Berries Galore!

Didn't get to go camping as my daughter was ill although we were able to go on some short hikes both Thursday and Friday. We ran in to lots of the native cranberrybush viburnum (Viburnum trilobum) which looks so showy this time of year. The berries are extremely tart but are edible. Birds will typically leave them alone until late winter when they taste the best. Unfortunately, the berries seen below are also consumed by birds and "dispersed" throughout the woodlands. This is the notorious European buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) that has invaded woodlands throughout Wisconsin and much of the Midwest. This buckthorn forms such thick colonies that it shades out and "out-competes" native vegetation. The reproduction rate is amazing as it is distrubuted near and far by birds. Late October is a good time to identify and eradicate this plant as it is one of the last to loose its leaves. In fact, it is still green when most other deciduous plants have turned their fall color and dropped leaves. We cut buckthorn at the garden in late October and immediately "paint" the fresh stump with full strength, concentrated RoundUp. This has been quite successful in eliminating target plants as it is difficult to dig them out and simply cutting them results in many more sprouts the following year.