"How do you control Tradescantia in bush?"

This is our (slightly edited here) answer to a question from an iNat member, posted here for easy reference in answering similar queries.

Eradication of Tradescantia from an area of forest is based on best times to access it safely and without damaging the native vegetation or trampling seedlings and sporelings, especially on unstable streambank with lots of run off from steep banks above. I use strategy and technique developed over thirty years, and am currently assessing modifications to minimise moisture loss.

Tradescantia is shallowly rooted, and with gentle teasing leaves the ground completely, unless layered under sedimentary deposits as on the edges of the Kaipatiki Creek.

The material is placed in piles close enough to provide continued habitat and moisture retention, monitoring and turning or scooping regrowth from the edges of the piles ( eg monthly at first if wet, then 3 monthly) then amalagamating the partially-decomposed piles - eventually removing the last shreds of stem which remain live for a long time - so there are fewer piles to monitor and turn.

Seedlings arise most abundantly on the edges of these piles, where humus is created and moisture retained.

Skinks, earthworms, and other invertebrates abound under the piles, so they have to be treated with consideration, but as seedlings and sporelings grow in the released area, and adjacent low canopy increases, the scant remains of the decomposed piles can be removed entirely in a small hand-held bag....to be added to an active compost pile elsewhere.

As you practice it you get to know the best use of time, ie when to stop and get every strand, and when any broken or missed strands will be more quickly and easily picked up on next visit. Such regrowth is often surprisingly loosely rooted, and can even be uplifted entire by grasping just the stem tip...helpful when the base of the stem is hidden amongst dense understorey.

The key is ongoing care for a limited site, with close observation and appreciation of the whole complex ecology - or as much of it as can be comprehended. The pleasure of seeing the regeneration, including each individual seedling or sporeling, and taking care to leave these each time with adequate shade and shelter for their ongoing development, is the motivation for the ongoing monitoring which takes care of the regrowth.

First exploration may reveal ferns and native trees up to 50cm H hidden in the tradescantia, so requires good use of eyes and fingers - not rakes, as I have seen rakes or careless weeding pull out hundreds of native plants, eg on one occasion in kauri forest, dozens of nikau 30cm H, and seedling kauri, which were already thriving in the Tradescantia, worth a thousand planted trees, and were left lying in a heap beside the path!

Tradescantia is often a treasure trove of seedlings and sporelings, and if it contains none it often creates ideal conditions for them with ongoing monitoring, removed enough Tradescantia to allow their development, while retaining enough of it to maintain soil moisture until alternate ground cover and/or canopy are achieved for that particular spot.

Posted on 06 de novembro de 2019, 09:22 PM by kaipatiki_naturewatch kaipatiki_naturewatch

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