GETTONG RID OF EUROPEAN BUCKTHORN

BIUCKTHORN: A TALL SHRUB OR SMALL TREE WITH CHERRY-LIKE BARK...

...MOST LEAVES STILL GREEN NOW, BEARING LOTS OF FRUIT...

...BERRIES THE SIZE OF PIN CHERRIES, BLUE-BLACK, BITTER TASTING, WITH THREE SEEDS

  Tuesday, 8:00 AM.  38 degrees F at the ferry dock, 34 on the back porch.  Wind SW, mostly calm with light gusts.  The sky is again cloudy and overcast, the humidity 90%.  It will be cloudy today, with the high around 40.  Cloudy conditions will continue through the week with highs in the low to upper 30's.  Snow showers are forecast for Wednesday night, and rain on Friday.
    European (glossy) buckthorn, Rhamnus frangula (synonym Frangula alnus) in the Buckthorn Family (Rhamnaceae) is a Eurasian invasive species that can rapidly take over areas of native woodland and city vacant lots.  It is a real threat, and should be eliminated when possible.  Now is a good time to identify and destroy it, as its leaves are still green, and its ripe fruit prominent.

   Its still-green leaves are entire, without lobes or teeth, and are mostly alternate, with prominent veination, and a glossy appearance.  The young bark is cherry-like, brown and shiny or sometimes gray , with numerous lenticels. The inner bark of the twigs is yellow. The abundant pea-sized berries are blue-black when fully ripe, and have two to four small seeds clustered together, each with one flat side.  The berries are extremely bitter. 

   Buckthorn seedlings and saplings pull easily, but larger plants must be dug out, or cut back and the stumps or large branches treated with  a strong herbicide.  The berries cannot be allowed to fall to the ground, where they will germinate readily next spring.  The branches with berries cannot just be fed into a wood chipper, as the seeds are not harmed thereby.
   There are some cultivars that are sterile and do not bear seeds,  so are safe to use as hedge plants, but there are much better choices for that purpose in my opinion.

   About the only safe things to do with the berries is to bury them deeply, compost them until they germinate and then die, or perhaps best, put them in a plastic bag and in the garbage.