Thanks Paul for this on my favorite biome. You didn’t mention Salvia clevelandii???
Raking is an interesting idea but I must disagree about hand weeding if done properly; with a trowel or small shovel, the soil can be loosened and the weed root removed intact with minimal soil disturbance. Of course, this works best after a rain. This is labor intensive but with good volunteers, it’s amazing how much ground can be covered. When I worked at RSABG, we had wonderful volunteers that helped me get mustard and exotic grasses under control.
Oh, Cleveland sage is my favorite! Sorry I didn't mention it. It's not as common as the others. That's interesting what you say about hand weeding. In an experiment that I ran on invasive removal at the San Diego estuary we found that hand weeding was largely ineffective. But I'd love to learn more about how you performed your weeding. Perhaps we weren't doing it right. Thanks for your comment!
Manual methods of weed control may work in small areas under intensive management, but isn't a cost-effective approach on the landscape scale. Repeat applications of monocot-specific herbicides such as Fusilade could remove non-native grasses in a few years. Native grasses and other monocots (Dichelostoma, etc.) would be impacted, but all shrub components of CSS would be immune. If one wanted to really restore CSS on a massive scale, aerial application of herbicide for a few years followed by aerial seeding of desired monocots could transform the state within 5 years.
Thanks Paul for this on my favorite biome. You didn’t mention Salvia clevelandii???
Raking is an interesting idea but I must disagree about hand weeding if done properly; with a trowel or small shovel, the soil can be loosened and the weed root removed intact with minimal soil disturbance. Of course, this works best after a rain. This is labor intensive but with good volunteers, it’s amazing how much ground can be covered. When I worked at RSABG, we had wonderful volunteers that helped me get mustard and exotic grasses under control.
Oh, Cleveland sage is my favorite! Sorry I didn't mention it. It's not as common as the others. That's interesting what you say about hand weeding. In an experiment that I ran on invasive removal at the San Diego estuary we found that hand weeding was largely ineffective. But I'd love to learn more about how you performed your weeding. Perhaps we weren't doing it right. Thanks for your comment!
Thanks for sharing. Great to find out more about this type of habitat.
Yes, coastal sage scrub is overlooked and often dismissed as “just brush.”
Manual methods of weed control may work in small areas under intensive management, but isn't a cost-effective approach on the landscape scale. Repeat applications of monocot-specific herbicides such as Fusilade could remove non-native grasses in a few years. Native grasses and other monocots (Dichelostoma, etc.) would be impacted, but all shrub components of CSS would be immune. If one wanted to really restore CSS on a massive scale, aerial application of herbicide for a few years followed by aerial seeding of desired monocots could transform the state within 5 years.