Hey South Africans and Aussies, plant questions for ya!

[Cactus Squatter]

There’s a plant that’s super invasive where I live that is native to SA and also has large populations in Australia. The Stinknet/Globe chamomile. Oncosiphon piluliferum.


So my question is, has anyone ever seen any kind of insect or animal eating this stuff? Anything natural you’ve ever seen that keeps it in check?
There isn’t anything much I can find for info aside from which herbicides work on it (which we can’t use due to proximity to wetlands).
We pull out thousands of bags worth of this every spring attempting to keep it from spreading across our deserts and I’d love to find a way to be more efficient in tackling it.

Thanks all.

 

[Creeperpark]

You have to remove it before it flowers. Any invasive plant can be slowed down by stopping the reproduction cycle. It may take many years but allowing the plants to flower every year will insure the plants' success.

 

[Frosty Nuggets]

You have to remove it before it flowers. Any invasive plant can be slowed down by stopping the reproduction cycle. It may take many years but allowing the plants to flower every year will insure the plants' success.

One years seed is seven years weed.

 

[St. Phatty]

You have to remove it before it flowers. Any invasive plant can be slowed down by stopping the reproduction cycle. It may take many years but allowing the plants to flower every year will insure the plants' success.

When I'm in Time Management mode, which as I get older is All the Time, instead of cutting down invasive plants, I just walk around cutting off the part of the plant with seeds.

But the flowers are so pretty !

 

[Cactus Squatter]

You have to remove it before it flowers. Any invasive plant can be slowed down by stopping the reproduction cycle. It may take many years but allowing the plants to flower every year will insure the plants' success.

We pull around 150-200 hefty bags of it a week. It’s insanely fast spreading so I’m looking for biological controls.

 

[Creeperpark]

I wouldn't pull it by hand I was talking about bush-whacking it. It's hard to get herbicides that work these days after Roundup killed all those people. Here's something to look at that may help.

DR PILOT Walk Behind Wheeled String Trimmer | DR Power Equipment

While outperforming any handheld trimmer on the market, the PILOT is our lightest, easiest-to-maneuver walk behind wheeled trimmer weighing only 55 lbs!

www.drpower.com

 

[buzzmobile]

Preemergent weed herbicides perhaps?

Lectures 5 & 6: Preemergence Herbicides

Preemergence means – before weeds emerge. More importantly, before they germinate. How do Preemergence herbicides work? By preventing seedling establishment. Not by killing seeds. Therefore, timing of applications depends on life cycles of the target weeds. Preemergence herbicides prevent...

weeds.ces.ncsu.edu

 

[St. Phatty]

We pull around 150-200 hefty bags of it a week. It’s insanely fast spreading so I’m looking for biological controls.

Start a New Social Practice - using the undesired plants as animal feed.

Almost ANY Plant that you cut up and mix into animal feed, they will eat.

 

[Cactus Squatter]

Start a New Social Practice - using the undesired plants as animal feed.

Almost ANY Plant that you cut up and mix into animal feed, they will eat.

Goats won’t even touch this stuff is the problem. Nothing we have here will eat it.

 

[Cuddles]

Some plants don´t only reproduce themselves by producing seeds, they also multiply and spread around via the roots. Idon´t know if this plant does or not but it may indeed be a good idea to get those roots out of the ground as well. As to how to make this easier and effecient, I can´t think of anything right now. Maybe get a tractor to plough through them ?
Are there any plants which may take over the spots and thus kill them off somehow?
This plant sounds like a big problem

I googled the plant and this is one of the first articles which came up:

Stinknet (Globe Chamomile)​

Stinknet (Oncosiphon piluliferum)​

Stinknet (Oncosiphon piluliferum) is a relatively recent and problematic arrival to Arizona. This plant is spreading rapidly in both urban and wild areas and can quickly dominate a landscape. This little winter annual (6-24 inches) has only recently been recognized as a prolific invasive weed in the Phoenix Metropolitan area and elsewhere in Arizona.The weed has spread from severe initial infestations in Northwest and North Phoenix into metropolitan Phoenix and now has a foothold in Tucson and Ajo. Stinknet is a fast moving invasive in Arizona.
Stinknet, also called Globe Chamomile, is a noxious winter-annual composite that is native to South Africa. Emergence starts in late November and plants can continue to germinate and emerge through the month of May in wet years. Leaves appear “carrot-like”, dark green and twice dissected and have a strong odor. Flowering starts in early March and can continue through May. Flowers are bright yellow and ball shaped.
Plants grow in dense clusters and easily displace native vegetation. During growth the plants can cause severe allergic reactions, both dermal and respiratory. Infestations spread rapidly along roadways and open fields in residential areas. Dried dense patches are highly flammable.

