prevention (clean of your hiking boots, equipment, tools, vehicles, don’t purchase invasive plants for landscaping)
• Learn about the range of control methods available
• Make a priority plan, don’t bite of more than you can chew
• Stay dedicated, persistent and vigilante!

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Control Method Options - Practicing IPM

“Integrated Pest Management” is a strategy that combines different control tactics to manage pests in a way that is more environmentally sensitive and economically feasible

• Prevention
• Cultural: livestock grazing, mulching, cover crops, smother
• Mechanical: cutting (mowing, weed whacker), hand pulling, prescribed burning, tilling, digging
• Chemical: commercial herbicides, organic herbicides
• Restoration/Re-vegetating after control efforts

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Common Herbicide Control Methods

Cut-Stem

Foliar (Back Pack) Spray

Hack & Squirt or Girdle

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Know Before You Go: �The Label Is The Law!

• Read the entire product label
• Wear your PPE
• Make sure the weather is appropriate
• Make sure you know how to appropriately mix your solution and not over apply

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

�Foliar Spraying

• No strong wind or rain
• Cover atleast 90% of leaf surface area
• Certain species leaf out at different times of the year
• Pay attention to day time temperature
• Adjust nozzle size to avoid drift
• Consider using a surfactant and indicator dye

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Forestry. Conservation. Education.

�Hack & Squirt or Girdle

• Hack & Squirt best for tree of heaven due to sucker sprouting behavior
• Leave 1 inche of uncut tissue inbetween is cut
• 45 degree downward angle cut
• Spray solution into the cut
• Follow up treatment may be needed
• Girdling can be used for other mature invasive trees like princess tree, mimosa, bradford pear

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

�Cut-Stem

• Cut with in 6 inches or lower to soil level
• Spray or dob solution onto cut surface with in 2 minutes
• Make sure you get enough solution on there
• Can be done throughout the year as long as the ground is not frozen
• If working with vines recommend cutting twice:
• First at eye level
• Second at the ground where the herbicide will be applied
• If working in a wet area consider dragging cut shrubs to a higher location or hanging in a tree to dry out, or treating both ends with herbicide.

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

5 Common Invasive Plants to look out for in the Connestee Falls Community

• Asiatic bittersweet
• Multiflora rose
• Chinese silvergrass
• Princess Tree
• Japanese Stiltgrass

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Asiatic bittersweet

• Shade tolerant, twining vine, gets woody with age
• Leaves are round to oval with a rough edge, most come to a tear drop point at the end, 1.5-5 inches wide
• Berries in the fall are red with yellow husks
• Dangling clusters of yellow/green flowers in May/June on female plants
• Mature woody vines will have pronounced lenticels on the bark
• Roots have a bright orange coloring just below the bark surface

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Beneficial vines that grow in WNC

Passionflower

Coral honeysuckle

American climbing fern

Trumpet Vine

Native Grape vine

Virginia Creeper

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Multiflora rose

• Thorny shrub with arching branches, can reach up to 30 feet high when climbing trees
• Leaves are pinnately compound with typically 5-9 leaflets
• Many clusters of small white flowers appear in May/June
• Red rose hips appear in the fall
• Can become woody with large stems, form dense, impenetrable thickets
• Fringed stipules at the base of each leaf
• Seeds can remain viable in the soil for 10-20 years

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Native flowering shrubs

Carolina Allspice (Sweetshrub)

Spice bush in winter

Button Bush

American Beauty berry

Elderberry

Oak Leaf Hydrangea

Red Osier Dogwood

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Chinese silvergrass

• A tall, perennial bunch grass, 5-10 feet in height
• Long slender, arching leaf blades (sharp!) with a prominent, white mid-vein
• Tassel like seed plumes that are pinkish silver, appearing late summer to early fall
• Form very dense infestations
• Popular landscaping grass
• Highly flammable and unfortunately fire makes them worse, contributing to the spread
• Seeds are wind dispersed and one plant can produces thousands of seeds per year

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

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Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Native ornamental grasses

