[MAIPC] Lesser celandine trimming + note about violets

[John Ambler]

Here is information on my lesser celandine control efforts.

 

At Tucquan Glen Nature Preserve, the main place people hike and where I have
concentrated my invasive plant control efforts is west of River Rd.  I have
been checking floodplains annually for garlic mustard.  A few years back I
noticed lesser celandine coming in a number of places on the floodplains.
Then in the last two or three years I saw increasing amounts.  So in 2015 I
decided I had better check upstream east of River Rd.  I saw that large
areas were covered by it.

 

Earlier I had found that digging out whole plants is not practical.  A large
amount of soil remains on the roots and so carrying out bags of it would be
difficult.  Also I saw that bulbs often got broken off in the process and
were hard to retrieve from the soil.  So I tried just cutting under the
bulbs.

 

In 2014 and 2015 I removed lesser celandine in a few places by cutting under
the bulbs with a sharpened paring knife and lifting out the plants and
bagging them.  I am delighted to see that where this was done thoroughly for
two years, there is almost no lesser celandine now.  

 

But I can't cut out large numbers of plants!  So this year I decided to try
preventing seed and bulbil formation by string trimming as a first step in
preventing spread.

 

I noticed that it started growing in the fall and that small leaves survived
through the winter.  I don't know whether this occurs in colder winters.  (I
noticed the leaves Dec. 26.)  Meghan Fellows wrote:

 

We get full senescence in June with re-emergence beginning by mid-December.
But following it last year, I was pretty sure more individuals emerged as
the season progressed (vs just more leaves from the same bulbils).  Have you
seen Some biological aspects of the weed Lesser celandine (Ranunculus
ficaria) Planta Daninha vol 31 no 3 July/Sept 2013?  Bulbil size also
matters.

 

On March 3, I tested a Stihl FSA85 cordless electric string trimmer on
lesser celandine east of River Rd. on the floodplain.  This works well, but
I need to clear sticks and protect ferns before trimming.  A pitchfork works
well for both - it can be stuck in the ground to protect ferns or other
plants from the trimmer.  

 

I have a 6-tine pitchfork which I really enjoy using and think it is better
than the 5-tine forks.  I noticed that our Ace Hardware sells one and calls
it a manure fork.  Here's a link to their website.
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1341327&cp=2568443.25
68444.2598674.2601431.2602642

 

Around March 24 I checked the spot I trimmed on March 3.  The lesser
celandine had formed new leaves which were much smaller than uncut plants.
I recut these and a larger area, but only a small fraction of the whole
infestation.  I should concentrate on cutting it close to the stream to
minimize spread by seed and bulbils.

 

I found that you can tilt the trimmer 90 degrees and trim down on the bulbs
to destroy them.  It is easy to see what you are doing  because the bulbs
appear as white dots as you trim down into them.

 

I have been checking for bulbil formation on the stems.  So far (April 5) I
have not found any, but I did find them last year so we do have the
subspecies which forms them.  I don't know when seeds mature, but plants
should be trimmed before then!  Right now (early April) may be the best time
to trim because a lot of energy has gone out of the bulbs to form leaves,
but hopefully seeds and bulbils have not formed yet.

 

Anyone trimming lesser celandine needs to be careful not to trim violets.
Lesser celandine leaves are dark green and very glossy.  They have smooth
edges (no teeth) and long petioles.  Right now some violets have leaves that
look a lot like lesser celandine leaves.  Violet leaves don't have the shiny
glossiness and the green color is not the same.  Violet leaves may have fine
teeth which may not be noticed from a distance. 

 

I have a Stihl FSA 85 trimmer.  This is a top-quality light-weight trimmer
that has the battery at the end of the shaft opposite the trimming head.
This makes it very easy to use.  With the AP180 battery I can trim
intermittently for about 2 hours.  I chose the AL500 charger, for fairly
rapid recharging.  The EasyCut trimmer head is refilled using two 8-ft.
pieces of 2 mm Stihl twine.  You should have the dealer show you how to
refill it because the Stihl directions are poor!

 

Variable speed control is important.  You can run the trimmer at low speed
to lengthen the time the battery charge lasts.  And at low speed you have
better control and no vibration.  The Stihl FSA 65 does not have variable
speed control - don't get that model!

 

March 23 observations:  In Lancaster County Central Park on the trail along
Mill Creek below the meadows (W & N side of the creek).  The coverage of
many areas with lesser celandine is solid, even going up hillside all the
way in places on the other side on private property.  Many but not all
plants are in bloom.

 

In a number of places it is getting moved from the floodplain onto the
slopes and then spreading straight down the slope from the initial plants.
In one place where there is a lawn infested with it, there are widely
scattered plants in relatively flat woods.  Seed must be getting spread by
animals.  I think that this pattern of spread could not be from bulbils.
Bulbils easily break off and float downstream but would only be deposited on
the floodplains.

 

John Ambler

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