Neighbors removed a second round of Amur and Morrow honeysuckle from the KPVillas retention pond, as was planned after an initial clearing of the invasive plants. The first effort had eliminated dozens of full-grown bushes.that were dragged to the curb and chipped. This time volunteers tackled the suckers that sprouted from a few surviving roots.
The honeysuckle was easy to find. As is common with invasive plants--and one of the reasons they out-compete native plants--the honeysuckle become green early and remain green after the local bushes have changed colors and dropped many leaves.
Instead of using power saws, the volunteers could easily get most sprouts with hand clippers and loppers. Then an herbicide was applied to the tips of the cuts to be drawn down into the roots. In the image below, you can see the stumps from the original cut, with greenish-blue dye marking the tops of the newly cut and dabbed suckers. A telltale feature of honeysuckles is the hollow center.
When we were done, we had one small pile of invasive debris, which was much less work than the original bushes that lined the curb two-deep. This second round was expected, and each of the first few seasons after a purge there should be less to remove. If you want to get involved in planning or implementing future stewardship of the KPVillas retention pond and parcel, please contact Chuck Bueter.
