I’ve always enjoyed hiking on a sunny brisk day in the winter, though it requires dressing extra warmly. In winter months, deciduous trees have lost their leaves and warm season herbs have turned brown. Many unhappily view this winter scene as a dreary and drab stage of the year -- something to be endured, rather than appreciated. But I enjoy looking out for fruits which hang onto the once lush greenery of their productive hosts. They may be in the form of dried seeds and capsules or multi-colored berries of various tree and shrub species.
Some may have fallen quickly and lie at my feet as I meander along a trail or forest/field edge. Others cling to their parent plants well into winter. If there is snow on the ground, these fruits stand out even more brightly. All the better for easy spotting by winter birds and other wildlife dependent upon such food when summer insects and leafy plant parts are nowhere to be found. In my mind, such colorful contrast in the wintry landscape, plus the long-distance views previously hidden by warm season foliage, offer a nice change to the more monochromatic greenery of summer.
But what are the various fruits one may see when venturing out at this time of year? Well, hopefully, you might view the bright reds of American or winterberry hollies. The forest floor may reveal more red colors among partridgeberry groundcover and jack-in-the pulpit. Blue-black berries of greenbrier species also persist during colder months. And, other attractive native fruits can be found.
In recent decades, though, there have been newcomers that are likely grabbing your attention. Bush honeysuckle, Chinese/European privet, nandina, oriental bittersweet (See “…” October), and multiflora rose are some common non-native invasive plants (NNIP) that are among our worst intruders. Each of these species produce a voluminous number of berries that are consumed and spread by birds and other wildlife. Besides providing poor nutrition for wildlife, they easily germinate and quickly spread, displacing important native food-producing plants. Developing a long-term management and maintenance plan to exclude these species from one’s property should be a priority. I’ll cover more about NNIP control options in future stories.
But what can I do right now, during winter months, you might ask? Well, there is one very important and urgent task you can do now that will help greatly with future control: Prune off the berry-producing stems before they have the chance to come in contact with the soil! Place them in trash bags and into your garbage can so they end up in the landfill.
This will prevent hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of NNIP from sprouting in spring. Equally important, you won’t be contributing to the below-ground supply of seeds from those species whose fruits can bank in the soil over time, randomly germinating throughout the next decade.
This is not a physically exhausting activity and you can get a lot done in just a couple of hours. All you need are your work gloves, a bag, and a pair of pruners.
If working with multiflora rose, you might also need loppers to reach out to berry-producing branch tips, preventing wounds from its hook-shaped thorns.
Will you get them all? No, some will likely be missed or dropped in the process, and birds will probably get some before you do this work, but you can bag most of them. Work on milder winter days for as little or as long as you wish. It will give you a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment, I promise! So, be sure to “bag your berries” -- before they become your worries!!
For more information on non-native invasive plants, NNIP removal, and replacement with native insect and wildlife attractive plants, visit "Services" at www.restoraflora.com.
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