|
|
Community Cuts in Mid-Vancouver Island click here.
May 20, Parksville. CTV Bruce Williams will be filming a segment for "I Love This Island."
They have confirmed they will be there between 9:30-10:00. Hope you can come! Meet at
the ESSO Station in front of entrance to Rathtrevor park at 9:30 - and then move towards the resort end of town.
See details of events taking place in Oceanside, Nanaimo, Comox Valley and more.
Including:
Parksville Island Hwy on Mon, May 20. 9:30-12:00.
Nanaimo on Friday, May 17 at Serauxman Field 10-12:00.
Details for Nanaimo Invasive Plant Month: www.nanaimo.ca/goto/invasives
Courtenay: Sat May 15 at Hawkins Road. Sat May 18 at Royston Wrecks.
A hearty welcome to Campbell River and the Rotary Clubs across Vancouver Island!
Click here to see past events of 2012.
|
 Use bypass loppers to cut
at ground level. You may
have to move grass aside
to get low enough.
Cut the Bloomin' Broom! |
Broombusters has been reclaiming & transforming the landscape
of mid-Vancouver Island since 2006, for the sake of native
plants & animals, farms, good health & safety, and for
tomorrow's forests and future generations.
* NOTICE: The Ministry of Transportation will no longer pick up
piles of broom you leave on the road. Click here for details.
The following documents tell you everything you need to know:
Information about Scotch Broom
What to do about Scotch Broom
Handouts for Clubs, Parades, Neighbors
View them, download them, print them, share them.
Spread the word - not the broom! |
|
View Dozens of Great Photos... Broombusters Volunteers 2012: 1 2 3
Broombusters Volunteers in action 2010-11: 1 2 3
To give or receive information, please email us at info@broombusters.org
|
Photo thanks to Parksville
Qualicum Aeroclub. Flying-Paul Connors;
Photo-Doug Montieth.
This
photo was taken along the BC Hydro powerlines inland
from Parksville.
Broom can reach higher than 15 feet,
growing faster than the trees,
thwarting their growth or strangling them.
WHY
CUT SCOTCH BROOM? Read this: Information About Broom Also click here.
HOW
TO CUT SCOTCH BROOM - Read this: What
to do About Broom Also click here. And read below.
|
Listen
to Broombusters Radio Spots
30 sec radio
spot: An interview with Captain Grant
who brought 3 Broom Seeds to Vancouver Island, 1850
10 Second
Spot: Captain Walter Grant
10
Second Spot:
The Captain with guest appearance - maybe a mermaid.
|
KSS High School Volunteers
|
Volunteers from Germany & Japan!
|
A cheerful broom buster in Sooke! |
|
Springwood Middle
School Parksville
Dominic Rogers - Errington
|
HOW
TO CUT BROOM IN BLOOM:
It's easy. Use loppers. When
broom is in bloom (or just before) cut broom down to or
below the ground level.
We repeat!! If at all possible, cut at ground level or below the crown. If the
broom is so large that you cannot cut it at ground level,
cut off all the managable branches that you can cut with
your tool (loppers or saw.) Large broom plants die easily. The most difficult broom to cut is broom that has been mowed and has multiple stalks, or which is growing in gravel along railroad tracks or roads. Do the best you can... cut the rest and then come back. At least cut off the yellow flowers so there are no more seeds.
Why does this work? The plant has just put all of its energy
into producing flowers. If cut while in bloom, the plant
will be exposed to summer’s dry heat; the drought-stressed
broom will usually die. If you see the plants resprouting
later, cut again or remove sprouts. Do not pull up large
plants or disturb soil when soil is dry, as that encourages
the sprouting of new seeds.
• First, go after single plants, pioneers
& small infestation to prevent its spread.
• If the broom is small and not blooming, you can
pull it out, or return and cut it next year when it blooms.
• Don't let the broom make more seed! Cut off all
the yellow flowers before seedpods form. Then you can cut it later when you have
more time.
• Don't spread the seeds. Once the small green seed
pods have appeared, the seed pods will ripen even after
the broom is cut. So if there are seeds, do not move the
plants, as the movement could spread the seeds. You can
cut the broom and let it lie in many areas, or throw a few
broom off into the brush. Or pile on top of itself to burn
in the proper season.
|
|
|
| What
can we do about the spread of Scotch Broom? |
|
• CUT BROOM IN BLOOM (April - Early June) Cut before the flowers turn into seeds. Cut all the way to the ground, or just below the ground. Pull out
young ones.
• ELIMINATE NEW INFESTATIONS. When you see
a light / new infestation of scotch broom, along the highway, paths
& fields, take the time to cut it down. At least cut down the
flowering branches. Aim to eliminate the spread. This is a "first
aid" strategy, but it is the most important place to start.
• CUT DOWN ALL YELLOW FLOWERS so that they
can not turn into seeds. Each scotch broom plant can produce 2,000
to 3,500 seed pods - which burst open in July & August, shooting
seeds into adjacent soil. If you cut the flowers while in bloom
- no seeds!
