Getting Rid of Multifloral Rose

You wouldn't believe how fast goats will go through multiflora rose. If you have 8 acres and some of that is pasture, even just 2 adult wethers would make a real dent in the rose in the first year.

They eat more than you'd ever imagine, so be careful about overstocking. Two will go a long way on 8 acres if some of it is pasture.

Lynda

PS - our neigbor did his land like OldJohn did. Our 15 acres (all overgrown briar, brush and woods) were done by an 8 goat and one calf landscaping team. The results on flat or rolling ground are similar, except our neighbor had to work for his and we just watched the goats munch away at things. But on the steep hills, ours are cleared and his still have a load of tasty thorny brush.

The pink roses that are about 1.5 - 2 inches across are wild prarie rose.

Multiflora has little white flowers. It starts blooming in late May in our region and has a wonderful perfumey smell. Unless grazed down, the shrubs get very big and they spread by rooting their canes as they fall over.

Prarie rose is doesn't spread like multiflora does. You don't want to get multiflora started unless you plan on getting goats to eat it up later.

Lynda

Yeah, but goats do the job as well and they are fun and profitable for a homestead!! And you don't have to work so hard.....

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Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians & Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net

"Remember, no man is a failure, who has friends" -Clarence

My personal opinion is that you don't "Get rid of" MF, you control it. If your neighbors fields (or in your general area) have it then it will keep on coming back.

Mike

It sounds like mesquite. Useful if it is already there, but a bear to get rid of and you sure don't want to plant it if you don't have it already!

I have seen multiflora rose thriving on a desert property where nothing else was growing. This was in NW CO in sagebrush country.

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I believe in God's willingness to heal.

Cyngbaeld's Keep Heritage Farm, breeding a variety of historical birds and LaMancha goats. (It is pronounced King Bold.)

In Ohio I used the resident MultiFlora Rose to my advantage.

It makes one heck of a fence if you can control it from spreading into areas you don't want it to.

In the spring and in early September I would deep plow a furrow tight against it to encourage growth where I wanted it but cut off the roots that would try to spread into the pasture.

It would get denser along the edge and pretty much stay out of the fields.

Worked for me.

Hey RLMS, do y'all have it up in the Empire???

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no goatmarm, it is not. Rosa Rugosa has big pink or white single flowers and the hips are large like a cherry tomatoe and very tasty. it is not very invasive. the Multiflora has zillions of clusters of small white flowers, the hips are small, hard and, as far as I know, useless. The birds eat them and plant the seeds everywhere you don't want them. I wish I could contain them in a fencerow. So far our goats are not interested. (They want to hang around and try to get the chickens feed).

Thank you so much for your answer. That cleared it up for me.

We have tons along our fence line and i did love the smell in May, but they are so overgrown here too as this was "wild" land. In MA, the neighbors had some along the property lines and they would grow wild over the fences, etc. so i used to wait until winter or late fall or early early spring when there were no leaves on them or anything else, then i used to get in there and prune them really, really low. The first time i pruned them i pruned almost to the ground, hubby almost killed me because i used his brandnew deerskin gloves and proceeded to ruin them. After that, it was a matter of maintenance of just clipping a bit in the winter.

I have been wanting goats that will "eat" ours, but then i need to wait until i fence and have a barn or something.

Good luck and let us know what you did to get rid of it.

If your county has a noxious weed department check with them for the recommended chemical treatment in your locale. Chemicals and rates vary due to different soils, i.e. sandy, clay, etc.

We cost share chemicals used to treat noxious weeds and sell 2-4-D Amine for $7.08 per gallon. At a savings of over $10 per gallon as prior mentioned it might pay to make a telephone call.

There is some here but not near as prevelent as in Medina.

I actually wish it was more prolific. Properly utilized and controlled it makes great fences.

How is your cider press project coming??

