Good Time To Control Japanese Fern & Chinese Privet

UGA Extension Forestry Specialists Dr. David Moorhead and Dr. David Dickens say now is a good time to control some invasive weeds with foliar sprays. Our main treatment options are foliar, basal, cut surface or injection. This time of the year, a foliar treatment is a good option.

Chinese Privet – UGA

Chinese privet seed soil viability is only one year, so where we see it, it is really dispersed by birds. Basal treatments of privet can be difficult because of number of branches. Dr. David Dickens says dormant-season treatments of privet with glyphosate at 3-5% solutions provide effective control with little non-target impacts. Anything over 5% is not economical. This is a foliar spray. Since glyphosate has no soil activity, it is safe for non-target plants. The greatest non-target impacts (discovered) were to sedges and winter-green species. If privet is next to woods, some grass could be damaged if it is not dormant. Direct sprays are effected for small and medium size plants with direct access. A mist blower would help with larger plants.

Japanese Climbing Fern

Japanese climbing fern is an invasive fern and does not produce flowers. It is native to eastern Asia and was introduced in the U.S. during the 1930s as an ornamental plant. A 3-5% solution of glyphosate is also good as a foliar spray. Here is some we saw as we were in the woods at our forestry program yesterday. Dr. Moorhead says we have to be careful because Japanese fern will adapt to burning, so this should not be our only method of control. With these small ferns coming up, now would be a good time to hop on a four-wheeler and use a hand-gun approach to treat these weeds.