Most Virginia gardener are familiar with the extremely - incursive fall European olive tree ( Elaeagnus umbellata),a fast - growing deciduous bush that can get quite turgid — up to 20 feet marvelous and 30 feet spacious . It is native to eastern Asia and was introduced to the United States in 1830 . unluckily , autumn olive was planted for erosion restraint , mine reclamation — and even landscape — beginning in the 1950 ’s . Eventually , its ability to form a bush layer so slow that it displaces native works and overcome loose timber , honest-to-god agricultural fields , forest edges , and wayside became abundantly clear . How does it do this ? Autumn olive has a number of traits that give it major advantages over other plants : ( 1 ) it produces a large seed depository financial institution which is spread by the birds who eat on its berries , ( 2 ) it is highly tolerant of salinity , utmost pH , and heavy metals , ( 3 ) it has the power “ to create its own absorbable form of nitrogen , altering the local atomic number 7 cps to which native works community are adapt . ”Penn State Extension / Autumn Olive .
Autumn olive is now recognized as encroaching in much of North America ( but it ’s apparently not a job in the arid West ) . Autumn European olive tree is identify as aninvasive speciesby theVa . conjunctive Extension , and is labeled ashighly invasiveby theVirginia Dept . of Conservation and Recreation . A works get the “ highly invasive ” recording label when it diffuse easily , alters ecosystem procedure , and can cause substantial impacts on undisturbed natural plant communities . Virginia is far from alone in this regard ; a numeral of state of matter , admit Tennessee and Kentucky treat fall European olive tree as a “ life-threatening threat ” — due to its power to spread easy and displace aboriginal vegetation . It is describe as an invasive by most states in the eastern one-half of the U.S. as well as by numerous interior organizations , includingthe USDA’sNational Invasive Species listing .
As it spread , autumn olive creates a shrub bed so dense that it keep the growth of other plant . The fact that it can transform large areas into a monoculture is a major concern . Autumn Olea europaea has been busily transforming a prominent field between my home ’s back yard and the forested area that ring our dimension . Our theatre is Exhibit A on the impact of fall Olea europaea ; no dogwood , redbuds or other suitable plants have been able to worm their fashion into the bulwark of autumn olives in our field . I now pass a goodly ( badly ? ) portion of my clip fighting it .
Recently , I ’ve noticed a few unexampled sprout growing from a dead works I thought I had already carry off . I begin to wonder if I was apply the “ trimmed - stump ” method correctly . shortly it occurred to me that expert guidance on this subject might be welcomed not only by me , but by the many others dealing with this shrub . I contacted theBlue Ridge PRISMand was charmed that one of their expert trainers — Tim Maywalt — was uncoerced to certify exactly how to deal with fall Olea europaea . And we are all doubly golden that Tim ’s demonstration was turned into an educational video by Angela Orebaugh , a fellow Master Gardener who is also an expert videographer . The TV — control Invasives : Autumn Olive — is attached here and also below . I consider it will be helpful to all who are fighting this invasive .
This television provides comprehensive guidance on how to control autumn olive , showing you on the dot how to go forward with each method acting useable , from mechanical to “ cut - stump ” to “ basal barque ” and everything in between . You ’ll also treasure Tim ’s discussion of the vantage and disadvantages of the various approaches , which can help you make the safe possible choice . It is well worth your time .
By the way , if you have had any transaction with the thicket - organise autumn olive , you ’ll probably be as gobsmacked as I was to discover that some late research suggests that autumn olive may have some healing aesculapian property . See “ expectation for the use of Physiologically Active Compounds of umbellata,”International Journal of Life Sciences , http://www.crdeepjournal.org / wp - capacity / uploads/2021/06 / Vol-10 - 3 - 1 - IJLS.pdf(2021 ) . I happen upon another surprising article about fall European olive tree titledElaeagnus umbellata : A miraculous shrub with stiff health - encourage benefits from Northwest Himalaya . I ’m not making this up . The article I looked at mostly come from state where autumn olive is a native and apparently NOT invasive . We in North America must remain vigilant in restraining fall olive , These article did give me cause to enquire if autumn Olea europaea might have some save grace after all — at least in areas where it is not invading . But if autumn olive is to be grown for medical use , it will need to be cautiously hold — specially if it ’s anywhere near North America — or my backyard !
SOURCES :
With abstruse gratitude to Tim Maywalt ofBlue Ridge PRISM(Blue Ridge Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management , Virginia ’s first Cooperative Weed Management Area and to Angela Orebaugh , Piedmont Master Gardener and UVA professor .
see to it Invasives : Autumn Olive , a video collectively developed by Piedmont Master Gardeners , Blue Ridge PRISM , and Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards
“ Autumn Olive : Aggressive and Persistent,”Blue Ridge Prism Fact Sheets .
“ Invasive Exotic Plant Species : Autumn Olive ( Elaeagnus umbellata),”Va . Coop . Ext . Publication No.420 - 321
“ Autumn Olive , ” Invasive . Org Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health , University of Georgia , Invasive.org
Distribution Map , Autumn Olive in the United States , www.eddmaps.org , Center for Invasive Speciesand Ecosystem Health , University of Georgia
“ Watershed Vulnerability to Invasive N2 – Fixing Autumn Olive and Consequences for Stream Nitrogen Concentrations,”Journal of Environmental Quality , onlinelibrary.wiley.com(2019 ) ( “ consequence from this study demonstrate how intrusion of autumn olive can charm water quality and transform biogeochemical cycles in natural organization , which indicate to the pauperism for efficient direction of autumn European olive tree in the edge watersheds and riparian zones that are vulnerable to invasion and increased N exportation . ” )
“ rangeland in a fragmented grass - master landscape are vulnerable to tree encroachment from roadsides , ” Biological Invasions , springer.com(2022 )
“ scene for the use of Physiologically Active Compounds of umbellata,”International Journal of Life Sciences , http://www.crdeepjournal.org / wp - content / uploads/2021/06 / Vol-10 - 3 - 1 - IJLS.pdf(2021 )
Elaeagnus umbellata : A miraculous shrub with potent wellness - promoting welfare from Northwest Himalaya , Saudi J Biol Sci.(2023 )
“ Autumn Olive : A Potential Alternative Crop,”pubag.nal.usda.gov / download/40095(USDA National Agricultural Library , Ingrid M. Fordham , Richard H. Zimmerman , and Brent L. Black
