Whenever you see them! They’ll only get bigger and more difficult. Get the small plants, they won’t get any smaller. First of all, it’s easiest to do these tasks in the winter, after enough rain has soaked the ground to make it moist.ġ. I have found four ways to get rid of Scotch broom depending on size. I needed to clear a few large patches of ground so I could start my vegetable and flower gardens. How I removed an acre and a half of Scotch broom: my four-pronged method But, it gets much easier if you do it right at first. If you have Scotch broom on your property, it’s a battle you’ll be fighting for a long time. I did, and it’s hard work requiring diligence and determination, but it can be done. In my mission to get rid of Scotch broom I didn’t give up and tried to figure out what will work. I’ve removed a lot of plants and being a plant person, I look at them closely. BUT, if you cut it low enough, it won’t.Īnd if you pull it out, well, remember those seeds popping out of the pods? That’s what comes up, new seedlings. From those thousands of seeds in the soil.Īnother version of that myth is that when you remove it, it just comes back. And with all the plants I’ve pulled I’ve never seen one that came from an older root structure. When I pull the plants I never find any structure on the root that would lead to re-sprouting. I may be wrong, but I’m going out on a limb here and saying that it isn’t so. One is that you need to remove all the roots or they’ll re-sprout. I’ve heard what I truly believe are myths about removing Scotch broom. But you have the same problem as above, plus the recipe comes with the warning to not use it if you ever want anything to grow there again. I’ve also heard people wonder about using the vinegar/salt method. But, what you have when you’re done is a stand of highly flammable “standing dead” plants. So are you now ready to go out and remove all the scotch broom you can see? There are a few myths and methods to clearing Scotch broomįirst of all, killing it with round-up is an option. That means it has the ability to get it’s nitrogen from the air, and not depend on soil fertility enabling it to grow in our poorest soils. It’s from the pea family so it is a nitrogen fixer. It thrives here in our dry summers and is deer resistant. It’s harmful to horses and reduces land for grazing. Plus, it displaces many native plants that provide wildlife habitat. The dense stands make it difficult for humans to walk through and they restrict wildlife movement. tall or more, can bring fire up into the tree canopy, increasing both the frequency and intensity of fire (). Scotch broom forms dense stands that burn hot and with their height, up to 6 ft. It’s one of the most flammable plants there is and poses an enormous threat to our community’s fire safety.Ī clear indication of its flammability to us was when we had a burn pile going and we added green scotch broom, it burned and sparked like fireworks! We were shocked. But it’s a terribly noxious, invasive, non-native plant that has escaped into most of the western US. Many visitors and newcomers to the area may not realize the hazards of this plant and think it’s beautiful.
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