Japanese Barberry and Lyme Disease

Did you know that you can be up to TWELVE TIMES MORE LIKELY to contract Lyme Disease if there is invasive Japanese barberry on your property? Studies indicate a 12.6 times greater density of deer ticks on property with a high density of Japanese barberry, versus a comparable wooded area with no Japanese barberry. (Source: UConn Extension Forestry Program).

For more information on the studies that have been conducted, risks, and control information see the Cooperative Extension Service's Japanese barberry information site.

Faith Middleton Show: Japanese Barberry and Lyme Disease (barberry segment begins about 25 minutes into sound clip).

Take Lyme Disease seriously. Note serious symptons on CDC information page.

GPIP Presents at CIPWG Meeting

Glastonbury Partners in Planting was invited to speak at the November 20, 2013 meeting of the Connecticut Invasive Plants Working Group. Alan S presented our 2013 oriental bittersweet initiatives, which focused on ways to build a support base and create community partnerships, to control widespread oriental bittersweet infestation. He also discussed our three-level Work Day strategy and hands-on approaches to eradication, suppression and containment (see Work Day Strategies).

We are just at the beginning of our journey but hope the information that was presented will be helpful to other communities as they pursue their own efforts to contain this extremely damaging invasive plant.

Understory Restoration: Mountain Laurel

If you are fortunate enough to have eliminated oriental bittersweet from a wooded area, the next question is, "Now what?" In most cases it is necessary to help mother nature with restoring the understory (the plants that grow under the trees). Doing nothing invites the return of oriental bittersweet, Japanese knotweed, winged euonymous and other aggressive invasives that will take over the understory.

At a recent Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group meeting http://www.cipwg.uconn.edu/  mountain laurel (kalmia latifolia) was suggested by Logan Senack, CT Invasive Plant Coordinator, and several attendees as a good plant to include in an understory restoration effort. Mountain laurel also happens to be the Connecticut state plant.

Mountain laurel is fairly shade tolerant and will grow very well at the sunny edges of a wooded site, where sun-seeking oriental bittersweet typically thrives and gets its start. By increasing the shade to the understory floor mountain laurel can reduce the growth of oriental bittersweet. Mountain laurel will also grow in a wooded grove but growth is less vigorous as tree canopy shade increases.

You may ask, "But bittersweet shades the area too so what's the difference?" The difference is that mountain laurel never grows into the forest canopy for light, so it never shades and kills the trees and all other growth. Mountain laurel provides dappled shade at the understory level and is very compatible with a wide range of other beneficial plants.

Mountain laurel is an excellent repacement for invasive plants like winged euonymous, which has a very dense root system that crowds out other plants.

For more information on mountain laurel go to:
UCONN Plant Information
Broken Arrow Nursery
Dick Jaynes Mountain Laurel YouTube Videos: Part 1  Part 2  Part 3 

November "Save A Tree" Work Day Successful!

On November 17th a group of 15 highly experienced "Gold Level" bittersweet battlers met at Riverfront Park (with Town approval) to cut vines along the river trail. The trail is south of the drainage swale (which is just south of the new boat house location) and runs along the river toward the water treatment facility behind Town Hall. It is a potentially beautiful trail, referred to by many as one of the hidden gems of Riverfront Park.

This was our first experiment with the newly created "Gold Level" designation, which indicates a participant has been vetted and approved to work on our more challenging bittersweet projects.

If you have strong experience with bittersweet eradication (participating in our 9/28/13 Work Day, for example) and are interested in joining the Gold Level team please drop an e-mail to information@gpip.org briefly outlining your experience. Once approved you will be added to the Gold Level list and notified of Gold Level "Save A Tree" events.

For more information on our Work Day Strategies click on "Strategies."



First cut vine of the day was a 30+ year old specimen.

The view is slowly improving!

Evelyn versus the vines.



Where's Jan?



Lynn and Wayne work along the river.



Dick G. opens up the trail.



What's going on here??

November Bittersweet Journal

November brings a last chance to spot oriental bittersweet because these invasive vines typically hold onto leaves longer than the trees they are strangling. That makes it easy to spot the bittersweet leaves as they turn yellowish green, on a tree that is otherwise bare. Now is a good time to get out and pull the vines, or cut and treat them if you prefer using an herbicide to kill the root system over the winter.

It's also easy to spot yellowing bittersweet leaves against white pines and other evergreens.

November is also a good time to walk any wooded areas to pull or cut and treat small bittersweet vines because they are among the few plants holding leaves. That means they stand out and are easy to spot.

Oriental bittersweet is a perennial so don't make the mistake of thinking the vines "die" in the winter. They're quite alive, with nutrients pulled down the the root system and waiting for spring so they can continue their tree-killing mission.



Small oriental bittersweet vines are easy to spot in early November so this is a good time to
walk your property and pull or cut and treat vines as needed.