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Planting "noxious weed" trees- Russian Olive

 
pollinator
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The Russian Olive grows very well in my area where not much does. Pine is the best grower out where I live and even then it has to be sheltered or it suffers a wind burn death. Russian Olive is considered invasive here. It's illegal to sell in my state, but not the state next to me........ So would you ever put invasive species in your tree lines? Opinions? I don't know that they would take over where I am. I'm going to be getting goats. So once established I'll just rotate the goats in when a good pruning is in order.
 
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Danielle Venegas wrote:... So would you ever put invasive species in your tree lines? Opinions?



yes.

i am in colorado, where russian olives are considered invasive and i plan to plant some.
you wont be able to order seeds, but you can collect seeds from already growing trees in your area

here is a thread specific to russian olive trees, that has some germination tips. apparently these can be planted like willows (cut and stuck in the ground)
https://permies.com/t/33678/labs/Russian-olive-Elaeagnus-angustifolia
 
elle sagenev
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Kelly Smith wrote:

Danielle Venegas wrote:... So would you ever put invasive species in your tree lines? Opinions?



yes.

i am in colorado, where russian olives are considered invasive and i plan to plant some.
you wont be able to order seeds, but you can collect seeds from already growing trees in your area

here is a thread specific to russian olive trees, that has some germination tips. apparently these can be planted like willows (cut and stuck in the ground)
https://permies.com/t/33678/labs/Russian-olive-Elaeagnus-angustifolia



I'm right over the border in WY. I'm hearing from another forum that they lower the water table. Is that something you're noticing? I don't want to do that if it's true.
 
Kelly Smith
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Danielle Venegas wrote:
I'm right over the border in WY. I'm hearing from another forum that they lower the water table. Is that something you're noticing? I don't want to do that if it's true.



i have heard that too, its partly why my neighbor is pulling his russian live trees out.... he also says they compete with the grass in his pasture. when i pointed out that the grass was greener, lusher and talled under the russian olive trees he didnt have a response.

i am not sure how to tell if the russian olive trees are lowering the water table, as we dont have a way to test water table height.

hopefully someone else has more info on that.
 
elle sagenev
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Kelly Smith wrote:

Danielle Venegas wrote:
I'm right over the border in WY. I'm hearing from another forum that they lower the water table. Is that something you're noticing? I don't want to do that if it's true.



i have heard that too, its partly why my neighbor is pulling his russian live trees out.... he also says they compete with the grass in his pasture. when i pointed out that the grass was greener, lusher and talled under the russian olive trees he didnt have a response.

i am not sure how to tell if the russian olive trees are lowering the water table, as we dont have a way to test water table height.

hopefully someone else has more info on that.



I really just need something that will grow and keep my swales doing what they need to do. /sigh
 
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They tell the same with willows here. A tree will never lower the water table, that is utter nonsense. If that would be true there would be a very low water table under a forest. I tried to sprout Russian Olive seeds but they didn't do me the favour, maybe because it was shop bought and they were old.
There are two books I recommend to that topic: "invasive plant medicine" and "wandernde Pflanzen" by Wolf Dieter Storl unfortunately in German.
War against terror, war against drugs, war against weeds....
 
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the "lowers the water table" line is used against trees people don't like in an attempt to gain support. If someone tells you that, ask them for the peer-reviewed scientific study that shows that.

They say the same thing about mesquites (another N fixer that can improve soil/pasture) and many other "scape goat" species.

Aside from being goat food and fixing nitrogen, what other benefits do Russian Olives have? Do they make fruit or anything? I plant weeds and invasives here, like johnsongrass. why? Because those species are excellent pioneers and thrive in harsh conditions to improve the soil and microclimate for other, less hardy species to thrive. Invasives have their place, and they should be managed well, but I've found that most invasives are only invasive when the conditions are right. Healthy soil, increased water infiltration, increased organic matter, mulches, regular animal grazing, etc are not the conditions that allow invasives to thrive here.
 
elle sagenev
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Abe Connally wrote:the "lowers the water table" line is used against trees people don't like in an attempt to gain support. If someone tells you that, ask them for the peer-reviewed scientific study that shows that.

They say the same thing about mesquites (another N fixer that can improve soil/pasture) and many other "scape goat" species.

Aside from being goat food and fixing nitrogen, what other benefits do Russian Olives have? Do they make fruit or anything? I plant weeds and invasives here, like johnsongrass. why? Because those species are excellent pioneers and thrive in harsh conditions to improve the soil and microclimate for other, less hardy species to thrive. Invasives have their place, and they should be managed well, but I've found that most invasives are only invasive when the conditions are right. Healthy soil, increased water infiltration, increased organic matter, mulches, regular animal grazing, etc are not the conditions that allow invasives to thrive here.



They do have a fruit that feeds wildlife. So there is that. The downside is that they have thorns. But they make a decent goat food and I do plan on having goats. Apparently RO's take over creek and stream areas. We have someone in the vicinity that has 3 RO's and I've yet to see them take over his area (and they're really old) or spread. I just figured they were illegal for a reason.
 
Abe Connally
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Danielle Venegas wrote:They do have a fruit that feeds wildlife. So there is that. The downside is that they have thorns. But they make a decent goat food and I do plan on having goats. Apparently RO's take over creek and stream areas. We have someone in the vicinity that has 3 RO's and I've yet to see them take over his area (and they're really old) or spread. I just figured they were illegal for a reason.



A lot of trees/plants we work with have thorns. Honey locust, mesquite, prickly pear, etc. I don't have any riparian areas to worry about, but increase animal impact in those areas can help keep them under control.

A lot of things are invasive in certain conditions, only. Those conditions may be wide spread, but not in your particular area or microclimate. If the ones you have in your area are not spreading and creating a problem, I'd use those for propagation.
 
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Abe Connally wrote:the "lowers the water table" line is used against trees people don't like in an attempt to gain support. If someone tells you that, ask them for the peer-reviewed scientific study that shows that.

They say the same thing about mesquites (another N fixer that can improve soil/pasture) and many other "scape goat" species.



I just spent the last five minutes laughing about this one. Someone seriously tries to say Mesquite lowers the water table? They are one of the plants you can use to determine if there is water close to the surface or not! That would be like someone trying to say that cattails indicate desert conditions! Priceless. Just sad people buy into it.
 
Angelika Maier
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If you plant them for goat food, will they survive the goats?
 
elle sagenev
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Angelika Maier wrote:If you plant them for goat food, will they survive the goats?



With proper control I'm sure they'd control the RO without killing them.
 
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