<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for You and me and a billion tiny spores]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by atreyger http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-07-hillside-strangler-spores/ Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:13:09 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-07-hillside-strangler-spores/1 1. They're not 'spores', they're seeds.

2. If you mow it, it will eventually become a dwarf version of a typical swallow-wart. It MAY work better, if you let it grow to about 2/3 of typical flowering adult size (or just before flowering) and then cut it down.

3. One way for you to get rid of these is till to about a foot's depth and get rid of any root stock that you find, or find enough soil to cover it by about six inches.

4. Another way is to spray an herbicide and kill these outright. I am not familiar with swallow-wart's ability to propagate via stalks, but if it's anything like Japanese knotweed, then the ONLY way to get rid of it is by spraying. I'm not saying that it is like knotweed, but if...

]]> 1. They're not 'spores', they're seeds.

2. If you mow it, it will eventually become a dwarf version of a typical swallow-wart. It MAY work better, if you let it grow to about 2/3 of typical flowering adult size (or just before flowering) and then cut it down.

3. One way for you to get rid of these is till to about a foot's depth and get rid of any root stock that you find, or find enough soil to cover it by about six inches.

4. Another way is to spray an herbicide and kill these outright. I am not familiar with swallow-wart's ability to propagate via stalks, but if it's anything like Japanese knotweed, then the ONLY way to get rid of it is by spraying. I'm not saying that it is like knotweed, but if...

]]> Comment #2 by Kiara http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-07-hillside-strangler-spores/ Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:16:18 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-07-hillside-strangler-spores/2

No no Atreyger we do not use herbicides. I have gotten rid of a good size strand of Japanese knotweeds by first digging out the root clumps, planting grass seeds and, over several years (perhaps 3 or 4), systematically pulling out by hand the reddish shoots sprouting from the remaining roots. No plant can live indefinitely without photosynthesis. Their reserve of nutrients stored in the roots eventually becomes depleted. So, good for the "voices of reason."

To my knowledge swallow-wort has not become a problem in my neighborhood which is not too far from Jamaica Plain.

Please remember that a good many of our common landscape plants are of foreign origin.  This includes most of the grasses used for lawns--and earthworms.

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No no Atreyger we do not use herbicides. I have gotten rid of a good size strand of Japanese knotweeds by first digging out the root clumps, planting grass seeds and, over several years (perhaps 3 or 4), systematically pulling out by hand the reddish shoots sprouting from the remaining roots. No plant can live indefinitely without photosynthesis. Their reserve of nutrients stored in the roots eventually becomes depleted. So, good for the "voices of reason."

To my knowledge swallow-wort has not become a problem in my neighborhood which is not too far from Jamaica Plain.

Please remember that a good many of our common landscape plants are of foreign origin.  This includes most of the grasses used for lawns--and earthworms.

]]> Comment #3 by atreyger http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-07-hillside-strangler-spores/ Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:55:12 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-07-hillside-strangler-spores/3 "No no Atreyger we do not use herbicides."

We = you?

]]> "No no Atreyger we do not use herbicides."

We = you?

]]> Comment #4 by Andrée Zaleska http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-07-hillside-strangler-spores/ Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:06:56 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-07-hillside-strangler-spores/4 It's an interesting discussion about herbicides.  My kneejerk reaction is also "of course we do not use herbicides".  But is that really the obvious moral response?  Would a little Roundup, appropriately and minimally applied, really be worse than letting a non-native plant threaten native flora?  I'm not at all sure...

What I believe is what I'm told by experts: There is no effective herbicide against a serious Vincetoxicum invasion.  The slow and steady methods of suffocation (depriving of light, really), burying the upper parts of the plant, pitting strong native plants against it, and patiently mowing over and over again seem both safer and more effective.

(Oh, and spores is actually a synonym of seeds.  I liked the word better because it implies wispy floating things, which they are....)

 

]]> It's an interesting discussion about herbicides.  My kneejerk reaction is also "of course we do not use herbicides".  But is that really the obvious moral response?  Would a little Roundup, appropriately and minimally applied, really be worse than letting a non-native plant threaten native flora?  I'm not at all sure...

