Bracken.....in woodlands

[doddie82]

I am starting to clear some small areas of bracken and wondered what would be the best method of removal... Pulling it up or slashing it?

 

Do not want to spray.

 

Any other idea's?

[muldonach]

I am starting to clear some small areas of bracken and wondered what would be the best method of removal... Pulling it up or slashing it?

 

Do not want to spray.

 

Any other idea's?

 

If you don't want to spray and the area is too small to justify a bracken breaker then use a scythe or brushcutter - however you need to cut twice in a season and you will need to cut for several years before you make much impression and even then you are simply pushing it back a bit - if you stop the maintenance then the bracken will recolonise.

[spandit]

I'm told crushing it is better than cutting, but within a woodland getting machinery in could be a problem.

 

That said, cutting it down and covering the area with carpet and mulch should weaken it. I'm planning on doing something similar with a sort of seed tray that I can plant other species in, which will hopefully take over

[matelot]

how many acres are you talking about? what do you want to do with the land? if you want to turn it into woodland why not plant some trees and remove the bracken around the tree until they are above the bracken? you can also plant trees like beech which are shade tolerant.

 

my dad owns about 25 acres of the thickest bracken you can imagine. cutting it down by hand is a fairly thankless task (and as others say it recolonizes). I'm planting trees on it and removing the bracken by scythe/pulling.

[openspaceman]

I'm told crushing it is better than cutting, but within a woodland getting machinery in could be a problem.

 

That said, cutting it down and covering the area with carpet and mulch should weaken it. I'm planning on doing something similar with a sort of seed tray that I can plant other species in, which will hopefully take over

 

Prior to FEPA we would "incremental drift" spray large infestations late July prior to planting and then follow up with knapsack spray, once basically established we would leave the trees to get on even if there was a loss of increment from the competition. Softwood crops like tsuga would eventually smother it after 20 years or so.

 

For a very brief period a formulation of dicamba was approved for bracken control, It's use was particularly suited to the wide spacings we started using with broadleaves in Tuley Tubes following the BWGS of around 1986. What made it appealing was it could be applied as a solid stream between the planting rows as the planting was done and worked on the principle it leached downward till it was absorbed by rhizomes, it killed virtually any root it touched but bracken was the only weed with an extensive root network so most other weeds were only affected directly adjacent to the line of spray. It again needed follow up but often allowed the plants in shelters to get away with no further treatment as the bracken regrowth was etiolated and sparse for a couple of seasons

 

Bracken seems compatible with conserving bluebells!

 

After 1986 I stopped using herbicide and looked at rolling and crushing but events dictated a move away from establishment and to harvesting windblow which I foolishly stuck with. However I did notice that bracken infested rides which we drove down would return to grass for a season or so before they were reinvaded, I would try and drive over the whole ride with my tyre print just to see the effect.

 

What would be interesting would be a small vineyard tractor with front wheels set out and rear wheels tracking inside pulling a small roll on the linkage to run between the rows but I think reserves in the rhizomes mean that bracken will not be killed only weakened by these cultural methods.

[cornish wood burner]

I have probably just under an acre that had waist high bracken and 6 ft of brambles a few years ago I wanted to control the weeds and plant saplings. I have bought an old Westwood ride on mower and cut about every 4 weeks. No sign of brambles or bracken now. If you keep it cut both get weaker as time goes on. Luckily my ground is fairly smooth so the ride on is quick and easy, but if you can cut regularly by some means then that should do what you want.

[Joy Yeomans]

I have probably just under an acre that had waist high bracken and 6 ft of brambles a few years ago I wanted to control the weeds and plant saplings. I have bought an old Westwood ride on mower and cut about every 4 weeks. No sign of brambles or bracken now. If you keep it cut both get weaker as time goes on. Luckily my ground is fairly smooth so the ride on is quick and easy, but if you can cut regularly by some means then that should do what you want.

 

I would second this. continual cutting is the best method. when at college years ago we had this method for couch grass yes it takes a year or two to weaken the rhizomes but it will work with perseverance

[Caleb]

Bracken brusiers work really well it takes a few years of rolling before it will kill it off.

You want to be rolling it now and then at least once more later in the season.

Bracken brusier, landbase sell them lots of different sizes, worth looking in to.

[Stubby]

Crush or keep cutting . just be relentless in what ever method you employ and eventually it will give up .

[Billy68]

Find yourself a man with a horse and a bracken basher