Invasive Species of the Week

Rosa multiflora, better known as Multiflora Rose.

It has a pretty fragrant flower.

And large evil thorns (I've direct experience with these).

I spotted this plant on the edge of our parking area. I had removed a number of small plants from there last year, and subsequently did not see any flowers. So how did something this large grow there?

I chopped it down to the ground, but was unable to dig out the roots. The rocks of the parking area extended it past the plant. So I took some of the herbicide Patty had used to remove some Poison Ivy a couple years back and applied it to the freshly cut stems. Hopefully this will kill it down through the root system.

The rest of the plant went into the invasive bin. A blue plastic trashcan. This is not a plant you want in your compost. Once it is dead I'll either burn it or but it in a plastic trash bag and let the trash man take it away.

But it seems I wasn't finished.

While surveying the route for the deer fence across the western road frontage, I came across another plant. One which had grown well up into the tree at the end of our driveway. As I mentioned, and showed, earlier, it has some very pretty flowers. And it isn't called "multiflora" for nothing. There are plenty of the blooms. 

So how did this plant get so large without us noticing?

This is what I pulled out. It filled three large sized trash bags. No room in the invasive bin for all this. It is all now in a landfill somewhere.

There were eight or ten stems coming from the root area. I treated it with the herbicide as well. Fortunately, it did not appear that the stems had contacted the ground and taken root anywhere else. Sometime this week I'll see about digging the roots out. I do not look forward to it.

This plant was introduced to the US either in in the 1700s (USDA) or in 1866 (PSU). Either way, it's been here a long time. It had a variety of uses, including erosion control, root stock for ornamental roses, as as an ornamental in its own right, and as a living fence (I can vouch for this last one). Unfortunately when left uncontrolled it forms dense thickets (that living fence) and crowds out native vegetation.

I would like to think this was my last tussle with this species, but I have doubts. But next time I'll be wearing long sleeves. That I is a certainty.