Palms and weeds - big ones! (No, not the palms!)

[bgl]

An inevitable aspect of living in the rain forest is that the weeds will always outgrow ANYTHING you may have planted. By a significant margin. I bought my two acres a bit more than four years ago, and had it partially cleared with a D8 bulldozer at the time. Left almost all the large ohi'a (Metrosideros polymorpha) trees intact. A side note - unfortunately many of these mature ohi'a trees are now dying. Not just on my property but all over Leilani Estates. Recent findings have concluded that a fungus is causing these mass deaths, which are very rapid. A large tree will go from having 100% green leaves to all brown in a couple of months. It's referred to R.O.D. (Rapid Ohi'a Death). Anyway, obviously planted a bunch of palms, and these have all done well. Out of necessity (well, sort of! ), I decided to concentrate on certain areas and the result has been some VERY tall weeds on other parts of the property. Finally called up Doyle Green, our local Backhoe Maestro here in Leilani Estates. Doyle has done lots of work for me in the past and he is VERY good at what he does. So, he came over with his backhoe yesterday morning and 2.5 hours later this place looked VERY different in places. I'm going to post before and after photos but because of a recent computer crash I have photos on different computers, so be patient please. Some posts will not have all the photos posted at the same time.

This is a group of Clinostigma savoryanum, planted in March 2011 (and the first photo was taken, from the street, at that time). 18 months later I had 35-40 ft tall weed trees on the mound in the background. Chainsawed them all to oblivion. Well almost - the roots remained. And yep, everything grew up again, except now they're up to 60-70 ft. Which is why I called Doyle. Second photo, also from the street but from a slightly different angle, shows Doyle getting ready to attack the weed trees. The brown pole just to the left of the backhoe is the same as the one in the first photo. The third photo, again from the street, shows the group of Clinostigmas as of today. Sorry about the smaller weeds in front!

[bgl]

It's going to take a little while between posts (and there will be a few in this thread) because I also have a new software program for my photos, so it takes a bit longer for me to find what I'm looking for. Anyway, the view from the opposite direction. The palm is a Dypsis sp. Jurassic Park. Before and after - about 80 minutes apart.

[bgl]

And yet another before and after - the "Jurassic Park" is visible in the distance in the first photo. (Second photo taken today).

[bgl]

Well, this sure looks like a lot of fun!

[bgl]

Watching Doyle work is always fun! And seeing the weed trees beat the dust in quick succession - priceless!

[bgl]

After Doyle had eliminated the last of the tall weed trees I asked him to move over to the opposite side of the property. Still close to the street, and no large weed trees here, just smaller, but still very annoying ones. Before and after and it took him all but 20 minutes to get this done. You can even see my Clinostigmas now! And to celebrate, what could be better than plant some palms? So, planted three Voanioala gerardii in this area earlier today. Let's just say that the days when I plant three Voanioalas are few and far between!

[bgl]

And amazingly, we still have time for more. When Doyle arrived at 9:30 he made it clear he could only work till 12 noon. So, 2.5 hours. Final project - open up an area across the driveway from my house, and he was able to make a bit of a difference here as well. There's a small Dypsis on the right in both photos for (not so easy) reference. Photos taken 30 minutes apart.

[bgl]

We're not quite done with the weeds, though! (Well, actually, we're NEVER done with the weeds... ). A couple of years ago I built a red cinder trail through my little Ohi'a forest. Unfortunately, part of it ended up getting slightly overgrown... First photo, taken two days ago. Second photo today after I had cleared it out enough so that I can actually WALK on it! Clearing the sides is next. These are Clinostigma samoense and they are fortunately just plain happy, no matter what!

[bgl]

I think we need to shoot for something of higher entertainment value than large weeds! Right around the "corner" from the trail in the post above is this massive horizontal Ohi'a tree. Fell during Storm Iselle back in August 2014 and wiped out my power lines (visible in the photo). I am busy cutting I up into manageable pieces now. This stuff is HEAVY!

[bgl]

Ah...falling trees - always exciting - as long as they fall in the proper direction! This 80 ft tall Ohi'a fell on Valentine's Day, just a week and a half ago, during the very high winds we had that day. The "horizontal Ohi'a" is visible on the right. Oh, and we even have some palms here! Dypsis robusta on the right and a smaller mystery Dypsis to the left of the rootball. If this tree had fallen towards the power lines it would have totally wiped them out. Not that it would have made much of a difference. The top 20 ft of another 80 ft tall Ohi'a closer to the house fell down and wiped out the lines there. No power for 4 days!

