The Annual Rhodie Bash
Small rhododendron shrubs which can sport flamboyant pink flowers. So why ‘bash’ them?
Today is Stewardship Saturday (Stewsat in Wilderness-speak) - the first Saturday of the month. It is effectively a members’ day, but members can bring a friend, in the hope that they too will catch the bug and come down with Wilderness Syndrome. I caught it 10 years ago and am now attending therapy at the woods on a weekly basis!
Like any good club these monthly gatherings engender a community spirit and a desire to give something back to the wood. Here at Wilderness Wood that contribution is about 3 hours hard labour. No it's not punitive and everyone has a really good lunch afterwards. (Incidentally that was the commercial break, now for the blog).
Saturday 3rd February 2024
After the usual beauty pageant at the start of Stewsat, where task leaders get to explain what fun it is to carry out their particular activity, including bashing Rhododendron pontecum, I attract the four piece band known as the Croxton family and the 5 of us set about removing the 10% of plants which escaped last February’s bash.
Unfortunately Rhododendron pontecum is the invasive weed that keeps on giving. Ideally you pull it out root and all, but failing that, remove any flower buds so that it can't produce millions of seeds to spread new plants around the wood. I visited Brownsea Island a few years ago and it was evident that their problem was on a totally different scale. I suspect some sort of chemical control was used. Fortunately our invasives are restricted to a relatively small area and are modest in stature.
Rhododendron invasion is a gradual process but can be totally overpowering if you don't literally nip it in the bud. Eventually the shrub can match modest trees for height and shading impact. Sunlight is removed from the woodland floor by the dense canopy of evergreen leaves, whilst the plant exudes a growth inhibitor to supress any competition. Woodland flowers and tree saplings are helpless to compete.
But nipping it in the bud is the least effective control measure as we are intent upon ripping it out – root-an-all. However, we can't do much about seeds drifting over from adjacent woodland and people’s gardens, so vigilance and regular removal is vital.
February is an ideal time to hunt the evergreen leaves of this pernicious species since there are virtually no other green leaved shrubs about, so it is easily spotted in a sweet chestnut coppice. Our leaf litter horizon is only an inch or two deep here, with the rhododendron roots rarely penetrating into the sandy-clay subsoil beneath, so pulling is relatively straight forward, although it still requires lots of grunt.
The evergreens of rhododendron shrubs are easily spotted in the browns of February
Where the shrub is most problematic is when it entangles its roots and branches amongst the stool of a coppiced sweet chestnut. When that happens you just remove what you can and return the next year to continue the process. Something eventually gives, but it needs to be over several years. I've been at it 9 years so far, but we are making steady progress thanks to scores of volunteers over that time.
Young Sammy is keen to get stuck in with loppers, whilst his 16 year old brother Jacob appears a little less committed. Half an hour of loppers, pick and spade wielding sees their attitudes reversed. Sammy is frazzled by the energy require, whilst Jacob has risen to the challenge of attacking a worthy adversary with a pick. Ripping out a whole shrub - root and branch - is gloriously satisfying.
What could be more satisfying - rhodie shrub (root and all) removed. One down 100 to go!
After 2 hours of energy-sapping work we have overpowered the last remnants of the 'mother lode' and all we need to do for the final 30 minutes is mop up a few small outliers. By 12.45pm I reckon we have vanquished 90% of the 10% not removed last February. A job well done guys.
Fifteen minutes later we are ladelling soup and ciabatta bread down our throats and there is a wonderful hub-ub in the outdoor kitchen, as new friends are made and each of the groups recounts their war stories. Tasks completed include moving a compost toilet, burying a land drain, planting fruit trees, erecting a balance beam in the play area, splitting wood, gathering kindling, painting chalk-boards, raking wood-chip and making the lunch.
To close proceedings we carry out a wassail - marching, shouting, singing and making as much noise as possible, down to the Upper Paddock where 4 fruit trees have been planted. Here Jake scatters cider around the tree routes, whilst Kate recites a wassail poem. It is both spiritual and grounding in equal measure. What a way to spend a Fedruary morning!
The Wassail to the new Upper Paddock Orchard where local varieties of fruit tree were planted
David Horne