by Mary McLean
July 2013: Dangerous Plants on the Run!
You may have seen the warning signs “Don’t walk off the trail.” Plant specialist placed them to protect pets and people. Arlington County hired Invasive Plant Control (IPC) to help improve Tuckahoe’s habitat. IPC employees are specially licensed and trained. Only the most environmentally suitable chemical, a glyphosate-based herbicide, was used on non-native plant species. A sturdy crew of four bush-wacked throughout Tuckahoe Park, giving no ground to the plants harming Tuckahoe’s habitat. The dead, brown-leaved plants indicate plants killed by the treatment.
Plants Removed or Treated:
Norway maple, Asian bittersweet, Winter creeper, English ivy, Japanese holly, Prunus avium, Prunus subhirtella, Golden Rain tree, Malus spp., California privet, Chinese barberry, Callery pear (Bradford pear), White mulberry, Amur bush honeysuckle, and Multiflora rose.
Questions?
Please contact Sarah Archer, Arlington County Invasive Removal Coordinator.
August 2013: Natives are back!
The “Grow Zone,” replanted with natives by Eagle Scout, Jacob Heidig, has flowers in bloom. Rare native Smartweed, Great Blue Lobelia, Cardinal Flower, orchid Joe-Pye, fucia Bergamot, Ox Eye Sunflower, and purple New England Aster.
Native plants give food and shelter butterflies and bees. Insects provide critical food for baby birds we enjoy watching. Remember, we cannot have our fruits and vegetable without those pollinators!
Melanie LaForce and Bill Ross removed harmful plants crowding blooming natives. Bill Ross built the outdoor classrooms and NWF Habitat.
September 2013 – Great News!
Here is Cardinal Flower blooming outside the “Grow Zone!”
The native plants Jacob Heidig put in the park for his Eagle Scout Service Project are spreading. This is exciting!Our park manager, Kevin Stalica, chose just the right plants. Lacy-white heath aster start blooming now.
Photos by Mary McLean.