Pinky Muhly grass

Big bluestem

Indian grass

Little bluestem

Switchgrass

Honorable mentions: Purple love grass, hill cane, river cane, and many more

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Princess Tree

• Trunk, branches, and twigs often hollow in the middle
• Smooth bark with beige coloring, sometimes with lighter streaks
• Large, velvety leaves in opposite arrangement
• Seed pods with ‘star’ at base - arranged similar to sleigh bells
• Loves road edges and full sun - does not survive under canopy
• Very rarely grows straight
• Heart shaped leaves are massive when Princess tree is small, and become more proportionate as it ages.
• Purple flowers that are arranged in a pannicle, these trees disperse up to 20 million seeds annually.

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Native flowering trees

Honorable mentions: Southern magnolia, Tulip poplar, and Red maple.

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Witch Hazel

Serviceberry

Flowering dogwood

Black cherry

Redbud

Carolina Silverbell

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Japanese Stiltgrass

• Herbaceous, annual grass that is generally 1-3’ tall but will also spread mat-like.
• Lance-shaped leaves that taper at both ends. Leaf shape similar to bamboo.
• Can produce up to 1,000 seeds during a growing season with seeds remaining viable for 3-5 years.
• Generally blooms in August and can go to seed 2 weeks later

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Burning bush, Butterfly bush, and Burnweed; One of these things is not like the other!

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Surprisingly, this is a non native. Originally from Asia.�

Not one native caterpillar is able to feed on it, so it can easily outcompete native asters and milkweeds that our local butterfly larvae depend on. Some butterflies can use its nectar, but much less beneficial than other options.

A very popular, woody shrub around homes and parking lots. This shrub is a non-native invasive species that can create DENSE understories within forest stands. It will readily take up space in disturbed soils, but also invades undisturbed forests. Prohibited to be sold in many states.

Native, pops up in disturbed areas (trails, canopy loss, after fires)

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Can be hand pulled in small population

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A weed in the lawn, but a beneficial plant to our ecosystem

Burnweed

Butterfly bush

Burning Bush

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Native Wild Grape

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Why manage a native plant?�

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Controlling grapevines (and Dutchman’s pipe) is recommended where the health and vitality of the contemporary, or future forest is at risk. ��Grapevines can become a problem because they damage trees by breaking tops and limbs, and twisting, bending, and often breaking tree trunks. Grape vine can cause trees to be uprooted and killed.

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Our native vines also produce food and cover for many species of wildlife, in addition to adding to biodiversity within a forest, so mindful management is important!

What does management look like?�

Sites with more recent disturbance may require alternative treatments, such as cut-stem herbicide treatment, as the increase in available light will allow the vines to readily resprout.

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We recommend cutting vines primarily out of healthy trees and leaving them on trees that are already overly compromised by the vines.

This can be accomplished by simply cutting the stem and leaving the canopy undisturbed for several years in an established forest.

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Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Firewise; it’s practices and resources

Wildfire Preparedness Resources

https://www.mountainvalleysrcd.org/fw-resources

https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/wildfire

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Firewise contact for the Mountain Valley RC&D region:

Troy Harrison

troy@mountainvalleyrcd.org

Mountain Valleys R C & D

4388 Hwy 25-70,Suite 3

Marshall, North Carolina 28753

828-206-6159

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

What can I do now?

• Immediate zone �The home and the area 0-5’ from the furthest attached exterior point of the home; defined as a non-combustible area.
• Science tells us this is the most important zone to take immediate action on as it is the most vulnerable to embers.
• START WITH THE HOUSE ITSELF then move into the landscaping section of the Immediate Zone.

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

What can I do now?

• Intermediate zone �5’ to 30’ front he FURTHEST exterior point of the home.
• Landscaping/hardscaping comes into play
• Employing careful landscaping or creating breaks that can help influence, and decrease fire’s behavior.

Forestry. Conservation. Education.

Questions?

Thank you Connestee Falls Property Owners Association!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

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BEFORE

AFTER

Forestry. Conservation. Education.