What I believe is what I'm told by experts: There is no effective herbicide against a serious Vincetoxicum invasion.  The slow and steady methods of suffocation (depriving of light, really), burying the upper parts of the plant, pitting strong native plants against it, and patiently mowing over and over again seem both safer and more effective.

(Oh, and spores is actually a synonym of seeds.  I liked the word better because it implies wispy floating things, which they are....)

 

]]> Comment #5 by katmainomad http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-07-hillside-strangler-spores/ Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:34:57 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-07-hillside-strangler-spores/5 Not that I discount the viscious and exasperating nature of invasives, and I am not familiar with this one, but is there good evidence that these actually invade pristine wilderness and take over? Most of the invasives up here in Alaska are not so good at invading pristine native ecosystems. What they are good at is invading disturbed roadsides and streambanks, yards, farms, etc. So then usually the issue becomes one of human interests against the invasive, more than pristine nature against the invasives. Though I am opening a whole can of worms by even saying this, down to the moral roots of given that humans do affect the whole earth, that pristine nature absent humans is not really extant, that the earth itself probably doesn't care a whole lot what form the future takes (permian-triassic extinctions and all), but that most of us agree to a moral imperative to lessen the death and destruction wrought by ourselves on living beings and natural beauty.

I agree that you seem to be following the prudent course to increasing the biodiversity and human utility of your yard. The roots can not live forever if the tops are consistently chopped off. At least you have winter to rest!


Whatever happened with the lack of a foundation? Are foundation constructing activities underway? Just curious!


]]> Not that I discount the viscious and exasperating nature of invasives, and I am not familiar with this one, but is there good evidence that these actually invade pristine wilderness and take over? Most of the invasives up here in Alaska are not so good at invading pristine native ecosystems. What they are good at is invading disturbed roadsides and streambanks, yards, farms, etc. So then usually the issue becomes one of human interests against the invasive, more than pristine nature against the invasives. Though I am opening a whole can of worms by even saying this, down to the moral roots of given that humans do affect the whole earth, that pristine nature absent humans is not really extant, that the earth itself probably doesn't care a whole lot what form the future takes (permian-triassic extinctions and all), but that most of us agree to a moral imperative to lessen the death and destruction wrought by ourselves on living beings and natural beauty.

I agree that you seem to be following the prudent course to increasing the biodiversity and human utility of your yard. The roots can not live forever if the tops are consistently chopped off. At least you have winter to rest!


Whatever happened with the lack of a foundation? Are foundation constructing activities underway? Just curious!


]]> Comment #6 by Andrée Zaleska http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-07-hillside-strangler-spores/ Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:17:20 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-07-hillside-strangler-spores/6 Katmainomad,

You are right -- the invasives get a foothold in the parts of our environment already disrupted by humans.  The problem is--and you allude to this--that there is less and less pristine nature to hold ground against them. 

I also agree that the earth itself does not care what form the future takes.  Life's only clear intent is to further itself, and weeds have as much "right" to do so as any other plant, animal or human.  They are evolution's victors, after all.

I also do not believe that God cares what form the future takes--or cares whether humans survive as a species.  One of our great self-delusions is to think that God protects us.  But I do believe in the Divine.  But that's a post for another day.

And oh yes--breaking news! -- WE HAVE A FOUNDATION!  It was finished last week and looks great.  All things now seem possible.

 

]]> Katmainomad,

You are right -- the invasives get a foothold in the parts of our environment already disrupted by humans.  The problem is--and you allude to this--that there is less and less pristine nature to hold ground against them. 

I also agree that the earth itself does not care what form the future takes.  Life's only clear intent is to further itself, and weeds have as much "right" to do so as any other plant, animal or human.  They are evolution's victors, after all.

I also do not believe that God cares what form the future takes--or cares whether humans survive as a species.  One of our great self-delusions is to think that God protects us.  But I do believe in the Divine.  But that's a post for another day.

And oh yes--breaking news! -- WE HAVE A FOUNDATION!  It was finished last week and looks great.  All things now seem possible.

 

]]>