A dozen volunteers from Greater Clifton - mostly Community Representatives of Fairfax Tree Rescuers PRISM - gathered on January 3 for the first official Clifton Tree Rescuers event. One of us had Asian Wisteria growing in the woods behind her house, where several tall trees were burdened by thick, twisting vines, and a tangle of shrub-like Wisteria sprouts were coming up in the understory between the trees. Wisteria apparently grows like a spreading shrub until it can find a tree to support its vertical growth.
We all paired off, with one person cutting or sawing the vines and the other person dabbing the cut stumps with concentrated herbicide using a Buckthorn Blaster, which is basically a bingo dauber with a bottle that is made of more sturdy plastic. All the trees were freed of their vines, and a good start was made on the sprouts. The homeowner will need to tackle any resprouts for several years, but eventually it should be possible to eradicate it. In the meantime, the trees have been spared an untimely death.
The weather was cold, which made the work easier, and everyone had a great time. We plan to get together twice a month on weekends, moving around Clifton to work on vine infestations in the parks and the roadside rights of way, teaming up with volunteers in HOAs on their common land, and even going door-to-door to offer help to individual landowners. We are putting out the word via NextDoor, Facebook, the Clifton Betterment Association email list, and MeetUp.
We are particularly targeting Asian Wisteria, a terrible invasive that tears the limbs off trees, snaps off their tops, and strangles them. Kudzu is another priority, though luckily we have only spotted it in two locations so far in Clifton. The more common tree-killers such as English Ivy and Oriental Bittersweet also have to go, and we feel confident that over time, given enough volunteers, we have a good chance of getting the situation under control and saving our trees. We invite everyone to check the calendar on the Fairfax Tree Rescuers PRISM website and join us at these events.