Friday 15 May 2015
Media Enquiry from Guernsey Press:
As I mentioned over the phone, we were hoping to get some comments on the invasion of wild garlic on the fringes of Bluebell woods.
As you can see below, the BBC got some comments from Jane Gilmour and it would be good to get the same kind of thing?
Environment Department Response:
The white flowered Allium triquetrum three-cornered leek -better known as 'Stinking onions' - is becoming dominant in Bluebell Wood and overwhelming the Bluebells. The heavier rainfall in the last three winters is probably a factor as the moist conditions favour the plant but its increased dominance may also be due to changes in the tree canopy. Over the last year the Environment Department has reduced the number of self-seeded Sycamores to open up the woodland floor to increase the levels of dappled light which favours the Bluebells.
A few of the steeper slopes are relatively free of the Allium. However throughout the remaining area of the wood the Bluebells are being smothered by the leaves of the larger and stronger plant, which emerges much earlier.
Management is difficult as the plant is growing amongst the Bluebells which are easily damaged by trampling. Carefully removing the Allium leaves and bulbs by carefully digging up the bulbs at in early spring may be effective if great care is taken to avoid walking over the developing Bluebells. The Allium reproduces by seeding and through bulblets, so removal of the entire plant before flowering is preferable.
The public can help by keeping to the paths in the Bluebell Wood and not walking through the white flowering 'stinking onions' as this knocks the flowers down and helps the seeds to spread more widely. Keeping dogs on leads whilst in the wood is also helpful. A trial area to control the Alliums in the Bluebell Wood with herbicide will be attempted later this year if conditions are suitable.
Contact Information:
Environmental Services Unit
Environment Department
Tel: 717200
