Republished from the Wanaka Sun 18th October 2024
When out walking, it’s great to come across wilding pines that have been pulled out or cut down.
Someone else has recognised the need to control wildings so that they don’t take over.
The rate at which wilding pines can take over an area is mind-boggling.
Anyone who has driven past Twizel recently would have noticed how fast the land is being colonised.
At last year’s Wilding Pine Network Conference in Queenstown, the Whakatipu Group showed an image of Walter and Cecil Peaks with all trees dealt with GPS marked.
To be told 10,000 plus trees had been removed is impressive but when you see them marked on the image you really get an idea of the scale.
More importantly, you can see ‘‘what if’’ these trees had not been dealt with.
The landscape would rapidly be covered in wildings for all time if control measures had not been carried out.
On the Wanaka side of the hill the issue of wilding pines is not so in your face.
To notice a tree on our local hills it has to be quite big but by this stage it has probably started forming cones, and hence seed that is spread by the wind.
The smaller and lighter the seed, the further it is blown.
Douglas fir, larch and lodgepole pine have small, light seeds and are our worst spreaders especially where mature trees are in higher wind zones.
Douglas fir seed has been shown to travel up to 40km.
That means from a good take off spot around Wanaka seed has the potential to reach the summit of the Crown Range, Bendigo or the head of the lake and anywhere in between.
When seed settles on higher altitude farm land, the germinating seedling has a higher chance of survival because the stocking rates are lower and chances of a seedling being nibbled off within its first year are much lower than on the more intensively stocked, lower altitude land where there are higher quality pastures.
A handful of surviving seedlings grow up and start producing seed and the problem compounds quickly.
As a farmer said to me recently, ‘‘When you start noticing the trees when you are not looking for them, you have problem’’.
There is no blame attached to landowners for having wilding trees on their property.
They are what is termed legacy plantings, planted with the best of intentions.
Now we know differently through bitter experience. There are lots of things we would not do with hindsight and no doubt lots more that are going to bite us in the future.
When removing small wilding pines, cut as low as possible, below the bottom green needles and the tree will die.
It is essential no green needles are left as they will grow into branches and require recutting.
Do it once, do it right. If it is not possible, cut below the green needles, then paste must be used.
So, please, if you are cutting wilding pines follow the simple rule — leave no green needles.
When walking around town it is easy to spot the trees that have seeded into a garden and left to grow.
It is much easier to pull it out as a seedling. That cute wee tree becomes too big for a town garden and is expensive to remove.
For further information visit www.uppercluthawildingtree group.co.nz
Arne Cleland is a retired nurseryman and a committee member of the Upper Clutha Wilding Pines Group.