Scotch Broom is an invasive species which causes a monoculture wherever it spreads, choking out other plants.(submitted photo/Broombusters)

By Alex Rawnsley

CUT BROOM IN BLOOM

‘It’s just a disaster:’ army of volunteers out on annual cull of invasive Scotch Broom

Apr 18, 2022 | 5:23 AM

NANAIMO — It’s invasive, it’s destructive and a passionate group of volunteers are suiting up for their annual war to destroy it.

Broombusters have begun their annual cull of the invasive Scotch Broom plant, an invasive and alien species brought to the Island in 1850.

Joanne Sales, executive director of the Broombusters Invasive Plant Society, told NanaimoNewsNOW it does so much damage because there’s little stopping it from spreading.

“It’s a heartier plant than any of our native plants so it spreads so quickly, so densely that it’s a serious threat to biodiversity. It crowds out native plants, it keeps forests from regrowing, it changes the soil chemistry, it’s just a disaster.”

The danger from the plant stems from the seeds, upwards of 18,000 per plant which if released, can bury into the soil and live for decades.

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It’s spread creates what Sales called a mono-culture, cutting out other species and creating a large area of land with only one thing growing. While bees love the plant, they’re left starving later in the summer once the bloom is done.

Volunteers use tools to get at the very base of the broom plant, weakening it ahead of the hot, dry summer months. (submitted photo/Broombusters)

The key to kill the plant is cutting it at ground level in the spring, leading to the society’s mantra of ‘cut broom in bloom.’

“When it’s in bloom, all of the energy of the plant is up above the grant, making the flowers and the seeds so that’s when its roots are the weakest.”

Cutting in the spring allows the heat and drought of the summer months to kill off the plant. Lopping it too early just allows rainfall to revive the plant, too late sees the seed pods spread.

Last year, around 600 volunteers devoted over 7,000 hours across Vancouver Island battling broom

The organization started in 2006 in the Qualicum Beach area with the group coming to an agreement with the Town involving volunteers cutting the plant, while Town crews would dispose of it property.

Similar agreements have been reached in Parksville as well as Nanaimo/Lantzville. The organization also coordinates with the provincial government through the Adopt-A-Highway program.

Sales said there is little, if any, benefit to the Scotch Broom.

“It’s highly flammable, that’s a very serious concern when you have it lining roads or have big fields of it. There are people who say it’s been used in medicine, but that means we probably need a couple of plants a year, we don’t need acres and acres of it.”

More information on how to cut broom in the region, as well as upcoming community cut events can be found at the society’s website.

Starting in Qualicum Beach in 2006, Broombusters on Vancouver Island work tirelessly to eradicate the invasive Scotch Broom. (submitted photo/Broombusters)

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