I always thought autumn olive is invasive trees and I cut them down. We have quite a few of them popping up in the woods. But it is also a beneficial tree too.
I cut a large autumn olive tree and did not spray Round-up. Now it has been coppiced and sent out a lot of new branches. I’m going to leave it like that for next season. Hope deer can munch on this autumn olive tree instead of my other tree seedlings.
i just planted 3 named cultivars of A.O around my chicken run as well as 2 siberian pea shrubs. hopefully between the 2 types of trees they will improve my girls health and cut my feed costs. im thinking being close to the run they will grow like crazy soi plan to cut and drop in there run to feed them and control the bushes. we dont get as hot here but these bushes will give shade in the summer and protect from the cold winds in the winter.
That tree is mostly in shade. The new growth would be very robust if it is in full son. That article on managing pasture really opens my eyes.
I am sorry to be Debbie downer, but here (southern Michigan) any unmowed area will be covered in autumn olive or Russian olive in one season. I am constantly battling that plant. They sprout next to tree trunks where you can’t mow and grow aggressively. My great grandfather planted them here when they were promoted by the state. I don’t hate much, but I hate olives. I could go on and on about olives and how invasive they are, like kudzu of the north (on my property). I’ve been removing giant brush piles of olive every winter for 5 years and still have a long way to go. I like brushy wildlife areas, but I’d rather have natives, not the impenetrable jungle of olives.
mine will have lawn surrounding them so shouldnt get out of control. the ones i planted were 6in.rooted cuttings i got from fruitwood nursery. how big do A.O need to be to fruit and how long before they get to that size? never seen any in Maine but ive heard they are in the southern part of the state. i tried growing a few cuttings of wild ones someone gave me about 4 yrs ago. 1 took but kept getting froze back to the snowline so i took it out. was told they get more cold hardy as they age so im going to keep these in for more than a few years and see if they make it.
Yes, I agree in some area, they have caused problems. That wooded area of mine is one acre. I had about a dozen. I removed most of them. But sometimes I forgot to put on round-up.
There is also a vacant land near me. It is about 20 acres. It was farmed about two season several years ago. Right now, it looks more like a meadow with all the 4’ tall grasses. Yes, there are some autumn olives and other shrubs. If the field is mowed once in a couple of year, the woody plants should be under control.
It doesn’t take them long to fruit, but I couldn’t give you a specific time frame. The berries get eaten so quick here, I rarely notice them. I just want to warn people that they can be VERY invasive/prolific in certain areas. It looks like they are established in most states, so it’s not like you are introducing a new species. I also can’t stand mulberry because it seeds itself aggressively on my property, but others on this site love mulberry. Maybe I’m just a curmudgeon! Crab apples seed themselves like mad here, but I can graft them over so I don’t complain about them.
I have been reluctant to grow mulberries. But since many people grow them and they still sell for great $, I feel I miss something. The same with crab apples. I’ll be happy to grow some edible crab apples for eating and wild life. Vine honeysuckle is another controversy. When I remove them from my trees, I feel I’d miss its wonderful smells. But it is good that there is still plenty in conservation land.
In my area, the problem plants are multiflora rose, vine honeysuckle, bush honeysuckle, wild grape vines, Eastern Red Cedar (juniperus virginiana), autumn olive, barberry etc. I have to keep removing seedlings, mainly red cedar, black cherry, multiflora rose and red oak…
Its funny. I’m also in Southeast Michigan and Autumn Olive has been exceptionally well behaved for me. I’ve got 3 plants along with a goumi and I’ve yet to have an unwanted seedling (I have planted a couple to see what I get with a yellow fruited crossed with a red, but haven’t yet gotten from those couple).
Russian Olive, those are a pain.
All gardening is local they say…
Scott
Mulberries…
Love the fruit, love the cultivars… Hate the seedlings
I’m sure many of the seedlings in my yard at this point are due to my own trees, but there have to be at least 20 bird planted mulberries in my neighborhood which predate my own presence in this neighborhood. Only one of these is worthwhile and I think the owner of that particular one took it down this past summer…
Scott
id guess how well something grows is related to how fertile your soil is. ours is heavy rocky clay in most areas so some plants/ trees struggle to grow in this. maybe thats why plants that are invasive for you folks just arent here. our cool wet, short summers are another limiting factor.
