Manage this Invasive Species
This is part two of a three-part series on the harmful plants and animals invading our watershed. Read part one of this series: Hemlock Woolly Adelgid: Near, But Not Yet Here.
There’s a new way to fight buckthorn on your property and its active ingredient might surprise you.
Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) is a hardy invasive shrub that reduces native plant diversity and negatively affects local wildlife. Buckthorn is labour intensive and costly to remove, but a new product is making it both safer and easier to control this troublesome and destructive plant.
Lalcide Chondro is a low-risk, biological herbicide that uses naturally occurring fungi (Chondrostereum purpureum) as its active ingredient. It’s applied as a paste directly to a freshly cut stump, meaning it’s not airborne and there’s little threat of cross-contamination or harm to other plants. It takes a growing season for the fungus to colonize and kill the shrub, but it’s shown effectiveness and is an alternative option to chemical herbicides.
To learn more about Lalcide Chondro or how to control invasive species on your property, contact one of our experts. You may be eligible to receive funding for invasive species removal through CVC’s Landowner Action Fund.