Stinknet (Globe Chamomile) – SWVMA

www.swvma.org

 

[Cactus Squatter]

Some plants don´t only reproduce themselves by producing seeds, they also multiply and spread around via the roots. Idon´t know if this plant does or not but it may indeed be a good idea to get those roots out of the ground as well. As to how to make this easier and effecient, I can´t think of anything right now. Maybe get a tractor to plough through them ?
Are there any plants which may take over the spots and thus kill them off somehow?
This plant sounds like a big problem

I googled the plant and this is one of the first articles which came up:

Stinknet (Globe Chamomile)​

Stinknet (Oncosiphon piluliferum)​

Stinknet (Oncosiphon piluliferum) is a relatively recent and problematic arrival to Arizona. This plant is spreading rapidly in both urban and wild areas and can quickly dominate a landscape. This little winter annual (6-24 inches) has only recently been recognized as a prolific invasive weed in the Phoenix Metropolitan area and elsewhere in Arizona.The weed has spread from severe initial infestations in Northwest and North Phoenix into metropolitan Phoenix and now has a foothold in Tucson and Ajo. Stinknet is a fast moving invasive in Arizona.
Stinknet, also called Globe Chamomile, is a noxious winter-annual composite that is native to South Africa. Emergence starts in late November and plants can continue to germinate and emerge through the month of May in wet years. Leaves appear “carrot-like”, dark green and twice dissected and have a strong odor. Flowering starts in early March and can continue through May. Flowers are bright yellow and ball shaped.
Plants grow in dense clusters and easily displace native vegetation. During growth the plants can cause severe allergic reactions, both dermal and respiratory. Infestations spread rapidly along roadways and open fields in residential areas. Dried dense patches are highly flammable.

Stinknet (Globe Chamomile) – SWVMA

www.swvma.org

The only things that out compete it are other invasive unfortunately. It doesn’t do well in shady areas, but that’s also something we’re severely lacking… shade.

You can cut the tops off, but it’ll keep growing and reform new flower heads quickly. We pull it roots and all to keep it from reseeding the area but have to do it year after year due to how long the seeds can stay dormant.

Plowing is this stuffs best friend. It loves disturbed soil areas and is usually the first thing to grow into them. Seeds are both airborne as well as sticking to every vehicle, animal and person getting tracked around.

I’m really hoping some form of beetle or worm is stinknet selective. We got lucky with Salt Cedar Beetles wiping out that crap for us, would be nice to have a similar approach to the stinknet. It’s all you can see for miles down here.

 

[Cuddles]

The only things that out compete it are other invasive unfortunately. It doesn’t do well in shady areas, but that’s also something we’re severely lacking… shade.

You can cut the tops off, but it’ll keep growing and reform new flower heads quickly. We pull it roots and all to keep it from reseeding the area but have to do it year after year due to how long the seeds can stay dormant.

Plowing is this stuffs best friend. It loves disturbed soil areas and is usually the first thing to grow into them. Seeds are both airborne as well as sticking to every vehicle, animal and person getting tracked around.

I’m really hoping some form of beetle or worm is stinknet selective. We got lucky with Salt Cedar Beetles wiping out that crap for us, would be nice to have a similar approach to the stinknet. It’s all you can see for miles down here.

shade and water lol, yeah ! Some parts flood like crazy whilst others remain bone dry. Those recent floods were pretty scary - because of the crocodiles - YIKES!!

it´s too bad this isn´t some healthy herb you can turn into tea or something

People here complain about nettles and dandelion too and rip them out even though they can actually be consumed.
This stinknet plant sounds pretty scary though.

 

[Cactus Squatter]

shade and water lol, yeah ! Some parts flood like crazy whilst others remain bone dry. Those recent floods were pretty scary - because of the crocodiles - YIKES!!

it´s too bad this isn´t some healthy herb you can turn into tea or something

People here complain about nettles and dandelion too and rip them out even though they can actually be consumed.
This stinknet plant sounds pretty scary though.

I’m just glad I don’t have an allergic reaction to it like some people do. Some people get a gnarly rash and can’t breath around it.

 

[Cuddles]

I’m just glad I don’t have an allergic reaction to it like some people do. Some people get a gnarly rash and can’t breath around it.

that does sound pretty nasty. This plant really does need to be killed off! It´s dangerous . WHat do you guys do witht he plants you´ve pulled out? Do you let it dry out and then burn it? composting would obviously be a bad idea.

 

[Cactus Squatter]

that does sound pretty nasty. This plant really does need to be killed off! It´s dangerous . WHat do you guys do witht he plants you´ve pulled out? Do you let it dry out and then burn it? composting would obviously be a bad idea.

It all gets bagged and either incinerated if there is a controlled burn in the near future, or it ends up buried in the landfill.
Downside to burning it is it gives off really nasty smoke that’ll damn near make you stop breathing. When the brush fires burn through big patches of this stuff you better hope you aren’t down wind. I hate it. I’d make sweet sweet love to a cholla cactus if it meant all of the stinknet went away tomorrow.

 

[armedoldhippy]

This stinknet plant sounds pretty scary though.

yeah, at least the kudzu we have here is gladly eaten by cattle, deer and such where they can get to it. we need some way to efficiently harvest the leaves for cheap (free) livestock feed...

 

[Cuddles]

yeah, at least the kudzu we have here is gladly eaten by cattle, deer and such where they can get to it. we need some way to efficiently harvest the leaves for cheap (free) livestock feed...

this stinknet plant must be really bad if even the goats don´t want it!