Invasive Plants

Here is the information you need to identify and remove invasive plants on your EUA.

Bittersweet vines strangling a hemlock tree on Nylander Way.

FAQs

What are invasive plants? They're non-native plants that spread rapidly and kill or crowd out other plants. They overrun and destroy ecosystems that are needed to support wildlife, including birds and pollinators.

Why should Mill Corner residents be concerned about invasive plants? On Mill Corner common property, several different types of invasive plants have become established. Without management they'll continue to spread, replacing all native plants, smothering trees and causing them to fall and requiring expensive clean-up. Ultimately (if not managed) they can spread to neighboring properties like Great Hill. They may also reduce property values.

Which invasive plants can be found on Mill Corner property? Below is a list, with photos, of all the invasive plants we've identified as growing on Mill Corner property.

What should you do if you find invasive plants on your EUA? A Mill Corner regulation approved by the Board of Governors requires residents to remove invasive plants that are on their EUAs. Depending on how many are present, the best way to control them on EUAs may be 'mechanical control' - pulling them out and disposing of them in the trash. Don't compost them or throw them in the woods - they're very hard to kill and will re-sprout, and spread even further. NOTE: if you have bittersweet vines climbing trees on your EUA, please contact the board as they require special removal techniques which the Board can help with.

What if I'm not sure if I have invasive plants on my EUA? If you have suspicious-looking plants you're not sure of, feel free to contact the board and someone will come to your EUA & take a look.

Where can you find out more about invasive plants? The Massachusetts Audubon Society has published a very informative booklet about the most common invasive plants in Massachusetts. You can download it here.

What is the Board doing to eradicate invasive plants on Mill Corner common property? Unfortunately, invasive plants are widespread, and eradication would be almost impossible. It would be extremely expensive for us to try, and there would also be no guarantee that they wouldn't invade again. The Board is working on managing our invasive plants with the help of resident volunteers and professional contractors.

Photos and Info

Here are the most common invasive plants that are currently established on Mill Corner common property, and may be growing on residents' EUAs. More information about each plant can be found in the Massachusetts Audubon Society's booklet on invasive plants. Download it here.

Round-Leaf Bittersweet

This vine can climb trees that are 60 ft tall, wrapping around trunks and branches, eventually strangling the tree. The image at the top of the page shows several vines climbing a young hemlock tree on Nylander Way. If you have bittersweet vines on your EUA, please contact the board.

Black Swallow-Wort

A vining plant with waxy, dark green leaves, small flowers and long seedpods. This plant makes a multitude of seeds, each attached to a white tuft that helps it drift on the wind, spreading the plant far and wide. A relative of milkweed, black swallow-wort is poisonous to monarch butterflies and their larvae. Small infestations can be handled by loosening up the soil and digging it out by the roots.

Garlic Mustard

This plant is most noticeable in spring when it blooms. Leaves smell like garlic when crushed. To remove garlic mustard, grasp the stem at soil level and pull gently and firmly until the roots come out. Dispose in the trash. Remove before it goes to seed, as they spread very rapidly, with each plant producing up to 3,000 seeds

Japanese Knotweed

Japanese knotweed can grow up to 10 ft tall and forms dense stands. It is extremely difficult to eradicate. If you find a small amount on your EUA, dig it out, getting as much of the root mass as you can, and dispose in the trash. For larger amounts, please contact the Board.

Multiflora Rose

A climbing, rambling shrub with pretty flowers in the spring, long arching branches and lots of thorns. Cut the branches and dig out the roots, being very careful of the thorns.

Winged Euonymus

Related to the burning bushes that landscapers have planted in Mill Corner, but not the same. Winged euonymus has 'wings' on its branches - stiff rectangular growths that stand out from the branch - as shown in the picture. Currently, it's mostly found along the trail behind the meadow. Small plants and bushes can be pulled by hand. If you have larger bushes, please contact the Board.

Autumn Olive

This shrub can grow up to 12 ft tall. It produces a large number of red berries that are spread by birds and small animals. There are several autumn olives along the edges of the meadow, and as they have matured, their branches have flopped over and they've encroached into the meadow. On EUAs, seedlings and saplings can be pulled by hand.