Invasives

This is burdock, or at least all you're likely to see of it at the end of October. Floral Park had some fairly large colonies of it around our target area.

This is buckthorn. Arden Hills Parks and Rec (AHPR) had a “buckthorn bust” at Floral Park in the Fall of 2006 and this photo was taken about a year later, making this plant not more than a year old.

This is buckthorn overtaking Crepeau Nature Preserve—everything green you see here is buckthorn. It's easy to see why we decided not to take this one on ourselves. Floral Park had not yet reached this state when AHPR cleared it.

Invasives Removal

A “buckthorn bust” was held at Hazelnut Park on October 27, 2007, like at Floral Park the year before. Both Siberian Elm and buckthorn were found there - many plants large enough to require cutting down with hand saws or chain saws. Smaller plants were uprooted or cut with hedge trimmers. The stumps of cut plants were sprayed with a petroleum-based herbicide.

The cut brush was dragged out of the woods and fed into the chipper, the chips thrown back into the woods and used as mulch.

Floral Park

A year after the buckthorn clearing at Floral Park, it's once again sprouting up. A good crop of burdock is coming in, as well as thistle and other non-native species. These invasives are crowding out whatever native plants may be trying to re-emerge.

All the rain we had in early October made the ground soft enough to uproot many of the small shoots. Those plants too large to hand-pull were cut and the herbicide provided by AHPR was painted on the stumps. We didn't spray because we were concerned about spraying emerging natives as well. After several sessions, the target area was finally cleared again. Over time we'll expand out from this spot and attack the invasives in the rest of the park.

Hope springs eternal. grin. It's encouraging to see an oak sprout hiding in the buckthorn. Several other plants are coming up as well, and should be properly identified come spring.