Weeding for winter light

Jenny from

While shade is vital to the health of shade-loving plants and habitat, and can be life-saving in summer, there is no need to suffer the loss of light where unwanted weed masses have shut out the sun.

This is often the case with fast-growing trees like monkey apple, privet, tree privet and wattle, and vine weeds such as honeysuckle, pink jasmine, ivy and moth plant.

Where these weeds are among wanted trees and shrubs, the careful identification and removal of the weeds can open the area to gentle sunlight filtered through a leafy canopy, which will benefit from the winter light, growing into the new gaps so that no shade has been lost by the time summer comes.

Where there is no wanted tall vegetation, removal of tall weeds will open the space to sun, so that a new, manageable ground cover or shrubbery can be established.

Call Jenny on 021 485 994, or email jenny@northshorewilds.co.nz, for

- assessment of your situation, with identification of weeds and also of any native plants, including native vines such as kaihua (NZ native "jasmine"), puawhananga (NZ native Clematis), kohia (NZ native passionfruit vine), karaeo (supplejack), tataramoa (Bush lawyer) - as these can be attractive, easily controllable additions to your natural areas, as well as food sources for kereru and tui.

- advice or action on releasing your site from weeds and, if wanted, turning them into compost and mulch during winter, to keep soil moist in summer and help suppress future weed invasions.

The photos below show the same location before and about 4 months after, weeding of honeysuckle from the trees and ground.

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