Weed Alert!
We are fortunate in Fern Tree to have the Mountain at our back door. However as neighbours of kunanyi / Mt Wellington we need to take responsibility for garden plants that may spread into the bush by birds, wind and soil movement.
Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea
Below is a list of garden plants that are already growing as weeds in kunanyi / Wellington Park. These plants do present a real threat to the health and habitat values of the native forest around us, so if they grow in your garden, please consider removing them. Bushcare volunteers spend hundreds of hours every year controlling these garden escapes in the bush, and we have limited resources.
In approximate order from most often found in the bush, to least often. Declared (and recently declared) weeds are marked with an asterix*. This list is not conclusive.
- Holly Ilex aquifolium see below for details on Holly
- Daphne laurel Daphne laureola see below for details on Daphne
- Foxglove Digitalis purpurea see below for details on Foxglove
- Karamu Coprosma robusta
- Darwin’s barberry Berberis darwinii
- Spanish Heath Erica lustianica
- Cotoneaster species
- Radiata pine Pinus radiata
- Himalayan honeysuckle Leycesteria formosa
- Elderberry Sambucus gaudichaudiana
- Blackberry Rubus fruticosus
- Rowan Sorbus acuparia
- Sycamore maple Acer pseudoplatanus
- Orange hawkweed Hieracium aurantiacum
- Hemlock Conium maculatum
- Canary broom Genista monspessulana
- English broom Cytissus scoparius
- Rosemary grevillea Grevillea rosemarinifolia
- Cherry laurel Prunus laurocerasus
- Tree lomatia Lomatia fraseri
- Blue periwinkle Vinca major
- English ivy Hedera helix
- Grevillea Grevillea rosmarinifolia
- Pittosporum species Pittosporum eugeniodes, tenuifolium
Most of these weeds can be controlled with a cut and paint application of glyphosate, as described in the Fern Tree Weed Booklet. Some information on weed control is available on the Department of Primary Industries webpage