Olive

[Moe Shetty]

Anyone willing to weigh in on Russian and Autumn Olive?
Nitrogen fixing and eradication methods.
Can planting wildflowers months after mulching olive be feasible? The 'landlord' did that, the wildflowers looker great until two weeks ago, then died within two days. Could it have been a resurgence of the olive converting the nitrogen to ammonia and killing the other vegetation? Currently, the only green in the tract is what appear to be olive.
My guess/experience is that the tract may do better if the mulched olive area was planted a year later, rather than right away. Thoughts?

 

[George]

kill it, good stuff will grow. I would cut stump treat with triclopyr, or glysophate.

G

 

[Moe Shetty]

kill it, good stuff will grow. I would cut stump treat with triclopyr, or glysophate.

G

herbicides are off limits; it is a historic parcel and under several protective easements and other regulations

 

[M. R. Byrd]

Goats?

 

[Moe Shetty]

Goats?

Yes, that would be nice. How do they do with coyotes? Eat them whole or chew them up like poison ivy?

 

[M. R. Byrd]

Yes, that would be nice. How do they do with coyotes? Eat them whole or chew them up like poison ivy?

Don't have an answer to that. I know in the Kansas City area that there are companies that provide a goat herd to greatly reduce invasives, such as bush honeysuckle. Also, they have been used in situations where the terrain is difficult to impossible for humans to access for any kind of treatment, manual or herbicide.

 

[yoderjac]

Autumn Olive is an invasive species. I would avoid it all cost. Back in the 60s it was planted at Quantico MCB for wildlife. They are now spending millions and losing the battle to get rid of it. Birds spread the seed and it chokes out native plants.

I have heard of one guy who, after cutting down all the Autumn Olive in a field, bushhogged it regularly. He did not allow it to mature enough to go to seed. He said the deer love to browse on the young plants. That seemed to keep it in check. Once it gets away from you, it is very hard to control because birds can plant it a mile or more away.

 

[Native Hunter]

A true ninja could come in at night and do the stump treating and never get caught.

 

[RGrizzzz]

You need to kill the roots. Herbicide is the normal approach. Paint brushing stumps is a lot better as invasive than spraying acreage. Glyphosate is colorless.

If you can't use herbicide, you'll have to pull the regrowth with something like a tree puller or grapple or a root rake.

How many acres are we talking about?