The Community Weed Bin is here!
Community Weed Bin available now at the Parua Bay Community Centre! Bring in your invasive weeds and we will dispose of them free of charge The bin is located in the top carpark of the Parua Bay Community Centre. It is a bit of a pilot project, but we hope to be able to keep […]
Trouble brewing below the surface….
Check out this video to see what’s happening under the canopy up on Reotahi/Mt Aubrey. Out of sight, underneath the canopy of our incredible forests, there is a serious and growing problem. Wild ginger is quietly eating away at the integrity of our forests from the inside out. Wild ginger is a very real and […]
Are you in the zone?
Thanks to a grant from the WWF-New Zealand and Tindall Foundation Habitat Protection Fund, we are undertaking a special project to rid the southern end of the Whangarei Heads peninsula of elaeagnus and tree privet. Both of these weeds are a big problem for the Heads, but at the southern end of the peninsula their […]
Bugs and beetles join the battle!
It is not just people taking action to control weeds out at the Heads. We have two new weapons in our local arsenal. The first is the woolly nightshade lace bug (Gargaphia decoris). This biocontrol agent was released at two sites in the Heads early last year and has just been found at a new […]
Why your backyard matters
Weeds are sneaky. They start off unassuming, a small seedling, a single tree, an isolated vine. At these early stages it’s often hard to even notice them, let alone recognise the potential for destruction that they can wreak. They don’t seem to be doing much, or going anywhere. It is often not until weeds have […]
Reed Sweet Grass
Special Disposal notes: Seed and rhizome fragments spread by flowing water. Contaminated diggers, livestock, soil movement, dumped vegetation, eel nets, boats and trailers all spread seed and rhizome fragments into new catchments, pasture, and drains. Remove by hand or machine dig, including all roots, rhizome fragments and dispose of at refuse transfer station, dry out […]
Hawthorn
Dig out small plants. Leave on site to rot down. Cut stump application: Cut down low and treat stump with (5g metsulfuron/1L water), or (50ml triclopyr/1L water), or (250ml Tordon Brushkiller®/1L water) Frill and fill: Cut deep notchs into the sapwood at 10cm intervals around the base of the tree, taking care not to ring-bark […]
Coral tree (also known as flame tree)
Special disposal notes: Sterile hybrid so sets no seed, but all stems root upon contact with ground, forming dense stands. Kill standing where possible, dispose of cut material to landfill, or mulch finely. How to Control: Frill and fill: cut a notch every 10 cm around the stem diameter, then fill or saturate each cut […]
Pampas
How to Control: Grub out seedlings and small plants. Remove large plants with digger. Compost or leave on site to rot down. Burn or bury flowerheads. Weed wipe all year round (200ml glyphosate + 2ml penetrant/1L water). Spray (summer-autumn is best) with (150ml haloxyfop (selective) + 50ml crop oil/10L water). Spray (summer-autumn is best) dense […]
Kikuyu
How to Control: Weedmat very small discrete spots for 2-3 months. Limited effectiveness, only really applicable around plantings as a suppression method. Does not prevent reinvasion. Spray new growth (spring & autumn) with (60ml haloxyfop + 50ml crop oil/10L water). Haloxyfop is selective for grass species. At a minimum, a second follow up spray essential […]