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Monday, 02 November 2009 00:00 |
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 Climbing asparagus fern (Asparagus africanus) is a garden plant that can escape into bushland and causes serious environmental problems. It is a climber that can easily scale surrounding plants to reach heights of 12-15 meters. It has the potential to smother trees and damage vine scrubs, rainforests and riparian vegetation. Climbing asparagus fern is a declared class 3 plant under the Land Protection Act 2002.
This African native has narrow leaves and a prickly stem that helps it to scale up and over other plants or structures. It has clusters of small white flowers during spring that are followed by green berries that ripen to orange/red. These berries are eaten and dispersed by birds. In the absence of a host plant to climb this weed can grow as a scrambling low shrub.
This plant has a root and tuber system, and this adds to the difficulties of controlling it. When small out breaks occur the underground root system can be carefully removed and hooked up where the tubers cannot re-root. Take care to remove the entire crown or underground stem of the plant. This method requires digging underneath the central growing point and lifting it out of the ground. Any regrowth that occurs can be kept under control by regular mowing or digging out. Larger infestations can be controlled by basal barking or the cut and paint method.
(All herbicides must be applied strictly in accordance with the directions on the label) |
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Tuesday, 06 October 2009 02:25 |
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 Madeira vine (Anredera cordifolia) also known as potato vine or lambs tail vine is a vigorous climber which can produce thousands of aerial tubers along its stem.
Madeira vine blankets and smothers trees and shrubs and can lead to their death. It is very heavy on the tree canopy and will collapse small trees. Madeira vine is a garden escapee and is native to South America. Madeira vine has light green, wide heart shaped, fleshy 4-5 cm leaves.
It produces dense blankets of creamy flower spikes from December to April. The flower spikes are 10 cm long and each spike is made up of many individual small flowers. These flower spikes resemble a lamb’s tails. At its worst, Madeira vine can produce thousands of small light brown or green potato-like tubers which fall to the ground and sprout new vines.
The vine has a vigorous root and tuber system, and this adds to the difficulties of controlling the weed.
When small out breaks occur the underground root system can be carefully hand pulled and hooked up where the ground tubers cannot re-root. This will cause death of the root system in the following months. Aerial tubers have been observed to be still attached to vine stems two years after they were pulled from the ground.
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