We lost quite a few days of work due to intense heat and rain, but by the middle of July things calmed down. The next area to work is the Vernal Pool, across from the rose swamp. This area was covered with honeysuckle and rose, and took about a week to conquer.
I had previously cleared honeysuckle and rose from the area behind the Vernal Pool, completing the major work from our yard to the wetlands. We will spend much of the Fall removing and burning the cuttings. The next few posts focus on those areas…with some wonderful results!
All large (massive) multi-flora rose was cut and brushed, bundled and burned.
Where the rose was moderate size and widely spread, I sprayed first, waited for leaves to die, then cut, rebrushed and pulled out the branches entwined in trees. The trees bounced back fully and are already starting to grow again (as of July 29, my website catch-up date.)
I’ve come to love the smell of Spicebush! Seedlings often offered protection from wayward rose branches that tried to envelope me during removal. The spice bushes will need to be thinned eventually, but…that’s for another year. Some grow in a Pagoda style, which is lovely! (Pics to come later.)