Great site, loads of info!

http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/romu1.htm

NATIVE RANGE
Japan, Korea, and eastern China

DESCRIPTION
Multiflora rose is a thorny, perennial shrub with arching stems (canes), and leaves divided into five to eleven sharply toothed leaflets. The base of each leaf stalk bears a pair of fringed bracts. Beginning in May or June, clusters of showy, fragrant, white to pink flowers appear, each about an inch across. Small bright red fruits, or rose hips, develop during the summer, becoming leathery, and remain on the plant through the winter.

ECOLOGICAL THREAT
Multiflora rose is extremely prolific and can form impenetrable thickets that exclude native plant species. This exotic rose readily invades open woodlands, forest edges, successional fields, savannas and prairies that have been subjected to land disturbance.

BACKGROUND
Multiflora rose was introduced to the East Coast from Japan in 1866 as rootstock for ornamental roses. Beginning in the 1930s, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service promoted it for use in erosion control and as "living fences" to confine livestock. State conservation departments soon discovered value in multiflora rose as wildlife cover for pheasant, bobwhite quail, and cottontail rabbit and as food for songbirds and encouraged its use by distributing rooted cuttings to landowners free of charge. More recently, multiflora rose has been planted in highway median strips to serve as crash barriers and to reduce automobile headlight glare. Its tenacious and unstoppable growth habit was eventually recognized as a problem on pastures and unplowed lands, where it disrupted cattle grazing. For these reasons, multiflora rose is classified as a noxious weed in several states, including Iowa, Ohio, West Virginia, and New Jersey.

BIOLOGY & SPREAD
Multiflora rose reproduces by seed and by forming new plants that root from the tips of arching canes that contact the ground. Fruits are readily sought after by birds which are the primary dispersers of its seed. It has been estimated that an average multiflora rose plant may produce a million seeds per year, which may remain viable in the soil for up to twenty years. Germination of multiflora rose seeds is enhanced by passing through the digestive tract of birds.

MANAGEMENT OPTIONS
Mechanical and chemical methods are currently the most widely used methods for managing multiflora rose. Frequent, repeated cutting or mowing at the rate of three to six times per growing season, for two to four years, has been shown to be effective in achieving high mortality of multiflora rose. In high quality natural communities, cutting of individual plants is preferred to site mowing to minimize habitat disturbance.

Various herbicides have been used successfully in controlling multiflora rose but, because of the long-lived stores of seed in the soil, follow-up treatments are likely to be necessary. Application of systemic herbicides (e.g., glyphosate) to freshly cut stumps or to regrowth may be the most effective methods, especially if conducted late in the growing season. Plant growth regulators have been used to control the spread of multiflora rose by preventing fruit set.

Biological
Biological control is not yet available for management of multiflora rose. However, researchers are investigating several options, including a native viral pathogen (rose-rosette disease), which is spread by a tiny native mite, and a seed-infesting wasp, the European rose chalcid. Rose-rosette disease, native to the western U.S., has been spreading easterwardly at a slow pace and is thought to hold the potential for eliminating multiflora rose in areas where it grows in dense patches. An important drawback to both the rose rosette fungus and the European rose chalcid is their potential impact to other rose species and cultivars.


Pony!

The hips are still very high in vitamin C, a good source if TSHTF. You can make a sort of tea out of them or boil/steam them and eat them.

Good, hope to have pictures soon. Teen camp 2 weeks ago, prep for youth camp last week and the actual camp this week. I will be happy when it is done. LOL.

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Luvbritts, I first recommend bush hogging then finish mowing the pasture if practical/possible. Once complete quickly follow up with goats, ideally Boers because of their hardy laided back nature. With eight acres to tame I recommend four goats should keep most roses plus weeds in check. IMO bush hogging is only a temporary solution to your major problem. My herd loves roses so much that I'm cutting down saplings to allow more sunlight in to promote rose and greenbrier growth....Good luck with the goats and if you decide take good care of them...Tennessee John

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Thanks to everyone for your input. Currently brush hogging once a year, maybe have to go to twice a year. A goat is a good possibility. Thanks Again Everyone!!