Returned to the Woods Sunday, and I realized I had seen something weeks ago without really seeing it. The Woods seemed a little open and thin for late autumn. Then I noticed the Ligustrum privet. A bright fresh burst of green of new leaves about one or two feet high from the roots. The rest of the seven foot high stem was dead. Privet is one of, if not the, dominant invasive in the Woods. A European shrub, fairly innocuous as invasives go. In summer it provides creamy white flowers with nectar the European honey bees visit. It keeps most of its leaves in the winter. Thickets of privet provide some shelter on the coldest winter nights for birds and other animals from snow and freezing rain. The top 95% of most of the privet I was seeing was dead, most likely killed by the severe winter cold in February 2021.
Privet competes with the native, natural Symphoricarpos indian currant or deer brush and other under story plants. Privet often wins, and excludes the native species that deer and other wildlife depend upon. The deer brush was less affected by the cold and is currently enjoying vigorous growth.
It would be interesting to document the changes in the vegetation and condition of the Woods now, eight months after the deep freeze. What suppressed native species are now doing better? How does the insect population (pollinators/ herbivores/ predators) change?
It is interesting to see the pattern of privet death vs survival. The cold air pooling, low places in the Woods have the highest percentage of dead privet. Raised portions of the forest, or places with good cold air drainage, have more of the live upper privet branches.
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