A fast-growing tree called Tree-of-heaven has made an appearance in Ashcroft, and the Village is taking steps to nip the noxious plant in the bud.
The Village was invited to a Thompson-Nicola Regional District-sponsored invasive weed workshop in July, and participants were encouraged to bring samples of any plants they wanted more information about. A member of the Village crew who attended was asked to take a sample of the Tree-of-heaven, which for the moment is mainly confined to North Ashcroft, and is especially noticeable beside the Tingley Street apartments, where it has sprung up within the last year.
“It may be called Tree-of-heaven, but we were told that it should be called the Tree from Hell,” says Ashcroft Chief Administrative Officer Michelle Allen.
“It’s not yet on the invasive species list, but the powers-that-be are going through the process of having it recognized as invasive. It’s a lengthy process.”
The Tree-of-heaven—which is believed to have been introduced as a landscaping tree—is extremely fast-growing, especially in its early days, with young sprouts growing as high as 10 to 15 feet in the first year. Female trees produce clusters of seeds, with each tree producing up to 300,000 seeds per year. The tree also regrows rapidly from the stump or lateral roots if it is cut or disturbed, making it almost impossible to get rid of through traditional pruning/cutting methods.
“You can’t just dig it up or prune it,” says Allen. “If you can get to the seedlings when they’re really little you can pull them out, but not once they take hold.”
Once established, the plant can overrun native vegetation, and its roots can damage sewer and water lines, as well as foundations and structures.
The Village crew recently conducted a trial at a private property in North Ashcroft that had a Tree-of-heaven on it. The tree was cut off and glyphosate (the herbicide in Roundup) was applied directly to the cut surface. Within three days there was evidence that the tree was dying, and within 10 days it was dead. A young shoot approximately 18″ from the tree continued to grow, indicating that the chemical did not transfer into the soil.
At its meeting on August 27, Ashcroft council voted to send out a flyer to all property owners in Ashcroft, with detailed information on how to identify the Tree-of-heaven. “If property owners think they have one they can contact us, and we’ll send a crew member to identify it,” says Allen.
“We’re still working out the logistics, and developing a program to address the issue. The first step is to call the Village so we can do an assessment.”
The Village Foreman and its Certified Pesticide Applicator have advised that the best approach to try to eradicate the tree is to cut the trees down and apply glyphosate directly onto the cut; a process that would take approximately one week in order to treat all the known Trees-of-heaven in the Village.
The tentative plan is for property owners who want to get rid of the tree to sign a release authorizing Village crew to enter their property and treat the trees, with treatment including the cutting of the trees, the application of glyphosate, removal of the debris, and ongoing monitoring to ensure that the treatment was successful.
There would be no cost to property owners for the work.
Village administration has contacted a number of organizations to see if funding is available to assist in the eradication of the tree, but these attempts have been unsuccessful.
“We want to try to step on it now when it’s still in isolated areas,” says Allen. “It’s better to spend some money now to avoid spending more later.
“This tree has the potential to do significant damage to infrastructure.”
For more detailed information about the Tree-of-heaven, go to http://bit.ly/2wCLBkr. If you think you have a Tree-of-heaven on your property and would like someone to confirm this, call the Ashcroft Village office at (250) 453-9161 or email admin@ashcroftbc.ca so that a member of the Village crew can check.
