That's correct, you have to kill wintercreeper twice! :)
On Jan 18, 2018 3:30 PM, "Joyce Fry" <joycefry1@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Kill, kill!
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 18, 2018, at 2:42 PM, Joyce Bender <landstewardky@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Go liberate some native species -- that will cheer you up :o)
Sent from my iPad
On Jan 18, 2018, at 1:53 PM, Sue Bruenderman <sue.bruenderman@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Dang it Joyce! Now I am depressed. 🕳
On Thu, Jan 18, 2018 at 1:00 PM Joyce Bender <landstewardky@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I need to chime in here. Winter creeper is not an erosion control
agent. Plants with fibrous roots hold soil. Winter creeper is a vine and
just like kudzu it covers the ground, hiding the fact that erosion
continues beneath its native plant choking mat. We all need to think
about the plants we buy when landscaping our property. We need to speak up
at nurseries and home centers and tell vendors we aren't going to buy
plants that damage native species and their habitat.
Sent from my iPad
On Jan 18, 2018, at 12:39 PM, Sue Bruenderman <sue.bruenderman@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Brainard, I completely get it, have been where you are many times about
this invasive species. My only consolation about this ugly truth is that it
may be our saving grace for erosion control in the not too distant future,
when storms become increasingly violent. A little brighter, eh?
On Thu, Jan 18, 2018 at 11:04 AM <brainard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
European Starlings have descended upon my feeding station this week.
Unfortunately, along with them they are bringing seeds of the horribly
invasive Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei). I have cut wintercreeper off
most all the trees on our farm so that it will not fruit, but the starlings
continue to bring in more seeds with them from surrounding areas.
This morning I took a few photos of the floor of my back porch where the
starlings have been eating suet despite my best efforts to keep them away.
Wintercreeper seeds in European Starling droppings:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/70381922@N08/albums/72157662765298297
It is apparent from the many orange droppings left on the porch that the
starlings are eating *a lot* of wintercreeper right now, which is not
surprising because birds love to eat the orange-red berries, each of which
each contains a single seed. I mention the starlings in particular, because
they are so abundant. The fact that an invasive bird is so responsible for
the spread of an invasive plant makes it particularly ironic.
Besides covering the ground with vines that strangle out all native
vegetation, the vines climb up trees; in some parts of Louisville like
Indian Hills, the "wintercreeper forest" is already well-established. Even
out on Chamberlain Lane in the northeast part of the county, wintercreeper
is completely covering the roadside fence.
Because birds, particularly European Starlings, love this berry, they
are going to be responsible for continuing to spread it more and more
widely. At some point in the future, wintercreeper will be growing on every
tree in regions with limestone based soils. Importation of the plant also
brought with it a scale that has devastated a rare native plant called
Mountain-lover.
And somewhat incredulously ... this species CONTINUES to be sold by
nurseries all across the country ... just google it and you find dozens of
places where you can buy a variety of cultivars .. :-(
... and wintercreeper is just one of several *very* horrible invasive
plants in our area that are all doing about the same thing.
Very, very depressing ....
bpb, Lousiville
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