[mike in kurtistown]

Bo, you're one Hawaiian resident who has had properties with both rock amended with black cinder and perhaps other materials, and (now) a soils environment. How would you characterize the difference in weedy growth? Also, do you believe in the use of herbicides such as glyphosate (Roundup)?

[bgl]

Right, we need more palms in this thread! Just getting to that... A group of Carpoxylon macrospermum.

[bgl]

Mike, my experience has been slightly different in the two Leilani gardens. In the first garden here, which is the one that Karolyn (KPL) now has, I was doing more of a gradual clearing over several years, which means you have better "control" since you're working with smaller areas. Here on my two acres I cleared a substantial part right away since you can't have a D8 drop by any time you feel like it! The result was a large open area close to the street, and because it was so open, the taller weed trees really took off. I should have kept them under control from early on, and will do that from now on. I am not opposed to using Roundup (or equivalent) but it's not my first choice. In other words, I use it sparingly when I feel it's the best alternative. My first choices are weed whacking and simply pulling them up manually, and I do a LOT of that! In the photo where I opened up the forest trail (with the C. samoense), that's all going to be done manually. My preference is not to use Roundup on larger weeds because I still need to get rid of them. So, to answer your question - I don't believe the soil has much to do with how aggressive various weeds are. Access to sunlight and rain is what counts. You open up a large area and leave it open, and there WILL be tall weeds.

[bgl]

OK, more palm photos! I have seven Tahina spectabilis in the ground. These were all germinated back in spring of 2008 from the first significant Tahina seed batch that became available through Rare Palm Seeds. This is the tallest of the seven - about ten ft tall as of now.

[bgl]

And to the right of the Tahina (and partly visible in the photo above) a handful of Pinanga javana.

[bgl]

OK, going to squeeze in just one more weed photo and this is a bad one: Miconia calvescens, introduced on the Big Island some 50 years ago and now considered very invasive. Leilani Esttes even had a special Miconia Eradication Team for many years. I understand Miconia has devastated most of the main island in Tahiti. This particular individual is facing a death sentence. To be carried out as soon as I decide to climb down into that little canyon!

[bgl]

Marojejya darianii, a large one up on top and a few smaller ones below and on the left. Bromeliads are Alcantareas.

[bgl]

Calyptrocalyx are great and love it in the rain forest environment here. A couple of C. pachystachys.

[bgl]

I have nine or ten Calyptrocalyx albertisianus in this area, and sometimes a few of them open up a new red frond at the same time. Only one red frond in this photo, though.

[bgl]

Pinanga sp. Langer (purchased from Floribunda).

[bgl]

I have about a dozen Dictyocaryum lamarckianum in the ground and they are just now getting to the point where they will begin to show more color. Some, but not all, are visible in this photo.

[bgl]

And this would be a sad thread without a couple of Bentinckia condapanna photos! Between the two of us, Kim and I have a total of 28 of them along this trail.

[bgl]

And the final photo (for tonight anyway) - three of my many Dypsis. The two on the right are a couple of my smaller D. prestoniana and the one on the left was sold to me as 'Jurassic Park' - but who knows...

[Pando]

[fan palm]

looking great Bo, I can truly understand the ability of weeds to take over in a tropical environment. thank god for heavy machinery I am actually in the middle of clearing some vine and weeds at the back of the block as we speak! giving myself a small break though

[Kennybenjamin]

Awesome thread Bo!! I'm sure the weeds are a pain for you but with them comes great growth on your palms too!! Some great palms there amongst those weed trees!!

[Rafael]

Anywhere the same battle against weeds:D

Btw, incredible pics, what an excelent work you and Kim have done! Congratulations Bo, for your impressive palm paradise

[bgl]

Thanks everybody for your comments! Yeah, the weeds are a major nuisance, but it also gives me a lot of satisfaction when I can make a major dent somewhere on the property - get rids of lots of them in a day or two and really see the difference. With Doyle opening up a number of areas I now all of a sudden have lots of choices where to plant stuff! Always fun! That was money well spent!

[Palmdude]

Amazing Bo!

