Plant it…they will come
A Swallowtail butterfly visits a Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) now flowering in the VDOT easement that borders Franklin Park between Vermont Avenue and Old Dominion. (Photo: S. Lagerfeld)
Notes from the field:
It’s Saturday, June 21, a regularly scheduled day for the Urban Forest Alliance to remove invasive plants in Franklin Park Woods, or as we affectionately call this area ’The Woods'. Whether it’s hot, cold, or somewhere in between it’s usually pleasant. On cold days, one can find a sunspot. On warmer days, there’s plenty of shade. Always, there is the accompaniment of songbirds and a gentle breeze. Today, those soft sounds are drowned out by dueling chain saws in some not-too-distant backyard. It’s not surprising two days after a major storm, but it’s always a sad sight or sound knowing that more of the canopy will open up as a tree or two has met an end. The Urban Forest Alliance works here in The Woods, as well as other public spaces in Franklin Park and Forest, to restore a thriving natural ecology to our neighborhood.
'The Woods' is a Fairfax County Park Authority property only a handful of neighbors seem to know about, and a handful of Tree Rescuers from the neighborhood are trying to rehabilitate. The work to reclaim this park from the mass of invasive plants takes place under the auspices of the Urban Forest Alliance. Wisteria is our primary culprit and appears to be winning the battle for resources against both the native plants and other invasives. And us! The progress is slow, as the wisteria grows back aggressively.
Both Wisteria floribunda (Japanese wisteria) and Wisteria sinensis (Chinese wisteria) are persistent and prolific. The vines can grow from 10-25 feet per year, and roots can anchor up to 10 feet in soil, crowding out native vegetation and killing trees and shrubs by girdling them. The density of canopy from the wisterias can change the amount of light that reaches the forest floor. Both effects, that of killing trees and the alteration of light patterns, can change the structure of the forest.
The damage to our environment from invasive plants is well-known and can be immense. Yet it is still legal to sell invasive plants such as wisteria in retail nurseries.
Invasive plants have a foothold in many of our natural areas that have been untended for more than 30 years, and, unfortunately, that is most of our natural areas. They are wreaking havoc on our local ecology. The work of the UFA is as much about habitat restoration as it is about beautification.
Pictured: Damage to a Cherry tree from wisteria girdling the trunk. (Photo-S. Lagerfeld)
We at the Urban Forest Alliance believe that if you plant it, they will come; and we have seen this principle in practice along the VDOT easement between Vermont Avenue and Old Dominion (see leading photo). Native plants attract native insects; and native insects attract native birds.
Local wildlife is struggling. There is an ecological imbalance, in part because of the proliferation of invasive plants. Take a look along any Northern Virginia roadway: trees that are ‘furry’ or are covered in vines are not going to survive very long; Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) becomes a monoculture growing up to 10 feet tall in a season; springtime presents mats of beautiful yellow flowers from Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) crowding out native spring ephemerals; mid- to late-summer (right about now!) Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) starts to produce seedheads that contain thousands of seeds per plant with a five-year soil vitality. All of these invasive plants, as well, as many more (DCR) compete with our native plants and with each other for resources. Trees weighed down by excess vegetation will eventually die or be taken down by storms. It’s only a matter of time. And the problem is immense!
It’s not all doom and gloom, however! There are many groups in the Northern Virginia area that work to restore, re-wild, and rehabilitate our natural spaces, to plant trees, and to reduce the proliferation of invasive plants. Close to home is the Committee to Re-forest the Forest (CRFF). This group of two organizers, Steve Lagerfeld and Mike Rapp (both active members of the UFA), provide quality native trees at a deeply discounted cost to households in Franklin Park and Forest. Every week, it seems one of our big trees comes down. The efforts of CRFF are primarily out of gratitude for what this neighborhood has given all of us over the years. If we want to retain the wooded majesty that makes this neighborhood so special, that means planting more trees now! Thanks to the many people in this neighborhood who understand the value of trees, Mike and Steve have crossed the 100-tree mark! And yet, there is more we all need to do. (Contact can contact Steve at steve.lagerfeld@gmail.com or Mike at Michaelrapp@gmail.com for more information on planting a tree on your property.)
As this threat becomes more widely recognized, individuals and groups are trying to take on the problem in meaningful ways. Last year, the Virginia Legislature passed a bill that will make it illegal for retail establishments to sell 39 listed invasive plants without a clear notification that the plants are invasive and informing purchasers of alternatives. The bill takes effect in 2027. An influential local group, the Fairfax Invasive Removal Alliance (FIRA), is soliciting support to expand the ability of service districts in Virginia to address invasive vegetation. McLean Trees Foundation (MTF) is clearing invasives from Lewinsville Park, as well as other public sites, and installing ‘exclosures’ that will protect newly planted native plants from deer browse. The threat of invasive plants is becoming more widely recognized and citizens’ groups are stepping up!
We in the Urban Forest Alliance push forward with our efforts to create a thriving neighborhood. The work along the Vermont Avenue easement has made a remarkable improvement in one of the major entryways into our neighborhood. There is still a lot of work to do there, but we have seen native insects flocking to the flowering plants and have noticed more songbirds in this area than previously. Our work in The Woods will, eventually, take back public space and make it accessible to dog walkers, nature lovers, kids, and others. Other neighborhood projects have been with the help of a Fairfax County initiative (Operation Stream Shield); specifically, clearing vines from trees along the Chesterbrook Footpath, the MacArthur Footpath, and Park Road.
UFA will continue to take on the work that protects and enhances the tree canopy and native habitat in Franklin Park and Forest and surrounding areas. We may be small, but we are determined. And we hope you will be able to join us!
M. O’Donnell and S. Lagerfeld