himalayan balsam is a good mulch?

 


hi, I am working on a 1 1/2 acre site in the calder valley near hebden
bridge.
It is a steep c30 degrees, wooded slope, south facing. I thinned
out the tree
cover and cut back the nettles, briars etc in the autumn.
Now there is an
abundance of himalayan balsam which out-competes
everything, but is simple to
pull out and leaves a nice friable soil
beneath. I haven't decided what to plant
where yet but is there any harm
in leaving it til I decide? which may be the
spring.    thanks




--
blobbum

 

On Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:52:07 +0000, blobbum


Himalayan balsam is extremely invasive - it seeds like mad. Each plant
can produce about 800 seeds and around August the seed pods explode
shootiong the seeds up to 7 metres away. If the plant has already set
seed, the pods can explode when you touch them!  If you're pulling the
plants up, you need to do this before they start to set seed (so very
quickly now!). If they have set seed then carefully cover the head of
the plant with a bag and then snap the head off insude the bag to
contain the seed.

Jake

 


I have never seen a location in which Himalayan balsam has been
out-competing everything else, despite the frequent claims that it
does so.  The same remark applies to Buddleia davidii.  I suspect
that both claims are propaganda.

Both are, however, extremely invasive and can be dominant.  Neither
are the same thing.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

 

On 23/07/2010 10:34, nmm1@cam.ac.uk wrote:

So long as you don't ever let it set seed then should be OK.

I have never seen B. davidii make anything like such a nuisance of
itself as Himalayan balsam. The latter is incredibly invasive with
copious quantities of seeds spread by explosive pods and quickly covers
undisturbed ground along streams and becksides here in North Yorkshire
rendering some waterside local paths impassable if they are not walked
often enough.

It seems to require heavy soil with partial shade and a damp riverside
setting to become a total pest and wipe out almost everything else. Most
places there are a few other pernicious weeds like bramble and nettles
that will grow strongly enough to hold their own against balsam.

Rare slow growing waterside species just get wiped out though.

I doubt if it is much trouble on dry sandy soils like in Cambridge.

Regards,
Martin Brown

 
I have, but not in the UK.


Grrk.  Those don't do well in continually damp, shaded conditions,
which is where I have most often seen Himalayan balsam dominate.


Not that I have seen.  It is possible that it may do that in SUNNY,
continually damp conditions, because I haven't often seen those
conditions together with Himalayan balsam.  But, under shade, it
doesn't seem particularly pernicious.


I am allowed out, you know :-)  Also, a lot of the Cambridge area
is on other soils, including clay.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.