Our volunteers have started doing some work at Scone Palace, Perth. We have been clearing the Rhododendron that shades out native plants including tree seedlings, and makes the ground acidic so that little else can grow. It is important to realise that there are 100's of species of Rhododendron but that only one species, Rhododendron Ponticum is causing the problems. Most of them originate from garden escapees in Victorian times. Though beautiful to look at with their large pink flowers, and fine if contained in a garden, they cause a lot of problems if allowed to go wild in a native woodland.
Here we are using a traditional cutting method (known as rhodi' bashing), although the latest thinking is that it is much more effective to lever and mulch. This literally means to lever it out by the roots and put down a mulch of perhaps leaves or compost to prevent further growth from any roots that were missed. It takes a lot longer and is harder work but the theory is that you don't then have to do it again year after year.
We will be at Scone Palace again in April, this time transplanting snowdrops. So you will get to see them for free while doing your bit for native woodlands. If you are interested click on http://www.scottishnativewoods.org.uk/ for details (or click on our logo from here)
No comments:
Post a Comment