[Kim]

I can see you are having lots of fun with the big toys in the garden. Many might look at the result and think "what a mess!" But that's simply a lack of imagination. Downing all those weed trees opens tremendous opportunities for planting palms, and with the rate of growth we get in East Hawaii, before long it will look like palm paradise. :greenthumb: The Voanioala were a nice choice!

[Pedro 65]

Bo, your thread "really shows" that gardening on "acreage" is work, work, work to keep a garden "expanding and evolving" , and "Ohhhhh" that amazing feeling you get when after a clean up you see things "much clearer" and where you "can plant" something you couldn't find "the spot" for before

We too have "acres" of weeds to maintain and would I ever sell and move to small suburban block "Never"

Growth, growth, growth you are getting in the Palm dept along with the "tons" of Broms. On an even more positive note Bo, your "out in the open" Dictyocaryum's are going to be "great advertising" for Dictyocaryum lamarckianum which are proving to be "much hardier" and no longer a mystery than once thought.

Bo, your largest Tahina is "Huge", and Im glad to see yours go's yellow too which is quickly fixed by "lots" of dolomite/lime and a little chook manure

Keep enjoying, the good life on "acreage"

Pete

[realarch]

Oh yeah, BIG difference. A couple of months ago, the last time I was there, the weeds were really healthy and out growing everything.

So nice to just bulldoze those buggers and clean it up. Thanks for the 'before and after' photos.

Not possible for a D8 here, although we've got the weeds are pretty well under control.

Tim

[bgl]

Thanks everybody for all your comments! They're both entertaining and practical!

Kim, "lack of imagination" - well, imagining what can be done in this rain forest paradise is definitely a big part of the fun! And you've certainly shown that over at your place! "Then and now" photos are nothing short of incredible. (Hint hint... )

Pete, "work work work", nope, not familiar with that! It's all "fun fun fun" and that's a serious comment! I'm out in the garden every single day, and I don't see any of it as "work". Having the opportunity to create a tropical garden, as you very well know, is beyond exciting - still, after all these years here in Leilani Estates (20 years in a few months). And dolomite on my Tahinas - thanks! Great idea and I'll take care of that first thing tomorrow morning.

And Tim, "healthy weeds", yeah, I'm afraid there's still a bunch of them but at least I got rid of the ones that were pushing 60 ft in height! And talking about the D8 made me go back and look at the photos I took in Dec 2010 when I had the D8 here. Adding a few of those photos in the next post.

Bo-Göran

[bgl]

Just a few photos from December 2010 when I had a D8 here for a couple of weeks to do the initial clearing. Kyle, who happens to live on the same street here, did a great job, and it was very exciting to watch him work and watch the progress over those couple of weeks. These photos really show what an absolute jungle this was. Third photo shows the D8 pretty much where my house now sits. And the fourth photo is taken in almost the identical spot at as the second Condapanna photo in Post #22. All the tall weed trees are on Kim's property, and yeah, they beat the dust a couple of years ago! (And in this photo I'm guessing the back of the D8 is technically on Kim's property. He may even accidentally have pushed down a couple of weed trees - OOPS! )

[cobra2326]

Bo,

Thanks for sharing photos of what looked like a fun but tedious clean-up job! Predictably, I've most enjoyed seeing the Pinangas, especially those P. javana. Of course, everything else looks great too! Keep the photos coming

[Josh-O]

amazing pic's and a great story line to follow

[BS Man about Palms]

So at some point do the weeds slow down??

Its nice to watch others weed..

[bgl]

Jon, Josh and Bill - thanks for your comments! And Bill, about weeds slowing down - hmmm...interesting question. I'm guessing that the tall weed trees would probably slow down once they get up to 70-80 ft. And they will get to that height in just about two years time from a tiny seedling. As far as other weeds go - well, we have all sorts here and some are certainly more persistent and fast growing than others. I'm guessing they all have a maximum height (or spread - some grow horizontally just to make things more interesting! ), but my goal is to get them BEFORE they hit that maximum size. Let's just say it's a constant battle!

Bo-Göran

[Kim]

Once the palms begin to form some canopy, the weeds grow slower in the shade. Persistent removal will also reduce the amount of seed being spread, and fewer weeds will germinate to begin with. Like anywhere else, weeds are a permanent battle that you can never win; it just goes on and on. If you manage to sort of keep them under control, that's a victory.