Experiments in Controlling Coral Ardisia (Part 1)

By Tom Kelley,

Hickory Preserve Board member & Tour Guide

As some of you may know one of the main goals of our forest restoration in the Hickory  Preserve is to remove the non-native plants. Coral Ardisia is rapidly expanding in the Preserve.  We have one large area where it completely covers the ground. We picked berries this past  winter to slow its spread. Got rid of some but nowhere near all. 

I have a large infestation on my own property. Here’s what I am doing about it. Time will tell  how successful I will be. 

Last Fall I decided to try breaking the stems and leaving the unripe berries on the ground. The  berries were pink, not fully ripe red. I tried germinating the seeds. They all germinated so  this wouldn’t work. 

This past winter I tried to pick all the berries and extended my picking onto neighbors  property. I was largely successful. There are very few berries left now. It took persistent effort  over many weeks. An hour one day, fifteen minutes the next. I don’t like staying bent over while  picking the berries. I discovered I could break a plant off then stand up straight to remove the  berries. You need a container or bag that you can conveniently pick into. The unexpected  benefit of breaking off the stems was I got to see the underside of the leaves. There was an  abundance of insects, spiders and fungi living there. Even on cold winter days when I don’t  expect to see any insects. Many photos and posts on I Naturalist resulted. Of course it did  slow down my picking. But it also helped motivate me to go pick.