How To Get Rid Of Phragmites

How to Go Rid of Phragmites

Last updated: 07/20/21
Estimated read time: 5 minutes

You may not accept heard of phragmites before, but y'all've definitely seen them around. Likewise known every bit the common reed, this invasive species of grass is violent beyond Maryland and the mid-Atlantic coast and is outcompeting beneficial native varieties—luckily, there's plenty that can be done!

What are Phragmites?

Phragmites (frag-mite-eez) is a not-native marsh grass. Preferring moisture areas and frequently growing near h2o,invasive phragmites abound in dense patches with stalks often reaching upwards of 13 anxiety tall!

While they produce seeds, phragmites most often spread through subterranean rhizomes, making effective eradication hard. Of all of the invasive marsh grasses, phragmites are among the toughest and most persistent in all of the Chesapeake region.

What Problems exercise Phragmites Crusade?

Out of command phragmites tin can cause a host of problems for an affected area, including:

• Fires: Each winter, phragmites' above-ground growth dies dorsum, leaving behind dense patches of dry, highly flammable fabric. Naturally, this is an ideal burn down starter and tin crusade serious wildfires without proper monitoring.
• Biodiversity: With their fast, dense growth, phragmites quickly outcompete native institute life, creating large areas of a biological monoculture. This has a predictably negative event on local biodiversity and can cause large areas of beneficial native plants to die.
• Economic activity: Particularly on the Chesapeake Bay, dumbo patches of phragmites tin choke out recreational water areas such every bit marinas and angling spots. For a region that depends heavily on water-based commerce and tourism, anything that can disrupt local waterways must be taken seriously.

How to Control Invasive Phragmites

While phragmites can be tough to get rid of, they aren't indestructible. The all-time way to control invasive phragmites is past treating the plants with specificherbicides approved for aquatic use. This arroyo treats both the found growth itself and allows native species to repopulate the newly cleared country.

At Blades of Green, we're the only company that treats phragmites in our surface area, and we have more than than 30 years of experience! It requires special permits and the treatment window is very pocket-size so experienced, professional phragmites control is always the way to go.

How practise Phragmites impact the Environment?

In small amounts, phragmites can be beneficial as wild fauna habitat—only the much more common dense growths provide no tangible do good to native species, oft impeding the local ecosystem. Ways they impact the environs include:

• A thick layer of wrack can class when the plant's lower leaves die off, preventing native plants from germinating.
• Its stalks tin clog waterways, which can hinder fish travel.
• They can also affect the nesting addiction of saltmarsh sparrows, a bird species that is threatened to exist extinct past 2050.

Are Phragmites Native to Maryland and Northern Virginia?

When attempting to control phragmites, information technology's important to remember thatboth the native and invasive varieties are found in Maryland and Northern Virginia.

• Invasive phragmites are usually dull tan in colour while the far more than rare native species display a slightly red or purple hue.
• Additionally, invasive phragmites' stems spread horizontally while the native ones tend to abound more vertically and their leaves hug the stem tightly.

How did Phragmites Become into the Chesapeake Bay?

Tracing the history of the invasive phragmites tin can be difficult. Still, historians and botanists concur that they arrived on our shores in ship ballast cloth sometime in the tardily 1700s or early 1800s. They likely originally arrived in the region with European colonists, but some varieties may as well take come from Central or South America via merchandise. Even so they got here, though, information technology didn't take long for them to detect a habitation on the Chesapeake Bay.

What eats Phragmites?

As a non-native species, phragmites don't have many native predators, though a few native waterfowl and Canadian geese are known to swallow their seeds. Interestingly, one of theabout constructive animals in the fight against invasive phragmites is the humble goat! With their rugged teeth, voracious appetites, and ability to assimilate even the toughest plant thing, goats are an ideal candidate when information technology comes to immigration dense patches of phragmites. While controlled goat grazing doesn't eliminate phragmites,it does allow native plants to move into newly cleared patches and repossess the state.

How Long Does it Take for Phragmites to Grow?

One of the phragmites' most significant advantages over both native and other invasive species is how fast it grows, with vertical growth measuring as much equally 15 inches a year. Even worse are its runners, frequently referred to as stolons—these tin can abound iv inches a mean solar day, aiding the found in its rapid spreading. It's footling wonder then that phragmites pose such a serious threat to our local wetlands.

How Deep are Phragmite Roots?

Another stiff weapon in phragmites' arsenal is their root systems.They grow in dense, difficult-to-remove clusters that can often reach depths of over six.v feet. Similar to dandelions or Queen Anne'south lace, removing the above-ground growth won't kill, equally the found will but come up right back.

Tin you Cut Down Phragmites?

Cutting down phragmites is only effective after the application of spray treatments. Due to their deep roots and power to regrow quickly, simply cutting down the stalks is not a viable control method. Once the proper amount of fourth dimension has passed afterward herbicidal treatment though, commonly, three-4 weeks, proper cut that leaves merely a 6-inch stump behind can brand a divergence and adjourn their spread.

When is the Best Time to Treat Phragmites?

As nosotros said earlier, the window to treat phragmites is a narrow one indeed.The only time that treatments have been shown to piece of work is in tardily July through October depending on atmospheric condition, however, a permit is required which needs to be obtained in advance. Additionally, treatment must exist repeated every twelvemonth if it is to work over a long menses of fourth dimension.

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Source: https://www.bladesofgreen.com/lawn-care/weed-control/how-to-get-rid-of-weeds/phragmites/

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