Japanese honeysuckle responds to screefing/pullback

In the "Arena", the kikuyu running down the bank hid numerous honeysuckle runners as well as thick, deep roots. So when the kikuyu was pulled up the bank for pullback to rot the roots, it necessarily included stems of honeysuckle, both broken and unbroken. These had to be cut in many places to allow the kikuyu to be pulled up (though still incompletely due to rooted honeysuckle holding it in many places).

Since separating kikuyu from honeysuckle would have been extremely time-consuming, if possible, it was decided to trial screefing, or pullback, of both species as one mass.

Much of the honeysuckle being woody, the mass of material for use as self-mulch was not as dense as occurs with pure kikuyu pullback. Thus rotting of the kikuyu has not yet been complete.

However, it has been successful as a strategy in this situation, as many of the honeysuckle roots were found to be loosened and easily uprooted, after c1-4 weeks of cold, sometimes wet weather.

Much of the kikuyu in the Arena has also loosened and been uprooted. The remainder will be targeted for complete pullback and rotting as the remaining honeysuckle can be uprooted and separated.

A dry spell in the last week slowed the rotting and made the honeysuckle wood too dry and light to function well as mulch, so some piles of pulled vines were removed from the site's outer barriers and replaced at the top of the Arena, where roots of either kikuyu or honeysuckle remain to be rotted.

Lower down the Arena, where honeysuckle did not begin until more recently, some honeysuckle roots have loosened, been partially uplifted and piled on themselves, to replicate this loosening on the remaining roots.

It seems this strategy, of gradual pullback, piling and rotting, has increased the efficiency of complete root removal of Japanese honeysuckle on this site. NB It is not yet complete.

Posted on July 8, 2018 06:56 PM by kaipatiki_naturewatch