Plant Maintenance

If you would like to help the Burra Revegetation Group, and live near a planted area, or walk along the bike path and see a plant being choked by weeds, by all means tidy around some plants.

Earlier today we were mowing at Mitchell Flat, where a number of seedlings are being strangled by Convolvulus (aka Bindweed). 

It was quite rewarding to tidy around them - these before and after photos show the 'before' and 'after' for the same tree. 

Convolvulus is a very aggressive climber, but is not very strong, so it can be pulled off the guard easily. USE GLOVES.

Then you carefully remove the guard, and let the plant and weed fall to the ground, and carefully separate the weed and plant - take care, as the seedling may not be obvious to start with. 

Pull the weeds out carefully - most weeds do not have as well developed root systems as native plants, but care should be taken to not be too aggressive, so as not to damage the 'good guy' roots.

Put the tree guard back on carefully, so we can see it from the mower and minimise damage if we spray nearby. Often seedlings that have been 'strangled' need to have a period hardening, and the guard will help reduce the shock of, say, a nasty hot wind.

Convolvulus filling the tree guard

The Native Pine revealed !

Here are the EBS Maintenance guidelines. It should be noted that this year we have not had to water over Summer, but we have in the past, and no doubt will do so in future.

If you are uncertain about 'what to do', we can show you what to do - just comment at the bottom of this or the main Blog page.