Driving the roads of Victoria during this time of the year, be it at high speeds or a slow Sunday drive, it's hard to ignore the patches of yellow on roadside margins. It's a tell tale sign that spring is here when the daisy shaped flowers of cape weed and pea shaped flowers of broom species are in full bloom.
Whilst cape weed and broom are both in action at the moment, its broom that I will touch on for the purposes of this article not cape weed. The main reason being is that the optimum time to control species of broom is now and in the coming months prior to seed set in late spring to early summer.
Broom is an evergreen plant that can dominate native shrub vegetation growing 3 meters high and wide. There are three species of broom found in the region, Cape Broom (Genista monspessulana), English Broom (Cytisus scoparius) and Flax-Leaf Broom (Genista linifolia). All of the three species of broom are listed as noxious and regionally controlled within West Gippsland.
A common scenario for broom invasion occurs with the plant starting out in disturbed areas i.e. the edge of bushland or next to a water course. Over time, (if left uncontrolled) the infestation will expand into less disturbed areas i.e. within the bushland itself. It's for this very nature of invasion that broom constitutes a fire hazard. For example in roadside areas adjacent to bushland, (where fires are most likely to start) broom can form a flammable understory at the edge of a forest and spread into bushland.
Aside from being a fire hazard, species of broom are a concern to native vegetation given their ability to dominate native vegetation and severely impact regeneration of overstory plants including eucalypts and wattles for example. In addition, the seeds are highly poisonous potentially causing injury to fauna. In terms of its impact on agriculture, broom species are considered a low risk. The plant would not develop in cultivated situations and can easily be controlled by mechanical means.
For the above mentioned reasons, the opportunity to control the plants should be seised this spring. The community are working to keep weeds such as broom under control-your assistance in controlling broom on land under your control will help this effort. Small plants can be hand pulled if the soil is soft enough, larger plants can be slashed prior to flowering and any regrowth should be foliar-sprayed with the appropriate registered chemical.
