invasive weeds / scrub

[Shirley Bork]

the floor of my small wood is covered with wildflowers and bulbs. Not a footprint between them . ....Snowdrops,then crocus, bluebells, wild garlic etc. In places I get nettles and brambles. How can I get rid of these without spoiling the bulbs. I'm a bit old so getting down on hands and knees as in the past....is past. Any suggestions.

[tracy]

Hi Shirley

Good to hear from you. You might like to leave the nettles and brambles as both are great for different kinds of wildlife. Makes a nice mixture with all the other flowers.

[Darren]

Brambles are spread by birds which eat the berries so you are fighting a losing battle I'm afraid.

Brambles are good for guarding young saplings and for making baskets.

It's better to use than to try and lose it.

[tracy]

Interesting article here about some invasive/ fast growing species.

http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=980

My personal opinion is that as we manage the woodlands, the ground cover will keep changing (coppice, plants grow, trees regrow and shade out bramble/ bracken etc and this can happen at different stages all over the woodland) and that it would be unhelpful to do mass destruction of native plants. Kept in control perhaps, but not destroyed with pesticides etc.

What do you think? I think variety is the spice of life!

[greyman]

Ooooo, Yeas, I'll try anyfing once - twice at a push!

Greyman

[Henrietta]

The brambles and nettles are as necessary as the prettier bulbs. I am plagued with bracken and have been clearing a small patch for four years by thrashing it or pulling it. It is a constant effort and all I can say is that I have weakened it considerably. I have a few acres of it and I expect it will always be there. One curse of bracken is the ticks which climb up it, to be brushed off by a person or dog as they walk through. I have become a dab hand at removing ticks from my dogs. They have also caught fox mange in the past. Didn't dose them with advocate as regularly as I should have done. I hate using those chemicals and the dogs try and hide when they see the packet.

[coppiceer]

In my experience nettles are NOT shaded out by the tree canopy. If not controlled, they will grow under almost any conditions and will soon festoon the branches with viciously-barbed entanglements that are a nightmare to remove. If you wish to do any work you will be cut to pieces.

I cut the bramble stems back to about 6 inches in the autumn/winter during coppicing operations. As soon as new leaves start to emerge in spring I carefully spray each leaf with a broadleafed weedkiller. If the bramble is growing amongst plants that I want to preserve, I mix the weedkiller with wallpaper paste and brush it on to the leaves. Obviously I never eradicate them all and the birds plant them faster than I can kill them. It's all part of life's rich tapestry.

Nettles I leave alone as they have died sown by the time I want to start work and my butterlfies like them.

[Exeldama]

Bramnbles in skeleton form under scots pine about 25 years old but now dissapearing... none under the chestnut at all about 15-20 year old coppice...