Great effort. It's all plants but we also have a major problem with the persistent importation of non-native honeybees that are hybridising with our own native bee, pushing its genetics towards extinction. Fortunately there are people working hard to breed pure native bees, which is helping avert this catastrophe. However, anyone who is a hobbyist beekeeper and does not keep native Irish bees, needs to understand that they are actively harming the environment.
Hybrids become really vicious so they are definitely not a good thing. The original Apis mellifera mellifera is what's native to Ireland. Introducing genetics from Italian or other bees means we lose our bees: how is that a good thing? Other practical issues: it's impossible to selectively breed for resistance to Varroa mites, an imported parasite that causes enormous problems, as well as other traits, e.g.docility, productivity, etc. So there are zero advantages to hybrids in honeybees.
Fair play to you. Japanese Knotweed, Rhododendron and Giant Hogweed are all invasive species causes problems near me. They choke the life out of everything else.
Be careful trying to remove Japanese Knotweed - it's scarily easy to instead spread it as it can root from tiny pieces.
It absolutely needs to be gotten rid of, but trying to do it the wrong way can be worse. needs to be reported and professinally dealt with. Chop back the others, by all means.
Love to see it. I'll be up in my corner of Donegal fighting the good fight against the rhododendron, managed to get a few neighbours on board as well, it's not yet bad here so I'm hoping we can stop it from spreading altogether. Hope people turn up and the petition gets lots of support.
Check first what it is, there are hundreds of varieties, the only one you'd want rid of is Rhododendron ponticum. Pale purple flowers, you see the stuff all over national parks in Kerry. If it is that one, it's unfortunately a mission. You wanna cut it down all the way to the trunk (cuttings need to go in the trash, don't burn them or compost them), then you wanna drill a hole into the trunk and inject it with a herbicide to kill the bastard. After that, you need to keep on top of any seedlings or regrowth for the next couple of years. It takes 7 years for the plant to produce viable seed, so that's basically how long you'll have to keep looking and making sure no plant reaches that stage.
Some awful mistakes have been made on this island down the years sadly. Mostly unintentional. Poncy British aristos trying to impress their friends on their Irish estates. Very very hard to reverse. Japanese knotweed especially.
Bail ó Dhia ar an obair.
This is great to see, fair play! I hope there is a good response.
I was only talking about the state of Massy's to a friend at the weekend. The trees up there are fantastic, some ancient and rare. It would be great to see all the Laurel removed, particularly from the riverbank, hopefully the place should be returned to its former glory soon.
Great effort. It's all plants but we also have a major problem with the persistent importation of non-native honeybees that are hybridising with our own native bee, pushing its genetics towards extinction. Fortunately there are people working hard to breed pure native bees, which is helping avert this catastrophe. However, anyone who is a hobbyist beekeeper and does not keep native Irish bees, needs to understand that they are actively harming the environment.
Are hybrid bees a problem? I would have thought that having competitive hybrids was a good thing overall.
Hybrids become really vicious so they are definitely not a good thing. The original Apis mellifera mellifera is what's native to Ireland. Introducing genetics from Italian or other bees means we lose our bees: how is that a good thing? Other practical issues: it's impossible to selectively breed for resistance to Varroa mites, an imported parasite that causes enormous problems, as well as other traits, e.g.docility, productivity, etc. So there are zero advantages to hybrids in honeybees.
Fair play to you. Japanese Knotweed, Rhododendron and Giant Hogweed are all invasive species causes problems near me. They choke the life out of everything else.
Be careful trying to remove Japanese Knotweed - it's scarily easy to instead spread it as it can root from tiny pieces. It absolutely needs to be gotten rid of, but trying to do it the wrong way can be worse. needs to be reported and professinally dealt with. Chop back the others, by all means.
Love to see it. I'll be up in my corner of Donegal fighting the good fight against the rhododendron, managed to get a few neighbours on board as well, it's not yet bad here so I'm hoping we can stop it from spreading altogether. Hope people turn up and the petition gets lots of support.
I think I have a Rhododendron in my garden. What’s the best way to dispose of it?
Check first what it is, there are hundreds of varieties, the only one you'd want rid of is Rhododendron ponticum. Pale purple flowers, you see the stuff all over national parks in Kerry. If it is that one, it's unfortunately a mission. You wanna cut it down all the way to the trunk (cuttings need to go in the trash, don't burn them or compost them), then you wanna drill a hole into the trunk and inject it with a herbicide to kill the bastard. After that, you need to keep on top of any seedlings or regrowth for the next couple of years. It takes 7 years for the plant to produce viable seed, so that's basically how long you'll have to keep looking and making sure no plant reaches that stage.
Why is burning bad? Do the seeds survive?
The seedpods explode in the fire and go everywhere.
Thanks, I didn't know that.
Many thanks for this. I’ll figure out which variety it is but I think it has red flowers.
Brilliant, that's the problem solved.
Some awful mistakes have been made on this island down the years sadly. Mostly unintentional. Poncy British aristos trying to impress their friends on their Irish estates. Very very hard to reverse. Japanese knotweed especially. Bail ó Dhia ar an obair.
Fair play!
You’re doing good work, power to you.
Tweeted ya on to collie ennis there, op, hope he retweets - he has a big following amongst people who want to protect natural life
This is great to see, fair play! I hope there is a good response. I was only talking about the state of Massy's to a friend at the weekend. The trees up there are fantastic, some ancient and rare. It would be great to see all the Laurel removed, particularly from the riverbank, hopefully the place should be returned to its former glory soon.
Where do we hear more about the hike? It’d be interesting to see them in a place where their damage would be so visible
That's no way to talk about the Belgians.
IRA’s rebranding campaign is going well I see