Managing lantana for regeneration
Submitted By: sgraham
Location: Shoalhaven, NSW
Land Type: Rural Retreat
Affected by Severe Weather?: Cyclone
What weed/s are you managing?
Lantana
What is your weed management strategy?
Spraying, alongside selective cutting and poisoning
What have you learnt about managing weeds this way?
ImpactOnLand
What have been the benefits and drawbacks?
When I first started dealing with Lantana it would take me up to 4 months to get rid of a clump of it. Now I can break the back of a clump in 10 or 15 minutes. Before, I was just cutting it back and grubbing out the stumps. I didn’t have any spray equipment back then. It was very labour intensive and not very successful. It got a bit demoralising. I should have sprayed it initially. A weeds officer showed us how to deal with it and after that, it became more manageable. Once the clump is substantially dead from the spraying you can go in and cut and poison the base of any plant that has survived the spraying. I’ve found that working with weeds officers and the like is very helpful. They can come in and spray the worst areas of lantana and then I can get in and do some selective spraying, cutting, or poisoning. Without that sort of help, I would never have achieved the results I now have. They can also give advice and information about spraying and other weed management topics. I’ve found that if you show a genuine interest in trying to improve the state of your land and get rid of weeds, the council will try and help you as much as they can within their capacity. What I’ve learned is that if you don’t keep on top of it, you’re wasting your time. It’s really important to go back repeatedly after you spray the first time. That way you can keep it under control. You’ll never completely solve the problem; it’s there forever until everyone in the valley works on removing it. Birds eat the seeds and drop them everywhere. I also learned quite quickly that you can’t expect things to change overnight. You’ve got to learn to live with weeds, accept they’re there, and just try and improve the place slowly. Whenever I walk around the property I make sure I have a pair of gloves and hand-pull any seedlings that have taken root.
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