Here’s some important information from our Matthies Meadow Page from Board Member and Meadow “curator” Dave Lewis. Check it out and get these plant beasties out of your yards!
Controlling Invasive Plants
A large part of meadow management involves the control of emerging invasive plants. Many of these plants are so aggressive that eradicating them completely is not feasible, but we can hope to control their growth and prevent them from spreading. Some invasives can quickly take over large sections of a meadow if not addressed in time. Remedies depend upon the type of invading plant, how the plants method of spreading and what time of year action needs to take place in order to be effective. Sometimes multiple strategies need to be used, and need repeated actions.
Here are three examples of invasive plants we are working on to control them from spreading:
Asiatic Bittersweet
Oriental bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus, is a very common vine draping across shrubs and trees. It produces attractive berries with showy bright yellow to orange outer coverings that split open in the fall to reveal bright red berries.
Oriental bittersweet is invasive. It climbs over shrubs and trees, smothering them. Furthermore, they hog all of the available light and moisture form surrounding plants, and girdle and constrict whatever they climb on. They make tangled mats which eventually make their victims top heavy, causing them to topple over in wind and ice storms causing power outages. Young plants blanket the ground, preventing other plants from growing. The plant is constantly being spread by birds which eat the berries, and by people who gather the berries for decorations and throw them out afterwards.
There is a native bittersweet, Celustas scandens, which is not invasive. However it is rarely seen and not nearly as common as It’s invasive relative. Also, the two can hybridize, further threatening the existence of our less common native. Even though highly invasive, oriental bittersweet is still easy to buy from many sources.
Woody plants
When meadows are left unmanaged, woody plants like trees and shrubs begin to appear If left to grow, these plants would change the diversity of the meadow. The trees and shrubs that will grow will out compete the grasses, wildflowers, and other plants which we are encouraging to grow.
Swallow wort
Black and pale swallow-wort are moderately aggressive. The extensive patches of swallow-wort may overgrow native plants and disrupt natural succession. Herbivores and grazers, such as deer, tend to avoid swallow-wort to feed on more palatable plants. Additionally, due to the tangling nature of swallow-wort, large patches can be difficult to walk through and may interfere with forest management and recreation. Studies have looked at the potential impact of swallow-wort on monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus). Most monarch butterflies tend not to lay their eggs on the two swallow-wort species, but if they do the larvae cannot survive. Additionally, the butterflies may indirectly be threatened if swallow-wort outcompetes their preferred larval host, common milkweed.
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