•
TALK to neighbors and representatives. No one can solve
this problem alone. Make an effort to make your road or neighborhood
broom free. IT CAN BE DONE!
|
Broombusters
Community Action Plan. Where do you fit in?
• Broombusters - the Two Hour a Year Club. If everyone cut broom for 2 hours a year, we would have no problem! It’s amazing what
you can do in two hours. Just go walking down any road that you
love, with loppers in hand. Have fun, and thank you for participating!
Cut your own property, or the road you live on, or help your neighbors.
• Community Cuts - Between late April & June, there are scheduled
community cuts from Nanaimo to Campbell River. Everyone is welcome.
• Road Guardians - Choose a little piece of a road - and keep it clear of
broom. Everything helps. If lots of people pick up pieces, whole
roads will become clear!
• Rovers - Broombusting is addictive. It’s easy, fun and the
rewards are immediate. It’s amazing how much you and
some loppers can do in an hour or two. Huge bushes fall with a
single cut! So, avid Broombusters become Rovers.
•
Broom Brownies - What a great surprise to drive down a road see that
someone has been cutting broom there - and we'll never know who
it was! Blessings on the Broom Brownies!
•
Cut Anytime Roads - The people and govt of a town, city or district may decide to clear a particular road or neighborhood that year. People who have been trained and signed waivers can then go out and cut on that road whenever they have time - from late April until the seed pods form. The pick up or chip up of the cut broom must be arranged IN ADVANCE. The broom can be stacked in piles close to the shoulder - not on the road. You must have
permission to start cutting. Cut Anytime Roads are a great way to clear huge amounts of broom! Your help is greatly appreciated.
|
|
The
Broom Life Cycle - Why
April through June is the best time for broom removal and what
to do the rest of the year.
To stop
the spread of an invasive species, we need to understand its life
cycle. The roots of the broom plant are weakest when it is flowering
- so that is when we want to cut it down. If we
wait, and cut the broom after the seed pods are brown and mature,
the seed pods will explode and spread all over (July - August.)
Spreading the seeds will only worsen the problem. Immature seed
pods can ripen on a broom plant even after the plant has been cut.
Therefore, broom removal is recommended in April, May and early
June - when the flowers are in full bloom, and before the seed pods
have begun to form. The plants are also easy to see and identify
at that time. At that time, it is also harmless to chip the plants
- the ideal way to get rid of Scotch broom.
If you want to cut broom after seed pods are formed or forming,
you can no longer chip the cut plant because of the danger of spreading
the seeds. The best thing to do is to pile it on top of itself in
an already infested area. You can chip it in that infested area.
If that is not possible, you may need to wait until the rainy season
when it is safe to burn the branches. The infested area will need
to be monitored for new plants. Replant! Broom will not grow in
dense shade. As long as you alway cut yellow blooming broom each
year, eventually you will get rid of it. Stay with it!
If cut during wet seasons (Dec -
April), respouting is likely. You will need to cut again in spring. In the wet season,
you can use a woody weed removal tool . How
to Cut Broom. |
 |
“The First step of successful
management will be to prevent the establishment of invasive
species in (new areas.)”
“Scotch broom should be removed in spring before
its seed pods begin to open. Removal at this time will
stop the addition of new seeds to the soil and may have the
advantage of killing drought-stressed plants. Broom cut during
wetter months can survive to resprout next season. If the soil
is moist and stems are small, broom plants can be easily pulled
from the ground by hand. Larger plants should be cut below the
root crown.”
Recommendations
from the BC Ministry of Environment, Lands
and Parks: |
| Scotch broom is an aien invasive plant taking over huge areas of the Pacific Northwest and worldwide. Broom spreads rapidly and densely, chokes out native species, and prevents reforestation. It is a fire hazard & toxic to animals and the soil. Broom takes over fields, pastures, meadows and farms. A single plant can produce 18,000 seeds that last in the soil for 50 years. Broom seriously harms forestry, farming, tourism, our ecosystem & our health. Broombusters is dedicated to controlling the spread of this alien invasive plant, to protect our native plants, farms, forests and future. You can help! |
|
Scotch
Broom costs Oregon $47 million or more
“Some people may look at the golden hillsides resulting
from Scotch broom and think it’s a pretty wildflower that
belongs here. That’s the farthest thing from the truth.
Scotch broom costs the state of Oregon about $47 million each
year by its impact on natural resources, particularly on timber
production.” Oregon Dept of Agriculture
"Scotch Broom invades rangelands, replacing forage plants,
and is a serious competitor to conifer seedlings; Douglas fir
plantation failures in Oregon and Washington have been credited
to infestations of this plant."
Read more from
Ministries of Forests, Agriculture, Environment, & Parks.
Broombusters
is a registered non-profit society - Broombusters Invasive
Plant
Society. If you would like to become a member, please do!
Donations
are always welcome and used wisely.
Gorse - that prickly cousin of Scotch Broom - is worse than broom.
Here are two recommended sites.
|
|
